Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> May 8, 2020

Interview with the Chairman and CEO and the President: Mackinac Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:MFNC)

Tobias, Paul D.
Paul D. Tobias is Chairman of mBank and Chairman and CEO of Mackinac Financial Corporation. Mr. Tobias has nearly 42 years of experience in the financial services and banking industries. He was appointed as Chairman of mBank and Chairman and CEO of Mackinac Financial Corporation in December 2004 after structuring and leading the successful $30 million recapitalization of the company when it was known as North Country Bank and Trust. He also served as CEO of mBank from July 2005 until November 2006. Previously, he was a co-founding partner of Mackinac Partners, LLC, an unrelated financial and operational advisory company. He also served as CEO of Munder Capital Management, Executive Vice President of Comerica Incorporated, where he was the head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Strategy, and as an investment banker at McDonald & Company. He is a cum laude graduate of Albion College and earned an MBA with distinction from the University of Michigan. Mr. Tobias is also Chairman of the Elcot Fund based in London, England. Profile
George, Kelly W.
Kelly W. George is President and Chief Executive Officer of mBank and President of Mackinac Financial Corporation. Mr. George has over 25 years of experience in the banking industry. He joined mBank in 2003 as the Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer in charge of the regulatory and lending administration turnaround of the previously known North Country Bank and Trust. After the successful rehabilitation of the bank and $30 million recapitalization, he was promoted to President and CEO of mBank and President of Mackinac Financial Corporation in 2006. Mr. George has served as a director since 2006 as well. Prior to mBank, he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer of a $350 million community bank in North Central Ohio, also in charge of the credit administration and risk management turnaround of a regulatory-challenged bank from 2000 to 2003. He spent several years prior as a Safety and Soundness Examiner-in-Charge at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland responsible for the oversight of FRB-regulated community banking institutions, along with assisting with examinations of larger complex bank holding companies in the District and shared national credit reviews. He began his career in various retail banking, credit and commercial lending roles at the former Bank One and National City Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. George is a 1990 graduate of The Ohio State University with a B.S. in economics and minor in finance. Profile
Word count: 2,683

TWST: Thank you for following up on the previous interview you did with us. With the COVID-19 situation, we wanted to get some updated information. How have you had to