BERLIN – Hampton Roads Bankshares, Inc., the holding company for Bank of Hampton Roads and Shore Bank, announced this week Shore Bank has named W. Thomas Mears its president and chief executive officer.
Mears brings over 20 years of banking experience in markets on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and surrounding areas. He joins Shore Bank from Wilmington Trust, where he was Market Manager-Lower Delaware and Eastern Shore of Maryland. Mears succeeds Steven M. Belote, who will assist with the transition and then assume another position with the company to be determined following the completion of the transition.
Prior to Wilmington Trust, Mears served in positions of increasing responsibility with Peninsula Bank, an affiliate of Mercantile Bankshares Corp., from 1989 to 2006, then served as Regional President/Market Executive for PNC after its acquisition of Mercantile Bankshares Corp.
“We are very pleased to welcome Tom to our team. He is a seasoned banking leader with two decades of experience in the region and outstanding credit skills,” John A. B. “Andy” Davies, Jr., the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said.
Richard F. Hall, III, chairman of the Board of Directors of Shore Bank, added, “In addition to being a very strong banking executive, Tom has deep roots in the region and understands the needs of families and businesses in our communities.”
Buddy Jenkins, chairman of the Board of Bayshore Development Corporation, added, “I have known Tom since he started his banking career and I consider him to be one of the most qualified young bankers in his field. I am confident that he will do a superb job in his new undertaking.”
Hospital Promotion
SALISBURY – Dr. Peggy Naleppa, President/CEO of Peninsula Regional Medical Center, has announced that Steve Leonard has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Operations Optimization and Innovation.
Administratively, Leonard will now oversee the Medical Center’s Pharmacy, Materials Management, Laboratory, Operational Performance Improvement and Information Systems departments. This division and Leonard’s advancement is a recognition of the demands of healthcare reform to work more efficiently and effectively with fewer resources to meet patient needs.
“We continue to make significant improvements in work flow processes to gain efficiencies in work flow design. By lowering the operating costs through the application of certain engineering and management techniques we can be successful in this fiscally constraining health care environment,” said Naleppa. “It will require innovative approaches and new models of care delivery and I am excited about our journey as a team-moving our performance from good to great. Steve is absolutely the right person for this new leadership role.”
Leonard, who most recently served as the executive director of Operational Performance Improvement, has been with the medical center since 2003.