CONWAY, Ark., Jan. 7, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home BancShares, Inc. (Nasdaq:HOMB) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Centennial Bank, announce management changes within the Company. In a special meeting of the Centennial Bank board of directors, on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, Tracy M. French was promoted to President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Centennial Bank, replacing C. Randall "Randy" Sims as President and CEO of Centennial Bank. Mr. Sims will remain with the Company as Chief Executive Officer of Home BancShares, Inc. and a director of both Home BancShares, Inc. and Centennial Bank. Mr. French will report directly to Mr. Sims.
"I welcome this opportunity to step back from the bank level and focus my energy on holding company issues," said Randy Sims, Chief Executive Officer of Home BancShares, Inc. "Tracy is a great fit for this position at Centennial Bank. He has shown tremendous value to the Bank these past few years spearheading our acquisition efforts and serving as Regional President and Vice Chairman of the Executive Management Committee for Centennial Bank."
John Allison, Chairman, adds, "These changes come as part of improving the Company's succession plan. As an over $7.0 billion company, we felt it was the right time to make a positive expansion of the management team. The Centennial Bank board selected Mr. French because of his past performance in helping lead the Bank, as well as his strong management and individual qualities. Tracy and I have worked together for 12 years and I am confident he is qualified for the task at hand. I am certain he will continue to grow the Bank as Randy Sims has done so well in the past."
"I am honored by the board's decision and eager to begin leading the excellent team of associates at Centennial Bank," said Tracy French, President and Chief Executive Officer of Centennial Bank. "Randy Sims has set the bar high through his service at the Bank. We've worked together since I joined this Company in 2003 and I intend to rise to the challenge of keeping Centennial Bank a strong community bank into the foreseeable future."
Home BancShares, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Centennial Bank, provides a broad range of commercial and retail banking plus related financial services to businesses, real estate developers, investors, individuals and municipalities. Centennial Bank has locations in Arkansas, Florida and South Alabama. The Company's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "HOMB."
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's plans, expectations, goals and outlook for the future. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements of this type speak only as of the date of this news release. By nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties. Various factors, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, credit quality, interest rates, loan demand, the ability to successfully integrate new acquisitions and changes in the assumptions used in making the forward-looking statements, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Additional information on factors that might affect Home BancShares, Inc.'s financial results is included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.