Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) and Union Planters Corp. (NYSE: UPC) have organized the top management structure of the major new bank created by the merger between the two, assigning geographical responsibilities to regional bank presidents and naming senior managers to other positions.
"Deciding who will lead one of the top 15 bank holding companies
in the United States was not a process we entered into lightly," said
Regions Chairman and CEO Carl E. Jones Jr. "We balanced our
associates' understandable desire to know something as soon as possible with a careful and deliberate approach to positioning ourselves for future stability and growth.
"Our decisions were made both easier and more difficult by the
fact that our two companies share such a strong talent pool," Jones
said, referring to current Union Planters CEO Jackson W. Moore, who is
both president and CEO-designate of the new company. Moore is also
slated to become chairman of the new company upon Jones' planned
retirement from that role in June 2006.
"We congratulate our new team, and would like to invite all
associates of both companies and their peers in the industry to join
us in congratulating and supporting them," Jones said.
Moore will oversee the consolidated banking operations and major banking product lines, and will have the combined company's six
regional bank presidents reporting to him: John I. "Jack" Fleischauer,
president-Western Region (Arkansas (excluding the greater West Memphis
market area), Texas and Louisiana); Adolfo Henriques, president-Southern Region (Central and Southeastern Florida, international banking and emerging markets); Peter D. Miller,
president-Eastern Region (East Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and
South Carolina); Steven Schenck, president-Mid-West Region (Western
Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa); Samuel E. Upchurch Jr., president-South Central Region (Alabama and the Florida Panhandle);
and John White Jr., president-Mid-South Region (Middle and West
Tennessee (including the greater Memphis market area) and Mississippi).
Also reporting to Moore will be Doyle R. Rippee, William E. Askew and Lynn Harton. Rippee will head the company's corporate banking efforts and Askew its retail banking area. Harton will serve as the company's chief credit officer.
Other key positions determined were John Daniel, head of human
resources; David C. Gordon, head of operations; John Dick, information
officer; J.R. Eldridge, head of risk management; Alan Deer, general
counsel; Dale Calvin, head of management consulting; and Paul
Crawford, head of Interstate Billing.
Morgan Keegan will continue to report to its CEO, G. Douglas Edwards, and Allen B. Morgan Jr. remains chairman of Morgan Keegan and
vice chairman of Regions.
Robert A. Goethe will head the new company's mortgage banking line of business; reporting to him will be E. Todd Chamberlain as head of mortgage
sales/operations, Morgan McCarty as head of mortgage servicing/portfolio, Jeffrey G. Tennyson as CEO of EquiFirst; and Tom Holland, Regions Funding.
Other senior-level positions filled are Ronald C. Jackson,
controller; Jenifer M. Goforth, director-investor relations; Eric
Haas, treasurer; Linda de la Cruz, head of financial projects and
transition; Richard W. Trigger, head of management reporting, planning
and analysis; James Ahern, head of corporate tax; and Charles E.
Rasor, head of corporate services.
Richard D. "Rick" Horsley, Regions vice chairman and chief operating officer, and Bobby L. Doxey, Union
Planners senior executive president, are co-leaders of the merger transition team. Horsley, Doxey and Chief Financial Officer D. Bryan
Jordan are all part of the new company's executive management team, as are Moore, Morgan and Goethe. These individuals will report directly
to the CEO. In addition, E.C. "Cris" Stone, executive vice president-loan risk management and credit policy, will also report to Jones.