Appointment further enhances Board independence
and diversity
First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ: FFWM) (“First Foundation” or the
“Company”), a financial services company with two wholly-owned
operating subsidiaries, First Foundation Advisors and First
Foundation Bank, announced today that Gabriel (“Gabe”) Vazquez has
been appointed an independent director to the Company’s Board of
Directors (“Board”). Mr. Vazquez was concurrently appointed to the
Board of Directors of First Foundation Bank.
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Gabe Vazquez was named to the Board of
Directors for First Foundation. (Photo: Business Wire)
With the addition of Mr. Vazquez, the Board is now comprised of
ten directors, seven of whom are independent with 30 percent
identifying as diverse based on gender or ethnicity. Mr. Vazquez
will stand for election at the Company’s 2023 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders. The Board has a focus on continued refreshment that
brings fresh perspective, diverse views, and experienced insight to
benefit stockholders.
“I am pleased to welcome Gabe to the Board of First Foundation,”
said Max Briggs, Lead Independent Director. “His background as a
senior leader in a large, highly regulated and publicly-traded
business makes him a strong addition to our Board. Together with
Gabe, our Board has a compelling set of knowledge and experience
relevant to the banking industry and our clients, which will allow
the Board to support management in creating the right strategy for
stockholder value creation.”
“Gabe brings exceptional legal, financial and operating acumen
to the Board,” said Scott F. Kavanaugh, President and CEO. “His
knowledge and executive experience will be instrumental as we scale
our business, navigate risks and remain the regional bank of choice
for our clients in today’s dynamic market.”
“I look forward to joining First Foundation’s Board and working
closely with the Company’s management team and Board members to
help drive the acceleration of critical business initiatives during
an incredibly important time for the banking sector and the
economy,” said Mr. Vazquez.
Mr. Vazquez, age 45, is the Vice President and Associate General
Counsel for Operations for Vistra Corp. (“Vistra”) (NYSE: VST), a
leading Fortune 500 integrated power company based in Irving,
Texas, a position he has held since 2016. In addition to managing
and supporting the legal operations of Vistra and its national
retail energy businesses, Mr. Vazquez oversees the legal
department’s operations (including fiscal reporting and department
project planning), and also facilitates the execution of Vistra’s
enterprise crisis management program. Prior to his current role,
Mr. Vazquez served as general counsel for TXU Energy, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Vistra, from 2008 to 2016. He was
previously a corporate attorney for Michaels Stores, Inc. and was
in private practice with the law firm of Gardere Wynne, which has
since merged with Foley & Lardner LLP.
A Dallas native, Mr. Vazquez received his undergraduate degree
from Southern Methodist University and his law degree from Southern
Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, where he was a Sarah
T. Hughes Fellow. He serves on the Board of Trustees and on the
Executive Committee of the Dallas Bar Foundation and as an
Executive Board Member at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman
School of Law. Mr. Vazquez also serves on the non-profit board of
the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas Foundation Inc. as
a trustee and as a member of the Development Committee, and he is
president of the Alumni Board.
About First Foundation
First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ: FFWM) and its subsidiaries offer
personal banking, business banking, and private wealth management
services, including investment, trust, insurance, and philanthropy
services. This comprehensive platform of financial services is
designed to help clients at any stage in their financial journey.
The broad range of financial products and services offered by First
Foundation are more consistent with those offered by larger
financial institutions, while its high level of personalized
service, accessibility, and responsiveness to clients is more
aligned with community banks and boutique wealth management firms.
This combination of an integrated platform of comprehensive
financial products and personalized service differentiates First
Foundation from many of its competitors and has contributed to the
growth of its client base and business. Learn more at
firstfoundationinc.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and
Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the “Safe-Harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including forward-looking
statements regarding our expectations and beliefs about our future
financial performance and financial condition, as well as trends in
our business and markets. Forward-looking statements often include
words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,”
“estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” or words of similar meaning, or
future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,”
“could,” or “may.” The forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on current information and on assumptions that we
make about future events and circumstances that are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to
predict and beyond our control. As a result of those risks and
uncertainties, our actual financial results in the future could
differ, possibly materially, from those expressed in or implied by
the forward-looking statements contained in this report and could
cause us to make changes to our future plans. Those risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of
incurring credit losses, which is an inherent risk of the banking
business; the quality and quantity of our deposits; adverse
developments in the financial services industry generally such as
the recent bank failures and any related impact on depositor
behavior or investor sentiment; risks related to the sufficiency of
liquidity; the negative impacts and disruptions resulting from the
COVID-19 pandemic on our colleagues, clients, the communities we
serve and the domestic and global economy, which may have an
adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of
operations; the risk that we will not be able to continue our
internal growth rate; the performance of loans currently on
deferral following the expiration of the respective deferral
periods; the risk that we will not be able to access the
securitization market on favorable terms or at all; changes in
general economic conditions, either nationally or locally in the
areas in which we conduct or will conduct our business; risks
associated with changes in interest rates, which could adversely
affect our interest income and interest rate margins and,
therefore, our future operating results; the risk that the
performance of our investment management business or of the equity
and bond markets could lead clients to move their funds from or
close their investment accounts with us, which would reduce our
assets under management and adversely affect our operating results;
negative impacts of news or analyst reports about us or the
financial services industry; risks associated with proxy contests
and other actions of activist stockholders, which may cause us to
incur significant expense, cause disruption to our business and
impact our stock price; the risk that we may be unable or that our
board of directors may determine that it is inadvisable to pay
future dividends at historic levels or at all; risks associated
with changes in income tax laws and regulations; and risks
associated with seeking new client relationships and maintaining
existing client relationships.
Additional information regarding these and other risks and
uncertainties to which our business and future financial
performance are subject is contained in our 2022 Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, that we
filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023, and other documents we
file with the SEC from time to time. We urge readers of this press
release to review those reports and other documents we file with
the SEC from time to time. Also, our actual financial results in
the future may differ from those currently expected due to
additional risks and uncertainties of which we are not currently
aware or which we do not currently view as, but in the future may
become, material to our business or operating results. Due to these
and other possible uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release, which speak only as of today’s
date, or to make predictions based solely on historical financial
performance. We also disclaim any obligation to update
forward-looking statements contained in this press release or in
the above-referenced reports, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required
by law or NASDAQ rules.
Important Additional Information
The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers
are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s
stockholders in connection with its upcoming 2023 Annual Meeting.
The Company intends to file a definitive proxy statement and a
BLUE proxy card with the SEC in connection with any such
solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders.
STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ SUCH
PROXY STATEMENT, ACCOMPANYING BLUE PROXY CARD AND ALL OTHER
DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN
THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. The Company’s definitive proxy statement for the
2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders contains information regarding
the direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or
otherwise, of the Company’s directors and executive officers in the
Company’s securities. Information regarding subsequent changes to
their holdings of the Company’s securities can be found in the SEC
filings on Forms 3, 4 and 5, which are available on the Company’s
website at www.ff-inc.com or through the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Information can also be found in the Company’s other
SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2022. Updated information regarding the identity
of potential participants and their direct or indirect interests,
by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the
definitive proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the
SEC in connection with the 2023 Annual Meeting. Stockholders will
be able to obtain the definitive proxy statement, any amendments or
supplements to the proxy statement and other documents filed by the
Company with the SEC at no charge at the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge on the
Company’s website at www.ff-inc.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230426005393/en/
Investor and Media Contact: Shannon Wherry Director of
Corporate Communications swherry@ff-inc.com (469) 638-9642
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