Southern Bancorp Announces New Executive Leadership

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Bancorp CEO Darrin Williams today announced that Dominik Mjartan has been named Chief Executive Officer of Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a development finance partner organization of Southern, and Executive Vice President of Southern Bancorp, Inc., the bank's holding company.

"Since joining Southern, I've been on a mission to sustainably amplify our impact through the use of innovative financial tools that help rural Americans find new economic opportunity and build financial strength," said Williams. "Dominik has been critical in that effort."

Mjartan has most recently served as Senior Vice President, charged with managing corporate strategy and other corporate functions. He will retain these responsibilities as Executive Vice President of Southern's holding company.

"For nearly a decade, Dominik has been at the forefront of Southern's work to create innovative programs and assemble capital," said Herman Davenport, Southern Bancorp Community Partners Board Chairman. "He is both driven and passionate about our work, and we are pleased to have him at the helm."

Mjartan earned an MBA at the University of Ulster in the United Kingdom, graduating with distinction.  He graduated Summa Cum Laude and as a Donaghey Scholar with a BS in management from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He serves on the board of the Community Development Bankers Association, the CDFI Coalition, the Grantmakers for Education and is past-chairman of the board of the EAST Initiative Inc.

"Increasingly, the American Dream is out of reach for hard working people," said Mjartan. "CDFIs like Southern are uniquely equipped to bring capital and financial development services into communities and ensure that capitalism works for everyone. We believe that we can build on this in rural America to create more economic opportunities, revitalize neighborhoods, and improve family economic security."

Southern Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company; Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a development finance and lending organization; and Southern Bancorp Bank, one of America's largest rural development banks were founded in 1986 by then Governor Bill Clinton, Walmart Chair Rob Walton, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and others who were concerned about the economic decline of rural Arkansas. All three entities are U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) collectively known as "Southern." With $1.1 billion in assets, 80,000 customers at its 39 branches in Arkansas and Mississippi. On the web at banksouthern.com & southernpartners.org.

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SOURCE Southern Bancorp, Inc.