Ronald S. Pearson
About Ronald S. Pearson
Ronald S. Pearson is Executive Vice President and Regional President, North Carolina, at Skyline Bankshares’ banking subsidiary, with 52 years of banking experience focused on credit administration and commercial lending. He began his career at Northwestern Bank in 1972; subsequent roles spanned First Union National Bank (credit administration), Southern National Bank (commercial lending), BB&T (Vice President and City Executive) through 2002, Senior Vice President at Yadkin Valley Bank (2002–Sep 2008), EVP & Chief Credit Officer at Great State Bank (Sep 2008–2018), and joined Skyline National Bank via merger in 2018. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Appalachian State University and an MBA from Wake Forest University; his age is disclosed as 74 in 2025 (73 in 2024) . Company performance context (annual revenues) is provided below to frame operating backdrop during his tenure.
| Company Performance Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $6,257,000 * | $6,970,000* | $7,285,000 * |
Values retrieved from S&P Global. Asterisks indicate periods where S&P Global did not provide embedded citations.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Bank | President of Northwestern Capital Corp; Senior Loan Review Officer; Regional Credit Administrator | 1972–1985 | Built deep credit administration and loan review expertise foundational to later leadership roles . |
| First Union National Bank | Credit administration | 1985–1991 | Continued credit oversight following Northwestern’s merger into First Union, strengthening large-bank credit process experience . |
| Southern National Bank | Commercial lender | 1991–1997+ (merged) | Transitioned to frontline lending; post-merger remained at BB&T, broadening market and management exposure . |
| BB&T (post-merger with Southern National) | Vice President & City Executive | Until 2002 | Led local market operations, balancing growth with credit discipline . |
| Yadkin Valley Bank | Senior Vice President | 2002–Sep 2008 | Senior leadership in regional banking; prepared for chief credit leadership at Great State Bank . |
| Great State Bank | Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer | Sep 2008–2018 | Led credit function; integrated with Skyline National Bank through 2018 merger . |
| Skyline National Bank (subsidiary of Skyline Bankshares) | Executive Vice President & Regional President (North Carolina) | 2018–present | Regional P&L/credit leadership post-merger; supports loan growth and portfolio quality across NC region . |
External Roles
No external directorships or board committee roles for Mr. Pearson are disclosed in the proxy statements .
Fixed Compensation
No individual disclosure of Mr. Pearson’s base salary, target bonus %, or actual bonus paid appears in the latest or recent proxy statements; Skyline’s proxies focus on director bios and board governance rather than Named Executive Officer (NEO) compensation line-items for EVPs . As such, fixed cash compensation details for Mr. Pearson are not disclosed.
Performance Compensation
Company-level equity plan terms define potential incentive structures (not individual awards for Mr. Pearson). Key design elements:
| Incentive Feature | Plan Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Award types | Stock options (ISO/NQ), restricted stock, RSUs, SARs, stock awards | Flexible mix for employees and non-employee directors under 2020 Equity Incentive Plan . |
| Annual per-participant limit | 20,000 shares (employees); 10,000 (non-employee directors) | Caps equity award sizing to curb dilution risk . |
| Minimum vesting | ≥ 1 year for time-based awards (limited exceptions) | Reinforces retention; limits acceleration flexibility . |
| No repricing | Options/SARs cannot be repriced below FMV | Governance safeguard against value transfer . |
| No dividends on unvested awards | Dividends/distributions prohibited until vesting | Aligns payouts with performance/vesting . |
| Clawback | All awards subject to clawback policy and applicable laws | Regulatory-aligned recoupment protections . |
| Change-of-control | Committee may accelerate/settle/assume awards | Discretionary, can accelerate time/performance vesting or cash-settle awards . |
Because the proxy does not report metric weightings, targets, actuals, or payout formulas for Mr. Pearson’s incentives, a detailed metric-level payout table cannot be provided. The plan permits performance criteria at company/subsidiary/segment levels, measured quarterly/annually/multi-year, with discretion to exclude non-recurring or special items .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Total beneficial ownership, vested vs. unvested breakdown, options status, and ownership as % of shares outstanding for Mr. Pearson are not disclosed in the reviewed proxies .
- Equity plan-level rules restrict transfer/pledging of awards (options/RSUs/SARs/stock awards) prior to vesting or exercise, enhancing alignment and preventing leveraged pledging of unvested equity .
- Stock ownership guidelines and hedging/pledging policies for executives are not disclosed in these documents .
Context on common shares outstanding (for ownership % relevance):
| Shares Outstanding | 2023 Record Date | 2024 Record Date | 2025 Record Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Shares | 5,607,416 | 5,629,204 | 5,651,704 |
Employment Terms
- Employment start at Skyline National Bank: joined via merger in 2018; currently EVP & Regional President, North Carolina .
- Change-in-control agreements are disclosed for certain executives (Kruckow, Vaught, Worrell), with term extension noted in 2021; no such agreement for Mr. Pearson is disclosed in the filings reviewed .
- Non-compete/non-solicit and severance, multiples, and tax gross-ups for Mr. Pearson are not disclosed. Equity plan includes termination-for-cause forfeiture provisions, and awards are subject to banking regulatory limits .
Board Governance (context)
- Compensation Committee members: Dr. J. Howard Conduff, Jr. (Chair), Bryan L. Edwards (Vice Chair), Jacky K. Anderson, Thomas M. Jackson, Jr., and Frank A. Stewart; majority independent; met three times in FY 2024 (and similarly in FY 2023/2022) .
- Audit Committee exists; no “audit committee financial expert” designated; met five times in FY 2024/FY 2023/FY 2022 .
Investment Implications
- Disclosure scope limits pay-for-performance analysis at the individual EVP level: there are no reported salary/bonus/equity grant line-items, vesting schedules, or ownership stakes for Mr. Pearson in the proxies reviewed, constraining direct assessment of insider selling pressure or alignment via holdings .
- Governance of the equity plan is conservative (no repricing, minimum vesting, dividend restrictions, clawback), which lowers compensation-related risk. Discretionary change-of-control treatment could accelerate awards, but there is no evidence of individual CIC agreements for Mr. Pearson .
- Operationally, Pearson’s 52-year credit/lending background, and leadership across multiple institutions, suggests strong credit administration expertise supporting regional asset quality; however, payout metrics/targets and award sizing for him are not disclosed, so compensation alignment cannot be judged from filings .
- Monitor future proxies and Form 4 filings for any individual awards, sales, or ownership guideline disclosures to refine retention-risk and trading-signal assessment; current absence of data is a notable gap in evaluating EVPs’ alignment and incentive mix .
References:
Values retrieved from S&P Global for revenue table (asterisked cells).