Alejandro Sanchez
About Alejandro Sanchez
Alejandro Sanchez (67) is an independent director of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) and b1BANK. He is Founder, President, and CEO of Salva Financial Group of Florida; a professor in the University of Edinburgh’s School of Business; and an Executive Advisor at Nasdaq. Sanchez previously led the Florida Bankers Association (1998–2023) and held multiple U.S. federal board and advisory roles; his legal credentials include a JD from the University of Iowa and a BS in Business/Social Science from Troy University, with prior U.S. Air Force service (1976–1981) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Bankers Association | President & CEO | Feb 1998–Dec 2023 | Led state banking advocacy and industry coordination |
| Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board | Presidential Appointee (one of three) | 2002–2010; invited to serve additional two years | Oversight of Thrift Savings Plan investments |
| Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee | Board/Advisory Member | 2018–2020 | Trade finance advisory |
| Bankers Insurance Group | Director | 2007–2011 | Compliance, Audit, Investment and Claims Committees |
| TRUSTCO BANK | Director | 2022–2023 | Board service at a U.S. bank |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salva Financial Group of Florida | Founder, President & CEO | Current | Advises financial firms on strategy, crisis management, regulatory matters |
| University of Edinburgh School of Business | Professor | Current | Academic appointment |
| Nasdaq | Executive Advisor | Current | Industry advisory role |
| Popular Bank | Director | Current | Bank director role (subsidiary of a major U.S. bank holding company) |
| Republic Bank and Trust | Director | Current | Bank director role |
| Apalachee Center Inc. | Director | Current | Non-profit/health services board |
Board Governance
- Independence: BFST’s board determined all directors other than the CEO (Melville) are independent under Nasdaq and SEC rules; Sanchez is independent .
- Board committees: 2024–2025 committee rosters do not list Sanchez on Audit, Compensation, or Nominating/Corporate Governance committees .
- Attendance: The board met 8 times in 2024; all directors attended at least 75% of board and committee meetings, and all directors then serving attended the 2024 annual meeting .
- Leadership: Lead Director is Rolfe H. McCollister, Jr. (appointed July 25, 2024); Melville is Chairman and CEO .
- Mandatory retirement: Board adopted mandatory retirement age of 75 on March 27, 2025, with limited exceptions .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Structure | Vesting/Terms | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (Director) | $25,000 | Paid in cash | |
| Annual cash retainer (Lead Director) | $65,000 | Paid in cash | |
| Committee retainers | Additional monthly retainer per chair/membership; amounts vary by committee | Ongoing | |
| Annual equity retainer (all directors) | $25,000 grant value | One-year vesting; shares based on prior-day closing price |
Note: The 2024 Director Compensation table does not list Sanchez individually; structure above applies to non-employee directors generally .
Performance Compensation
- No performance-linked director compensation disclosed (annual director equity retainer vests based on time only) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Entity | Sector | Potential Interlock/Overlap | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Popular Bank | Banking | Sector overlap with BFST (regional/community banking) | External bank directorship |
| Republic Bank and Trust | Banking | Sector overlap | External bank directorship |
| TRUSTCO BANK (former) | Banking | Prior overlap | Former director (2022–2023) |
| Apalachee Center Inc. | Healthcare services | Minimal overlap | Non-profit/healthcare |
| Nasdaq (Advisor) | Market infrastructure | Advisory role (not board) | Market governance exposure |
Related-party transactions: BFST reports no related person transactions >$120,000 since 2019, other than compensation arrangements; ordinary banking relationships with insiders are at market terms with normal risk .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Regulatory/governance: Extensive bank regulatory advocacy and U.S. federal board/advisory experience (FRTIB; Exim Advisory) .
- Financial sector leadership: 25+ years leading the Florida Bankers Association; consulting CEO at Salva Financial Group .
- Academic/market advisory: Business school professor; Executive Advisor at Nasdaq .
- Legal/military: JD (University of Iowa), BS (Troy University), U.S. Air Force veteran .
Equity Ownership
- Director stock ownership guidelines: Minimum ownership of 3× base cash retainer for non-employee directors; five-year accumulation period; certain derivative/pledged/option categories excluded from calculation .
- Hedging/pledging: Hedging discouraged and requires preclearance; securities may not be held in margin accounts and pledging is discouraged and requires preclearance .
- Individual holdings: Sanchez’s beneficial ownership is not itemized in the March 17, 2025 ownership table (others are listed); therefore, his share count and pledged/vested status are not disclosed .
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Independence and attendance: Sanchez meets independence; board-wide attendance strong with 8 meetings in 2024 and ≥75% attendance for all directors .
- Relevant expertise: Deep banking regulatory background plus market infrastructure advisory exposure (Nasdaq) enhances risk oversight and strategic guidance .
- Director pay discipline: Simple cash + time-based equity retainer; no performance-linked director pay that could bias risk appetite .
- Shareholder engagement signal: Say-on-pay support improved materially to 92.4% in 2024 (from 59.9%), indicating broader governance responsiveness at BFST .
-
Watch items
- Committee roles: No disclosed committee assignments for Sanchez; adding audit/risk or compensation committee responsibilities could leverage his regulatory and governance expertise .
- Interlocks: Current directorships at other banks (Popular Bank, Republic Bank and Trust) create potential competitive information-flow sensitivities; BFST’s related-party and independence policies mitigate, but ongoing monitoring is prudent .
- Ownership alignment: Individual share ownership and pledge status for Sanchez are not disclosed in the 2025 proxy tables; verification of compliance with director ownership guidelines would strengthen alignment transparency .