William F. Butler
About William F. Butler
Independent director (age 65), serving on CCBG’s Board since 2021. Background in real estate project and portfolio management as founder/principal of Real Estate InSync (REI) and former senior vice president at The St. Joe Land Company; Board-designated independent director under Nasdaq rules. Current Board committee assignments: Audit and Compensation; attendance was at least 95.6% across Board and committee meetings in 2024. Committee chairs are not Butler (Audit Chair: John G. Sample Jr.; Compensation Chair: Marshall M. Criser III). (Independent director, age, tenure, committees, other boards: none ; independence determination ; attendance rate and Board meeting count ; committee chairs and meeting counts )
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate InSync (REI) | Founder & Principal | Not disclosed | Manages programs to reposition assets, brand properties; portfolios up to $100 million |
| The St. Joe Land Company | Senior Vice President | Not disclosed | Designed/implemented business models for five new product lines across 250,000 rural acres |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | No other current public company boards disclosed |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board affirmed Butler’s independence alongside a majority of directors. (Independent directors list )
- Committee assignments: Audit; Compensation (member; not chair). (Committee rosters )
- Board leadership: Lead Independent Director is Stanley W. Connally, Jr.; independent directors held five executive sessions in 2024. (Lead Indy details/executive sessions )
- Attendance: Board met nine times in 2024; each director attended at least 95.6% of Board and committee meetings; Audit met 16 times; Compensation met 4 times. (Attendance and meetings )
Fixed Compensation
| Element | Amount/Terms | 2024 Butler Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Annual director cash retainer | $30,000 | Included in fees |
| Board meeting fees | $500 per Board/strategic meeting attended | Included in fees |
| Committee meeting fees | $500 per committee meeting attended | Included in fees |
| Chair retainers (if applicable) | Audit $12,000; Compensation $8,000; Governance $8,000 | Not applicable to Butler (not chair) |
| Lead Outside Director retainer | $15,000 | Not applicable to Butler |
| 2024 fees earned (cash) | — | $45,000 |
| Perquisites | Aggregate value < $10,000 | Program-wide disclosure |
Performance Compensation
- Director equity grant: Restricted shares valued at $30,000 annually; for 2024, each independent director received 1,087 shares at $27.61 grant-date fair value; vests on Dec 31 of grant year and forfeits upon a net loss in the grant year. Butler’s 2024 stock award value was $30,012. (Grant policy/vesting/forfeiture ; director compensation table )
- Director Stock Purchase Plan: Directors permitted purchases at a 10% discount; 14,969 shares purchased in 2024; 237,602 shares available under the plan at year-end. (Plan terms and activity )
Performance metric framework overseen by the Compensation Committee (management incentive plans in 2024):
| Metric (Short- and Stock-Based Incentive Plans for NEOs) | Target | Weight | 2024 Payout % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income | Greater than $52,258 million | 50% | 105.03% |
| Average deposit balance | $3,489,211 | 30% | 200% |
| Classified assets level | No more than $31,704 million | 20% | 200% |
| Weighted total payout | — | — | 152.51% |
- Clawback policy: Broad Nasdaq-compliant recovery policy effective Oct 2, 2023; 2021–2023 cash flow restatements did not trigger incentive recoupment. (Policy and conclusion )
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Interlock/Overlap |
|---|---|---|
| None | — | No public company directorships disclosed for Butler |
Expertise & Qualifications
- 40+ years in real estate project/portfolio management with private, corporate, and institutional clients; strategic repositioning and branding of assets; portfolio values up to $100 million. (Experience profile )
- Executive leadership and management credentials emphasized by the Board. (Board’s qualification summary for Butler )
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| William F. Butler | 5,165 | <1% | Beneficial ownership at Feb 20, 2025; 17,046,077 shares outstanding |
| Ownership guidelines (directors) | 10× annual director retainer (cash + equity grants) | — | Compliance expected within 10 years; all directors met or are on track |
| Pledging/Hedging | — | — | No pledged shares disclosed for Butler; short sales prohibited under insider trading policy |
Insider Trades and Compliance
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Section 16(a) reporting | One Form 4 filed late for Butler in 2024 (Company notes late filings) |
Related-Party and Conflicts Review
- Related-party transactions: Company discloses ordinary-course banking relationships for certain directors; specific disclosed RPTs involve Ms. Davenport’s BKJ architectural services and lease arrangements tied to CEO Smith; no Butler-specific related-party transactions identified beyond ordinary-course banking, if any. (RPT policy and disclosures )
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Butler contributes on Audit (oversight of financial reporting, risk, auditor independence) and Compensation (pay-for-performance design, ownership guidelines), both critical to investor confidence. High attendance and independence bolster governance quality. (Committee scopes ; attendance ; independence )
- Alignment: Annual equity grants with vesting and net-loss forfeiture, plus stock purchase plan and ownership guidelines, support alignment; Butler’s 2024 mix was $45,000 cash and $30,012 equity. (Comp structure and values )
- Signals: Strong say-on-pay outcome (98.8% “For” in 2023) and robust clawback policy reduce compensation risk; minor red flag is a single late Form 4 filing by Butler. (Say-on-pay ; clawback ; compliance )
- Conflicts: No Butler-specific RPTs or pledging disclosed; overall RPT controls and quarterly questionnaires in place; audit committee pre-approval policy covers auditor services. (RPT process ; pledging for others noted but not Butler ; audit pre-approval )