Biography

Mr. Whipple is the President of Horizon Timber Services, Inc., a timber management company. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Bancorp, Inc. and Summit Bank from 2000 to 2014, when both entities were acquired by and merged into the Company’s former holding company and the Company, respectively. Mr. Whipple also serves as Chairman of the Ross Foundation, a charitable trust that manages over 63,000 acres of timber land for conservation and charitable purposes, and as managing general partner of Horizon Capital Partners, LLLP, a family limited partnership that manages 67,000 acres of timber land. Mr. Whipple has over 35 years of banking experience, much of which was acquired as an executive officer and director of various banking institutions. Mr. Whipple earned a B.S.B.A. from Henderson State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Arkansas.