LeeAnn Gephart
About LeeAnn Gephart
Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer of First Citizens Community Bank (subsidiary of CZFS) since 2021; age 41 as of Feb 24, 2025. Prior roles include EVP/Chief Marketing Officer at Riverview Bank and earlier marketing leadership posts at Woodlands Bank; education includes Bloomsburg University (Finance), ABA Bank Marketing & Management School, and PA Bankers Executive Leadership Institute . Under her tenure (joined 2021), company TSR (value of initial $100) moved from 148.10 (2022) to 87.69 (2023) to 103.34 (2024), while net income rose to $27.8m in 2024 from $17.8m in 2023 as acquisition-related costs rolled off . She currently appears on the bank’s corporate team roster as EVP, Chief Banking Officer .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverview Bank | EVP, Chief Marketing Officer | 2019–2021 | Led digital strategy/innovation and multiple firm-wide initiatives . |
| Riverview Bank | SVP, Director of Marketing & Delivery Channel Services | 2018–2019 | Enhanced delivery channels and marketing execution . |
| Woodlands Bank | VP, Chief Marketing & Culture Officer | 2015–2018 | Brand and culture programs; strategic marketing . |
| First Citizens Community Bank (FCCB) | EVP, Chief Banking Officer | 2021–Present | Leads broad banking functions across footprint . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| K’s for Cancer (Lycoming County) | Co‑Founder, Race Chairman, Board Member | n/a | Community non‑profit leadership . |
| L.I.F.E. Child Care Learning Center | Board Member | n/a | Community service . |
| Pennsylvania CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) | Volunteer judge for 2025 Volunteer of the Year | 2025 | Public post referencing EVP/CBO responsibilities . |
Fixed Compensation
- The company discloses detailed pay only for “named executive officers” (NEOs); Gephart is not listed as an NEO, so base salary, target bonus %, and actual bonus paid are not individually disclosed .
- Executive perquisites for NEOs primarily include certain club dues; the company does not maintain stock ownership guidelines for NEOs (and indicates executives generally maintain meaningful holdings via plans/purchases) .
Performance Compensation
- Plan design (company-wide): Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) uses Company/Bank and branch/department performance categories. 2024 Company/Bank goals: ROE vs peers (3-year avg), efficiency ratio vs peers (3-year avg), net interest income growth vs peers (3-year avg), non-performing assets/total assets vs peers (3-year avg), and net charge-offs/avg loans (3-year avg). Satisfactory regulatory rating and minimum individual performance are gating qualifiers; if not met, no award .
- Payout form and vesting: AIP awards are paid in cash and (for non-retirement-eligible participants) restricted stock that vests ratably over 3 years under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan .
- Weighting examples (NEOs; indicative only): CEO 85% Company/Bank, 15% department; other NEOs 50–80% Company/Bank, 20–50% department; maximums ranged from 35% to 100% of base depending on role . Exact weights for Gephart were not disclosed.
| AIP Metric (2024) | Measurement | Weighting (illustrative from NEOs) | Payout Form | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE vs regional peer group (3-yr avg) | Relative | Included in Company/Bank component | Cash + Restricted Stock (if not retirement-eligible) | RS vests over 3 years . |
| Efficiency ratio vs regional peers (3-yr avg) | Relative | Included in Company/Bank component | Same as above | Same as above . |
| Net interest income growth vs peers (3-yr avg) | Relative | Included in Company/Bank component | Same as above | Same as above . |
| Non-performing assets / total assets (3-yr avg) | Relative | Included in Company/Bank component | Same as above | Same as above . |
| Net charge-offs / average loans (3-yr avg) | Relative | Included in Company/Bank component | Same as above | Same as above . |
| Department/Branch goals (e.g., loan/deposit growth; profitability) | Absolute | 15–50% of AIP for NEOs (role-based) | Same as above | Same as above . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Date | Transaction | Shares | Price | Beneficial Ownership After | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-24 | Sale | 33 | $59.58 | 728 | 0.015% | Direct ownership after sale per Form 4; CZFS had 4,759,471 shares outstanding as of 2025-02-24 (proxy) . |
| 2025-07-08 | Sale | 14 | $59.64 | 720 | 0.015% | Direct ownership after sale per Form 4; small de minimis sale . |
- Hedging/Pledging: Company prohibits hedging by officers/employees/directors; proxy stock ownership section identifies pledges for certain directors but does not list Gephart, and she is not included in the ownership table (non-NEO officer) .
- Stock ownership guidelines: Company does not maintain formal stock ownership guidelines for NEOs; not specified for non-NEO officers .
Employment Terms
| Topic | Status / Terms | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Individual employment or CIC agreement | Not disclosed for Gephart. Company disclosed CEO employment agreement and CIC agreements for certain NEOs only. | . |
| Equity treatment on Change-in-Control | All outstanding restricted stock awards (company-wide) vest upon a change in control (even without termination); SERP and deferred comp have CIC vesting/accelerated payout mechanics. | . |
| Equity treatment on Death/Disability/Retirement | All unvested restricted stock vests upon death or disability; retirement under plan definitions also vests unvested restricted stock. | . |
| Clawback policy | 3-year recoupment of excess incentive compensation upon accounting restatement. | . |
| Non-compete/Non-solicit | Specific terms disclosed only for CEO’s agreement; no such disclosure for Gephart. | . |
Performance & Company Context
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Shareholder Return – Value of $100 | 148.10 | 87.69 | 103.34 |
| Net Income ($USD Millions) | 29.06 | 17.81 | 27.82 |
| Sources: TSR and Net Income from Pay-versus-Performance table and CD&A (2025 proxy) . |
Additional 2024 highlights: Interest income increased $27.2m (+21.4%); net interest income before provision +$6.2m (+7.7%); assets +1.7% to $3.03bn; non-performing assets rose to $28.6m with still low net charge-offs (0.11% headline; 0.01% ex division sale impacts) .
Company financials (S&P Global):
| Metric | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD Millions) | 11.04* | 9.63* | 11.61* | 15.40* |
| Net Income ($USD Millions) | 29.12* | 29.06* | 17.81* | 27.82* |
| Values retrieved from S&P Global.* |
Compensation Structure Analysis
- At-risk mix: AIP remains central and ties payouts to ROE, efficiency, NII growth, and credit quality relative to peers, aligning incentives with core banking KPIs; AIP equity component vests over 3 years, creating multi-year alignment .
- Governance features: Mandatory clawback, hedging prohibition; however, no formal executive stock ownership guidelines and historic moderate say‑on‑pay support (67% in 2024), suggesting investors scrutinize pay alignment .
- Equity plan: Use of time‑vesting restricted stock (not options) lowers risk versus options and can reduce volatility of realized pay; all RS vests on CIC, creating potential accelerated supply but also retention leverage pre‑CIC .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Hedging is prohibited; pledging was disclosed for certain directors but there is no specific pledging disclosure for Gephart (non-NEO officer not in table) .
- No individual CIC agreement disclosed for Gephart; thus severance economics unknown; equity acceleration on CIC applies to all employees with RS awards .
- Insider selling: Two small open‑market sales in June–July 2025 totaling 47 shares (~$2.8k), leaving 720 shares direct—de minimis activity, no 10b5‑1 box indicated on the June Form 4 .
Equity Ownership & Alignment Details
- Beneficial ownership: 720 shares direct as of July 8, 2025 (~0.015% of 4,759,471 outstanding) .
- Vested vs unvested: Not disclosed for Gephart; Form 4s indicate direct common shares only, with no derivative (option) positions listed in 2025 filings reviewed .
- Ownership guidelines: No formal executive stock ownership guidelines for NEOs; not specified for non‑NEOs .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: AIP metrics are tightly linked to bank fundamentals (ROE, efficiency, NII growth, credit quality), and RS awards vest over three years—supporting multi‑year alignment; lack of an individual CIC agreement for Gephart suggests limited cash severance exposure, with primary retention lever being unvested RS that would accelerate on CIC .
- Selling pressure: Insider activity is immaterial (47 shares sold across two trades), with total direct holdings only 720 shares; this implies negligible incremental supply pressure from her personal selling in the near term .
- Governance/risks: Strong clawback and hedging prohibitions are positives, but absence of formal executive ownership guidelines and only moderate say‑on‑pay support (67% in 2024) may keep investor focus on pay-for-performance rigor going forward .
- Performance backdrop: Improved 2024 earnings and stabilizing TSR from 2023 lows provide constructive context for AIP payouts and management credibility; continued attention to asset quality (higher NPAs in 2024) and margin pressures remains key to future incentive outcomes .