Heather Schwarm Joins Board of Directors of Communities First Financial Corporation and Fresno First Bank
FRESNO, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Communities First Financial Corporation (the “Company”) (OTCQX: CFST), the holding company of Fresno First Bank (the “Bank”), today announced the appointment of Heather Schwarm to the Board of Directors of Communities First Financial Corporation, expanding the Company’s Board to 10 directors from 9. Ms. Schwarm was also appointed to the Fresno First Bank Board of Directors.
Schwarm is an executive-level business professional with 27+ years of financial and risk management experience, obtained in world-class companies. She has a proven track record of developing financial and business strategies to maximize financial performance, optimize operations, effect change management and drive innovation.
“We are delighted to welcome Heather to our Company’s Board of Directors, and look forward to working with her as we pursue our mission to grow our franchise,” said Mark Saleh, Chairman of the Boards. “She brings a wealth of experience and a broad depth of knowledge that will help propel us forward for future success. Her proven experience in developing and implementing financial strategies, while optimizing business planning and integrating best practices in budgeting, forecasting and cash management will be of immense value to our franchise.”
Heather Schwarm is the CEO of her own company, providing financial and strategic consulting to financial services businesses. From May 2012 through October 2016, she held the position of the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of American Savings Bank, which is Hawaii’s third largest financial institution. Formerly, she was the Senior Vice President and Treasurer from 2010 – 2012 and Senior Vice President, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, also with American Savings Bank. Heather Schwarm has held increasingly progressively senior positions including, Vice President of Investor Relations with KWK Management, from 2005 through 2008.
Schwarm earned her Master of Business Administration, Corporate Finance and Strategic Management (Dean’s List) from the University of Southern California in 2002. She received her Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Entrepreneur Program, from the University of Southern California in 1993. Her volunteer work included serving on the Boards of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Hawaii; she was Chairman of the Board for 2 years. Schwarm was a Board Member and Treasurer of the Girls Scouts in Hawaii from 2014-2016.
About Communities First Financial Corporation
Communities First Financial Corporation, a bank holding company established in 2014, is the parent company of Fresno First Bank, founded in 2005 in Fresno, California. Fresno First Bank is a leading SBA Lender in California’s Central Valley and has expanded into Southern California. The Bank is also a direct acquiring bank with VISA and MasterCard and processes payments for merchants across the country directly and through partners. Communities First Financial Corp. ranked third in the nation against its peers in the Best Community Banks Category (below
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. The forward-looking statements are based on managements’ expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include, without limitation, the Company’s ability to effectively execute its business plans; changes in general economic and financial market conditions; changes in interest rates; and, in particular, actions taken by the Federal Reserve to try and control inflation; changes in the competitive environment; continuing consolidation in the financial services industry; new litigation or changes in existing litigation; losses, customer bankruptcy, claims and assessments; changes in banking regulations or other regulatory or legislative requirements affecting the Company’s business; international developments; and changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory agencies. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect events or circumstances after today, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
| Contact: | Steve Miller – President & CEO |
| Steve Canfield – Executive Vice President & CFO | |
| (559) 439-0200 |
