April Pinkley
About April Pinkley
April Pinkley, 54, is Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) of Southside Bancshares, Inc. and Southside Bank. She was appointed CAO on August 15, 2024 and has served in the role since September 2024; she previously served as Controller since 2010, Executive Vice President since 2023, and Vice President/Assistant Controller from 2003 to 2010 after joining Southside in 2002. She holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Tyler and is a CPA; she is responsible for oversight of accounting, accounts payable and payroll, and is active in professional associations (AICPA, TXCPA, East Texas Chapter). Company performance during her initial tenure was solid: FY2024 ROAE 11.03% and ROA 1.06%, with net income +$1.8M YoY and diluted EPS +$0.09; FY2023 had ROAE 11.50%, ROA 1.11%, net income −$18.3M YoY, and diluted EPS −$0.44.
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Return on Average Equity (%) | 11.50% | 11.03% |
| Return on Average Assets (%) | 1.11% | 1.06% |
| Net Income YoY Change ($) | −$18.3M | +$1.8M |
| Diluted EPS YoY Change ($) | −$0.44 | +$0.09 |
| Loan Growth (%) | 9.1% | 3.0% |
| Deposit Growth (%) | 5.7% | 1.6% |
| Nonperforming Assets / Total Assets (%) | 0.05% | 0.04% |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside Bancshares, Inc. | Chief Accounting Officer | 2024–present | Oversight of accounting, accounts payable, payroll; senior finance leadership |
| Southside Bancshares, Inc. | Executive Vice President | 2023–present | Expanded leadership remit across accounting functions |
| Southside Bancshares, Inc. | Controller | 2010–2024 | Led corporate controllership; SEC/regulatory reporting support |
| Southside Bank | VP & Assistant Controller | 2003–2010 | Advanced internal controls and reporting processes |
| Southside Bank | Joined the Company | 2002 | Progressive finance roles culminating in CAO |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) | Member | n/a | Professional standards and continuous development |
| Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA) & East Texas Chapter | Member | n/a | Regional accounting leadership networks |
| United Way of East Texas | Finance Committee (prior service) | n/a | Community financial stewardship |
| The Rock of Living Water Ministry | Board (prior service) | n/a | Non-profit governance |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Anti-hedging and anti-pledging: Executives are prohibited from hedging, short sales, and pledging company stock, reducing misalignment and forced-sale risk.
- Stock ownership guidelines: Executive officers must hold company stock with a Required Market Value equal to multiples of base salary; for “Other Executive Officers” the requirement is 0.5x base salary, with a seven-year compliance window. RSUs count; options and unearned PSUs do not.
- Clawback policy: The Board-approved Compensation Recoupment Policy provides recovery of incentive-based and, when applicable, service-based compensation after accounting restatements or misconduct.
- Beneficial ownership: No individual ownership disclosure for Pinkley; group and NEO ownership are disclosed elsewhere.
Employment Terms
- Appointment: Named CAO on August 15, 2024; serves as CAO for both the holding company and bank.
- Employment agreement: Company discloses employment agreements for CEO, CFO, CCO, COO, and President; no employment agreement for CAO is disclosed.
- Insider trading policy: Mandates compliance with securities laws and governs trading windows for directors, officers and employees.
- Equity award terms (plan-wide, if applicable): RSUs vest in equal annual installments over three years; PSUs cliff vest after three years based on ROATCE percentile vs the KBW Nasdaq Regional Bank Index, with 0–150% payout, and pro-rata vesting under retirement, death, disability, or certain change-of-control conditions as specified in award agreements.
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Strong structural alignment via anti-hedging/anti-pledging, stock ownership guidelines, and clawback policy; however, lack of specific ownership and award disclosures for the CAO limits precision of “skin-in-the-game” assessment.
- Retention: 20+ years at Southside and recent elevation to CAO suggest institutional knowledge and continuity; absence of a disclosed employment agreement implies standard company protections without executive-specific severance economics.
- Performance linkage: Company-level incentive architecture emphasizes EPS, ROATCE, asset quality, and long-term ROATCE-relative PSUs; CAO-specific participation and targets are not disclosed, constraining pay-for-performance analysis for Pinkley.
- Trading signals: Anti-pledging reduces collateral-driven selling pressure; insider trading policy indicates standardized windows, but no Form 4 activity for Pinkley is disclosed here.
Key gaps: CAO-specific base salary, bonus targets/actuals, individual equity grants/ownership, severance terms, and any pledging/hedging or Form 4 activity for Pinkley are not disclosed in available filings; focus investor monitoring on future proxies and 8-K Item 5.02 updates.