By Katherine Hamilton

Baycom added three new top executives in an effort to pivot back toward more acquisitions and growth.

Baycom, the holding company of United Business Bank, said Thursday its chief executive, chief operating officer and chief financial officer will all step down later this month.

The executive changes are part of the board's effort to usher in a new phase of growth for Baycom, the company said. The board wants to see bigger, more transformational acquisitions after a period during the past four years where acquisitions have slowed down.

Baycom named William Black as executive vice chair of the company and the bank.

Black most recently served as executive vice president of strategy and corporate development at PacWest Bancorp and Banc of California. He helped stabilize PacWest during the 2023 banking disruption and has led multiple acquisitions throughout his career.

Christopher Baron was named chief executive of the holding company and the bank. Most recently he was president of commercial and community banking at Banc of California.

Kevin Thompson was named chief financial officer. He most recently was finance chief of Heartland Financial USA until it was acquired by UMB Financial last year. Prior to that, he was recruited as chief financial officer of PacWest Bancorp in 2023, where he restructured the balance sheet and designed and executed the reverse merger with Banc of California.

All three executives are slated to start on April 13.

Baycom said it wants its new leadership to focus on delivering consistent loan and deposit growth, converting balance sheet growth into improved earnings per share, and pursuing larger combinations with businesses across the West.

In connection with the new additions, Chief Executive George Guarini, Chief Operating Officer Janet King and Chief Financial Officer Keary Colwell will resign from Baycom's board on April 10. Guarini, who founded the company, will remain on United Business Bank's board.

Black and Baron will both join the board.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 09, 2026 16:46 ET (20:46 GMT)

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