Laurie Senn
About Laurie Senn
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (CBAN). Age 41. Appointed CAO in January 2025; previously Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer (Sep 2022–Jan 2025) and Senior Vice President, Director of Loan Operations (Sep 2020–Sep 2022). Current remit spans Marketing, Human Resources, Payments, Personal Lending, and innovation initiatives. Prior roles include EVP at Members United Credit Union (2018–2020) and leadership at AB&T, Renasant Bank, and Heritage Bank of the South; ~23 years of banking experience. Community leadership includes President, Board of Directors of Ballet Theatre South (Albany, GA). Company performance during her recent tenure: Net Income grew from $19.5m (2022) to $23.9m (2024) with Company TSR (value of $100) improving from $75.10 (2022) to $121.35 (2024) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colony Bankcorp, Inc. | EVP, Chief Administrative Officer | Jan 2025–present | Oversees Marketing, HR, Payments, Personal Lending, and innovation (central levers for growth/efficiency) |
| Colony Bankcorp, Inc. | SVP, Chief Operations Officer | Sep 2022–Jan 2025 | Led enterprise operations during period of NIM expansion and earnings improvement (company-level) |
| Colony Bankcorp, Inc. | SVP, Director of Loan Operations | Sep 2020–Sep 2022 | Ran loan ops during post-pandemic normalization; operational backbone of credit delivery |
| Members United Credit Union | Executive Vice President | 2018–2020 | Executive leadership at credit union prior to CBAN |
| AB&T; Renasant Bank; Heritage Bank of the South | Leadership roles | Prior to 2018 | Multi-institution operating experience across banking functions |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballet Theatre South (Albany, GA) | President, Board of Directors | Current | Non-profit board leadership |
Fixed Compensation
- Base salary amounts for Ms. Senn are not separately disclosed. CBAN states base salaries are market-informed and reviewed by the Talent Management and Compensation Committee; 2025 base salaries disclosed only for the three named executive officers (NEOs) and not for Ms. Senn .
- Executive officers serve without fixed terms and may be removed by the Board with or without cause, indicating at-will executive appointments without term-based guarantees .
Performance Compensation
Company-wide 2024 annual cash incentive design (applied to NEOs; CBAN uses the same goal framework enterprise-wide). Specific payout amounts for Ms. Senn are not disclosed.
| Metric | Weight | 2024 Target | 2024 Actual | Payout mechanics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating ROAA | 25% | > 0.83% | Not disclosed | Award earned in 2025: 80% cash in 2025; remaining 20% paid in 2026 |
| Operating EPS | 25% | > $1.44 | Not disclosed | See above |
| Organic customer deposit growth (net) | 20% | > $49.418 million | Not disclosed | See above |
| Net operating non-interest expense to average assets (Net NIE) | 20% | < 1.39% | Not disclosed | See above |
| Individual performance goals | 10% | Committee-assessed | Not disclosed | See above |
Equity awards and vesting practices (company-level):
- CBAN grants restricted stock that typically vests in annual installments (e.g., 2024 grants vest in three approximately equal annual installments; some prior grants vest in two installments or cliff vest at three years). NEO footnotes indicate July 1 annual vesting cadence for 2023–2024 grants and specific vest dates; these illustrate plan practice and timing. Ms. Senn’s individual award terms are not disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | Percent of Class | As-of date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Senn (EVP & CAO) | 4,602 | 0.03% | March 28, 2025 |
Alignment and policies:
- Hedging/margin: Directors, officers, and employees are prohibited from speculative trading/hedging, short-selling, derivatives in company securities, and purchasing on margin; blackout windows and pre-clearance apply, strengthening alignment and reducing misalignment risk .
- Clawback: A Dodd-Frank-compliant clawback policy requires reasonably prompt recovery of erroneously awarded incentive compensation following a financial restatement .
- Equity supply/vesting cadence: Company RS awards to NEOs commonly vest on or around July 1 in equal annual tranches, a pattern that can create seasonal liquidity/withholding-related Form 4 activity; Ms. Senn’s specific vesting schedule is not disclosed .
- Pledging: No explicit pledging policy disclosure was found; insider trading policy emphasizes hedging/margin prohibitions. No pledging by Ms. Senn is disclosed .
Employment Terms
- Role/tenure: EVP & CAO since Jan 2025; executive officer roster confirms appointment and scope .
- Contract status: CBAN discloses employment agreements and severance/change-in-control economics for certain NEOs (CEO, President, CCO), but no employment agreement for Ms. Senn is disclosed in the 2025 proxy .
- Executive officers serve without fixed terms and may be removed by the Board with or without cause; no selection arrangements are noted—implying at-will employment without automatic renewal clauses for non-NEO executives .
- Non-compete/Non-solicit: 12-month non-compete and non-solicit provisions are disclosed for executives with employment agreements; no such provisions are disclosed for Ms. Senn specifically .
Company Performance Context (during Senn’s CBAN tenure)
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company TSR – Value of $100 investment | $75.10 | $104.81 | $121.35 |
| Net Income ($, millions) | $19.542 | $21.747 | $23.868 |
Select quarterly highlights (Q3 2025):
- Operating ROAA 1.06%, adjusted EPS $0.47, NIM 3.17%, operating PPNR $11.2m; steady improvement across core metrics evidences execution momentum under current management operating model .
Governance, Compensation Oversight, and Shareholder Feedback
- Talent Management & Compensation Committee chaired by Audrey D. Hollingsworth; committee met 8 times in 2024 and oversees executive pay design and administration .
- Say-on-Pay support (2025): For 10,007,380; Against 661,860; Abstain 341,533; strong approval indicates investor alignment with pay program structure .
- Say-on-Frequency (2025): “1 Year” preference received the most votes (10,027,286) .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Legal/regulatory: CBAN reports no material legal proceedings and maintains compliant insider trading, clawback, and related-party policies; no adverse proceedings involving Ms. Senn disclosed .
- Section 16: A late Form 4 was disclosed for another executive (President) related to tax withholding; no late filings noted for Ms. Senn .
- Related party/loans: Related-party lending is governed by policy and regulatory compliance; aggregate balances disclosed at the company level; no Senn-specific related party transactions disclosed .
Compensation Structure Analysis (alignment signals)
- Emphasis on operating ROAA, EPS, core deposit growth, and expense discipline (Net NIE/Assets) ties cash incentives to shareholder-relevant performance. Payouts are partly deferred (20% to 2026), supporting retention and risk moderation .
- Equity grant practices rely on time-vested restricted stock rather than options, reducing risk-taking incentives but potentially increasing share-count overhang; vesting in annual installments fosters continued service alignment .
- Strong governance overlays: hedging/margin prohibitions and clawback mitigate misalignment and recoup risk .
Data Gaps (not disclosed)
- Base salary, target bonus %, actual bonus for Ms. Senn (not listed among NEOs) .
- Ms. Senn’s specific equity grant sizes, grant dates, vesting schedule, and any options (company-wide plan shows limited options outstanding; individual details not disclosed) .
- Employment contract terms, severance/change-in-control economics for Ms. Senn (not disclosed) .
- Ownership guidelines and pledging status (no explicit policy or disclosures found; hedging/margin prohibitions disclosed) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Ms. Senn operates under a pay framework emphasizing ROAA, EPS, core deposits, and cost efficiency, with clawback and anti-hedging controls—favorable for pay-for-performance alignment even though her individual pay levels are not disclosed .
- Retention: Time-based restricted stock and staggered annual vesting across the organization encourage retention; absence of a disclosed employment agreement or CIC multiple for Ms. Senn suggests lower contractual severance risk relative to NEOs .
- Trading signals: Company practice of July 1 annual vesting for NEOs can create predictable windows of share withholding/liquidity; Ms. Senn’s specific vesting cadence is not disclosed—monitor Forms 4 around mid-year and year-end regardless .
- Execution risk: Company-level performance trends (rising NIM, operating ROAA, and adjusted EPS in 2025) point to execution tailwinds in operations—areas under Ms. Senn’s historical remit. Sustained improvement in deposit growth and expense efficiency remains central to incentive payouts and valuation .