John Beckworth has served on our Board since 2009. Mr. Beckworth practiced law in Houston for thirty years from 1983 until 2013. He was an associate and partner at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP before leaving to start his own law firm in 1994. From 2013-2018 Mr. Beckworth served as an associate dean at The University of Texas School of Law in Austin. Since 2018, Mr. Beckworth has continued in the school as a member of the law faculty. Also in 2018, Mr. Beckworth became affiliated as of counsel at Jackson Walker LLP in Austin. He has served as a trustee of The University of Texas Law School Foundation, and he is a former president and chairman of the Board of The University of Texas Ex Students Association. Mr. Beckworth is a member of the Texas and American Bar Associations and he is a life fellow of the Houston and Texas Bar Foundations. He is an associate member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and he is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Oil, Gas and Mineral Law. Mr. Beckworth is a current director of the Texas Cultural Trust, The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation, and the LBJ Foundation. Mr. Beckworth also operates family ranching, oil and gas and investment interests. He received Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas School of Law. In 2017, Mr. Beckworth became a National Association of Corporate Directors (“NACD”) board leadership fellow. As an experienced attorney and administrator, Mr. Beckworth provides service to the board and management as lead independent director and as a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee.
Board member since 2009
Board member since 2020
Matthew H. Hartzell has served on the holding company Board since our acquisition of Independence Bank in 2013 and joined the Bank Board since 2016. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Hartzell served Independence Bank as the Vice Chairman of the Board, as the Chair of both the IT Committee and the Compensation Committee, and as a member of the Executive Committee, having served on that board over ten years. Mr. Hartzell currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer of N.F. Smith & Associates, L.P., an independent distributor of computer hardware components, and previously served as their Chief Operating Officer. For the past 20 years, he has also served as General Counsel of Valid Management, LLC, one of the holdings in N.F. Smith’s diversified portfolio of technology businesses. Prior to joining Valid Management, Mr. Hartzell was a commercial lawyer with Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C., for more than a decade. Since 2010, he served as a member of the SAE G-19 Committee, a committee dedicated to promulgating standards for the mitigation of counterfeit parts in electronic part purchasing. Mr. Hartzell served many years on the Board of the Woodlands Heights Civic Association. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston. Mr. Hartzell’s extensive legal experience and business skills qualify him to serve on our Board. Mr. Hartzell understands computer technology and applications, which enables him to provide valuable insight and guidance as the Chairman of the Bank’s Information Technology Committee. Given the existence of cyber-security risks in the industry, his IT and general business skillsets also make him a valued member of the Enterprise Risk Management Committee.
Board member since 2013
Frances H. Jeter has served on our Board since 2014. She has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, public affairs and business and nonprofit management. Ms. Jeter is a Managing Director and head of the Houston office for Sard Verbinnen & Co., a strategic communications firm. Ms. Jeter previously served as Group Vice President of Internal and External Affairs for Spectra Energy. Before joining Spectra Energy, Ms. Jeter served as Chief Marketing Officer for Bracewell & Giuliani LLP and served as Vice President of Public Affairs for Duke Energy Gas Transmission, a predecessor company of Spectra Energy. She is a Life Trustee and a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kinkaid School in Houston and a former Trustee of The Hockaday School in Dallas. She is the founding Chair of Houston’s The Fay School and is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Houston Community Foundation and St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, among a number of other non-profit organizations. Ms. Jeter received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her extensive experience in the public company arena is leveraged to assist the organization in all areas of marketing and public and investor relations and financial communications. Her attention to detail and working knowledge of corporate and board governance matters are well-suited to her participation on the Board and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.
Board member since 2014
William (Nick) S. Nichols is one of the organizers of the Bank and has served on our Board since 2008 and the Board of the Bank since 2007. Mr. Nichols retired in 2017 as the President of Suncor Companies, LLC, a real estate development company that primarily focused on the development of freestanding retail facilities throughout the United States. From 1974 to 1984, he worked as an audit principal at Ernst & Young. He has held numerous Board appointments, including advisory director at Community Bank, Katy, Texas. Additionally, he is the founder and director of the Nichols Foundation, a foundation to provide college scholarships to students on a need basis. He also serves on the development council of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Mr. Nichols is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University. Mr. Nichols’ understanding of the Houston business market and leadership experience qualify him to serve on our Board. Mr. Nichols makes good use of both his experience in the real estate industry and as a CPA as he contributes by serving as a director of the Bank. He also provides informed guidance as a member of the Compensation Committee and as the Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Board member since 2008
Raimundo Riojas A. joined our Board in April 2021. He is the CEO of Grupo Duwest, a group of companies in Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia and Peru, dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of agricultural inputs. Grupo Duwest generates approximately $200 million in yearly revenue and has over 800 employees. He holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. Between 2000 and 2020, he was an active member of YPO (Young Presidents Organization), where he has served in multiple leadership positions for the YPO Guatemala Chapter. He is a former director of the Chamber of Industry in Guatemala and has served as board member in regional, privately-held companies. Mr. Riojas has also served for the past 17 years on the Regional Steering Committee for Crop Life International (an industry association) where he served as President and other leadership positions. Mr. Riojas’ international business and leadership experience qualify him to serve on our Board.
Board Member Since 2021
Luis Garza Villarreal is President & CEO of Vigavi Realty LLC, an industrial real estate investment and development firm based in Houston, TX. In addition, Mr. Garza Villarreal serves as President & CEO of a European Scaffolding and Real Estate company. His business acumen includes Finance, M&A and International Trade. Mr. Garza Villarreal graduated from the University of Navarra and from Oxford University with a degree in Financial Strategy.
Advisory Director since 2015
Louis A. Waters Jr. joined our Board in October 2018 in connection with our acquisition of Post Oak Bancshares, Inc., where he was a director of both Post Oak Bancshares, Inc. and Post Oak Bank, N.A. since 2005. Mr. Waters currently serves as President of Waters Group Houston, a private investment company that he founded in 1990; President of Flood Break Automatic Floodgates, a manufacturer of flood protection systems for commercial and residential applications that he founded in 2001; and Chairman of PV Rentals, Leasing and Sales, a provider of specialty automobile, van and truck rentals in the Greater Houston area, since 2011. Mr. Waters currently serves as a director of Edgeworth Construction Products LLC, as well as Bandera Corridor Conservation Bank, and has previously successfully built and sold several other operating companies. Mr. Waters received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD. The entrepreneurial, small business and banking experience that Mr. Waters brings to our organization qualify him to serve on our Board.
Board member since 2018
Board member since 2020
Dr. Brunicardi is one of the organizers of the Bank and has served on the Board since 2008. Dr. Brunicardi is currently the MCO Alumni Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery, and Director of the Cancer Program at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences. He is also the Academic Chief of Surgery for the ProMedica Health System. From 1995-2011, he was the DeBakey Professor and Chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine, then served as the Moss Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at UCLA from 2011-2016. His clinical expertise includes gastrointestinal surgery and his research focuses on precision medicine and personalized surgery for pancreatic cancer. Dr. Brunicardi has co-authored 283 publications and is the Editor-in-Chief of Schwartz's Principles of Surgery textbook since 2000.
Advisory Director since 2008
Jon-Al Duplantier joined our Board in January 2021. Mr. Duplantier enjoyed a 25-year career in the oil and gas industry with Conoco Inc., ConocoPhillips and Parker Drilling Company. Most recently, he served as Parker Drilling’s President, Rental Tools and Well Services, a position he held from April 2018 until his departure in July 2020. Prior to that role, Mr. Duplantier held a series of executive positions at Parker Drilling where he had responsibility across more than a dozen countries, and his roles included management and oversight of legal affairs, corporate compliance and governance, human resources, environmental, safety and procurement from 2009 to 2018. Prior to joining Parker Drilling, Mr. Duplantier worked for ConocoPhillips from 2002 to 2009, where he held legal and management roles. From 1995 to 2002, Mr. Duplantier served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility at Conoco Inc. Mr. Duplantier holds a Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Grambling State University. Mr. Duplantier also serves on the Board of Directors of Brigham Minerals, Inc. (NYSE: MNRL) and AltaGas Ltd. (TSX: ALA). Mr. Duplantier’s broad experience across commercial, governance and legal aspects of business along with his professional and leadership experience qualify him to serve on our Board, as well as on the Audit Committee.
Board Member Since 2021
Robert Ivany joined our Board in July 2017. Dr. Ivany recently retired as President of the University of St. Thomas, a position he held since 2004 and now serves as President Emeritus. Prior to his tenure, Dr. Ivany served as an adjunct professor in Executive Education at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. Dr. Ivany's background also includes a distinguished career in the military culminating in the rank of Major General, service as the Army Aide to President Reagan and Commandant of the U.S. Army War College. Dr. Ivany sits on the Board of the Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart. He also served on the Mutual of America Capital Management Corporation Board of Directors from 2004 to 2009. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in European History. Dr. Ivany presently teaches leadership to executives as a faculty member with Thayer Leadership at West Point. His leadership ability and experience working with the younger generation, as well as his involvement with Houston philanthropic and veterans organizations, qualify him to serve on our Board.
Board member since 2017
Board member since 2008
Steven Retzloff serves as Chairman of Centrust Investment Holding and CEO of Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. With 30 years of Houston banking experience, he served as a Director and twice as Chairman of a publicly traded multi-billion dollar financial institution. His past work experience also includes General Motors, Bristol Myers, Retzloff Capital Corporation and CEO of Travis Body & Trailer, Inc. Additionally, Steve serves on the Boards of the Houston Food Bank, Greater Houston Partnership, Open Door Mission, Faith in Practice, and as Vice President of the Kinkaid School Investments Foundation. As a native Texan and a lifelong Houstonian, he received an Industrial Engineering degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology in 1979 and an MBA with distinction from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University in 1981.
Board member since 2008
Fred S. Robertson has served on our Board since 2011. Mr. Robertson has over 30 years of experience overseeing institutional and retail investments. He has managed fixed income investments and designed extensive quantitative models for bond management. For the past five years, Mr. Robertson has been managing his personal investments. Mr. Robertson holds a number of non-profit board appointments and volunteers with many organizations in Houston. Mr. Robertson received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Masters of Business Administration in finance from The College of William and Mary. Mr. Robertson’s significant experience in the banking industry and leadership skills qualify him to serve on our Board. Mr. Robertson utilizes his knowledge of investment and fund management as Chair of the Bank's ALCO Committee. His financial expertise provides additional benefit to the Company as he serves as a director of the Bank, as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and as Chairman of the 401K Committee.
Board member since 2011
Ramon (Ray) Vitulli serves as Chief Executive Officer of Centrust Investment Holding and President of Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. He has over 30 years of banking experience, getting his start as a loan review examiner at Charter National Bank in Houston, then moving to Sterling Bank until joining Centrust Investment Holding in 2007, prior to the bank’s opening. Ray serves on the Texas Bankers Association Board, the St. Pius X High School Foundation and School Board, the CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare Board, and the Bluehenge Capital Partners Limited Partner Advisory Board. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.
Board member since 2014
Roland L. Williams joined our Board in October 2018 in connection with our acquisition of Post Oak Bancshares, Inc., where he was the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of both Post Oak Bancshares, Inc. and Post Oak Bank, N.A. He previously served as Executive Vice Chairman of Centrust Investment Holding until his retirement in September 2019. Mr. Williams was a founding member of Post Oak Bank and has over 40 years of banking experience. Prior to founding Post Oak Bank, Mr. Williams served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Langham Creek National Bank and Market Chief Executive Officer of SouthTrust Bank. In addition, Mr. Williams previously served as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and a board member for the Texas Bankers Association. Mr. Williams has also served as an advisory board member and board member of Outreach Center of West Houston and on the Bauer College of Business Banking Certificate Board Committee at the University of Houston. Mr. Williams received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Williams’ extensive business experience in the community banking industry qualifies him to serve on our Board.
Board member since 2018
