FORT SMITH-FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Simmons Bank has promoted Charlie Van Ness to market president for Northwest Arkansas. Van Ness, who previously served two years as Simmons’ Northwest Arkansas lending manager, will oversee strategy along with loan and deposit growth for one of the state’s fastest-growing regions.
He will report to Simmons’ Greg Martin, who previously served as Northwest Arkansas market president before his recent promotion to executive vice president and division president for Simmons’ Northwest Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma markets late last year. “Charlie is a tremendous banker and service-oriented leader who will excel in this role,” said Martin. “His genuine commitment to our Northwest Arkansas community is backed by an ability to quickly build trusted relationships with both community leaders and internal partners and bankers.”
With more than twelve years of industry experience, Van Ness has previously served as Northwest Arkansas market president of Bear State Bank (acquired by Arvest in 2018), senior vice president of commercial lending at First Federal Bank (later Bear State Bank) and as a credit analyst for both Heartland and Regions banks.
A University of Arkansas alumnus, Van Ness is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Fayetteville and a 2018 graduate of the University of Wisconsin’s Graduate School of Banking. He serves as a member of the Community Action Group with the Credit Counseling of Arkansas, having previously served as a board member for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation in Northwest Arkansas. Past community service in central Arkansas includes volunteerism with The Arkansas Foodbank Network and board positions for both the Rotaract of Little Rock and the Risk Management Association of Little Rock, where Van Ness also served as education chairman.
About Simmons Bank
Simmons Bank is an Arkansas state-chartered community banking organization that began in 1903. Through the decades, Simmons has developed a full suite of financial products and services designed to meet the needs of individual consumers and business customers alike. Simmons has grown steadily and today operates more than 200 branch locations throughout Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Simmons is the subsidiary bank for Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC), a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with total consolidated assets of $21.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2019. For more information, visit www.simmonsbank.com.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
SARAH SHAFER
Simmons Bank
Communications Specialist
501.612.8412 (mobile)
501.223.4282 (desk)
sarah.shafer@simmonsbank.com