Alton Lewis is retiring as president and CEO of First Guaranty Bank after 15 years as head of the Hammond-based bank.
Lewis will continue to serve as vice chairman of First Guaranty Bancshares Inc., the bank’s holding company, and he will be a member of the First Guaranty board of directors.
During Lewis’ tenure as CEO, First Guaranty grew from having 16 locations and $852 million in deposits in June 2009 to 35 branches with $2.77 billion in deposits, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The bank became publicly traded in 2015 and grew across Louisiana and into Texas, Kentucky and West Virginia through acquisitions and expansions.
In a statement, Marshall Reynolds, chairman of the board, said Lewis “has built something special here at First Guaranty.”
Michael Mineer has been named as the new president and CEO of First Guaranty. Mineer has been with the bank since 2022, serving as president of the Mideast market. He has more than 35 years of banking experience. He was president of West Virginia-based Citizens Deposit Bank and Trust before joining First Guaranty to oversee its branches in West Virginia and Kentucky.