Genesis Bank (In Organization), Announces Founding Board of Directors

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Genesis Bank (In Organization), announced today its Founding Board of Directors. Stephen H. Gordon, who founded Genesis Bank (In Organization) and will serve as the Founding Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I'm proud to announce our founding Board of Directors. Each member of our Board was thoughtfully selected and will play an active role in providing the appropriate governance, oversight, and risk management, as we work to establish our foundation and as Genesis Bank (In Organization) evolves and matures, as a de novo institution."

• Stephen H. Gordon – Mr. Gordon has over 35 years of financial industry experience, including serving as Founding Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Opus Bank; Founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Capital Bank and its savings and loan holding company, Commercial Capital Bancorp, Inc; as well as Chairman and CEO of Fremont Investment and Loan and its holding company, Fremont General Corporation. Additionally, Mr. Gordon served as a Partner at Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P., a New York based investment banking firm.
• Marsie Alford – Ms. Alford has over 25 years of accounting and finance experience, and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of the Jewish Federation of Orange County (JFOC). Prior to joining JFOC, Ms. Alford served as an accounting and finance consultant, advising manufacturing, healthcare, E-commerce, real estate, aerospace, retail, investment, legal, and non-profit businesses with annual revenues ranging from $5M to $15B. Ms. Alford previously held executive finance positions for several nonprofits, including Make-a-Wish Foundation of Los Angeles, Southern California Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation, and East Bronx Daycare Center, Inc., in New York.
• Warren J. Kessler – Mr. Kessler has over 40 years of experience as an attorney, currently serving as a Partner at Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles, where he represents institutions, large real estate portfolio owners, private businesses, and high-net-worth individuals in connection with tax structuring of complex real estate transactions, and the restructuring of partnerships and limited liability companies that own large parcels of real estate. Prior to joining Greenberg Glusker, Mr. Kessler was a Partner at DLA Piper, a global law firm, and previously spent 30 years at his own law firm, Kessler & Kessler, a Law Corporation. Mr. Kessler is involved in numerous charitable and pro bono activities, most notably serving as General Counsel to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple board of trustees, is a former Chair and Director of California Housing Partnership Corporation, a representative of the Cornell University Development Fund, and is involved with the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Program.
• Tam Nguyen – Mr. Nguyen has over 20 years of experience as a business, community, and philanthropic leader. Currently, Mr. Nguyen is the President & co-owner of Advance Beauty College with campuses in Garden Grove and Laguna Hills, in Orange County, California. Nearly 50,000 students have graduated from the accredited innovative program over its 33-year history, after having received training from leading educators and industry professionals. Additionally, Mr. Nguyen teaches courses on business management at California (Cal) State Fullerton University as a member of their faculty since 2016. Mr. Nguyen serves on numerous boards and is a member of leading organizations such as the Orange County United Way as Vice Chair, Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Board of Governors as Vice Chair, Garden Grove Community Foundation as President, US Bank Orange County Advisory Board, Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Trade Culture Alliance, Orange Coast Memorial Community Benefits Foundation, Orange County Transportation Authority, Orange County Transportation Authority Diverse Leaders Council, Center for Leadership, and Center for Family Business. Additionally, from 2010-2016, Mr. Nguyen served on the national board of directors for American Association of Cosmetology Schools, representing hundreds of beauty & wellness academies.
• Richard Sanchez – Mr. Sanchez has nearly 40 years of banking and regulatory experience. Mr. Sanchez previously served as a director on the Opus Bank Board of Directors, and as Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Administrative Officer, while being a member of the ALCO Committee, Benefits Committee, Project Management Committee, Executive Committee, Compliance Disclosure Committee, and BSA Working Group. Prior to joining Opus Bank, Mr. Sanchez served as an Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Fremont General Corporation and Fremont Reorganizing Corporation, as well as a director, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary for Commercial Capital Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary, Commercial Capital Bank. From 1993 to 2002, Mr. Sanchez was Deputy Regional Director for the Office of Thrift Supervision ("OTS") in the Western Region, where he supervised examiners responsible for, and planned and directed, the examination and supervision of 85 insured financial institutions.
• Jennifer Simmons – Ms. Simmons is a 27-year banking veteran, with significant leadership experience in business development, operations, information technology, human resources, and strategic planning, having most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of Opus Bank. Ms. Simmons, who also serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Genesis Bank (In Organization), will serve as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining Opus Bank, Ms. Simmons held senior leadership positions at Union Bank, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
• Sandor Valner – Mr. Valner has over 30 years of banking experience, and is the founder and CEO of Network Bankers, a Los Angeles based tech-enabled investment bank he founded in 2020 to provide services to a global network of 30,000 CEOs and accredited investors. Prior to Network Bankers, Mr. Valner was a founder/leader of two investment banking platforms and a private equity real estate investment management group, where he led more than $20 billion in capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate investment transactions. Mr. Valner also held positions as a partner at Walton Street Capital, CEO of VALOR, and worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in their global privatizations group in New York, where he became the CEO of the bank's Mexico operations. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Valner worked with JP Morgan in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and private banking. Mr. Valner's current board activities include Leadership Council of UCLA´s Depression Grand Challenge, YPO´s Alliance to End Homelessness, Progresemos, IngeniousIO, and FIHO.

Mr. Gordon, added, "While we all come from widely distinct backgrounds and professional experiences, we collectively share a common core value – to lead by example. Such veteran leadership is exhibited in the vast accomplishments of each board member, as well as the philanthropic passions and service that have tied each of us to our local communities."

Mr. Gordon, concluded, "As we continue on our path to launch Genesis Bank (In Organization), I strongly believe that the diversity of our collective Board, which is reflective of our vibrant and diverse majority minority target markets of Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County, embodies our commitment to fostering meaningful relationships and working alongside our communities that are continually looking to advance, thrive, and achieve within our local economies."

About Genesis Bank (In Organization)

Genesis Bank (In Organization) is a proposed, California-chartered, non-member de novo commercial bank being organized by a group of highly experienced and successful bankers and business professionals. Genesis Bank (In Organization) will focus on serving the banking needs of small to mid-sized businesses, the owners of such businesses, business professionals, and owners and investors of income-producing properties (including multi-family and commercial real estate), located primarily in Orange and Los Angeles counties, California, as well as the western portions of the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties). Genesis Bank's (In Organization) products, services, and solutions will primarily include traditional commercial business, Small Business Administration (SBA), income property, and owner-occupied commercial real estate loan and deposit products, as well as treasury management services and solutions. Genesis Bank (In Organization) will also provide fiduciary banking, escrow, and section 1031 exchange services to serve the banking needs of its clients. Genesis Bank (In Organization) will be headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

For more information, please contact:

James Jones, Spokesperson
Carpenter & Company
949-579-1441

Cautionary Statement

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements regarding the application submitted to the DFPI and the FDIC and the nature of the conditions of approval thereof, the anticipated business plans, product offerings, and service levels of Genesis Bank (In Organization), and expectations of performance of Genesis Bank (In Organization) or its Board of Directors and management team. The use of any of the words "achieve," "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "would", "project", "plans", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements or information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Genesis Bank (In Organization) does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Genesis Bank (In Organization)