Dive Brief:

• Dennis Shaffer, the president and CEO of Sandusky, Ohio-based Civista Bancshares and CEO of Civista Bank, will retire Aug. 28, the company said Monday.
• Chuck Parcher, the bank’s president, will take on those roles at that time. Shaffer, 63, will continue to serve on the board as chairman, the company said. 
• The bank’s board launched a succession planning process when Parcher was named bank president in January 2025. Parcher, who’s been at Civista for a decade, has worked alongside Shaffer for several years and has “already assumed significant responsibilities,” the company said in the release.

Dive Insight:

Last July, $4.3 billion-asset Civista said it would acquire in-state peer The Farmers Savings Bank – based in Spencer, Ohio – in a deal valued at $70.4 million. The purchase received regulatory approvals in October and closed in November. 

Prior to that, Civista bought Communibanc Corp. and its subsidiary, The Henry County Bank, in 2022, growing its footprint in northwestern Ohio. 

During Shaffer’s tenure, Civista bolstered its financial performance and capital position, “and continued to grow while maintaining its independence,” the bank said in the release. 

Shaffer has been CEO of the bank since 2017. Prior to that, he served as chief lending officer and a commercial lending executive at Civista, having joined the company in 2009, according to his LinkedIn profile. His four decades in banking also includes time at larger lender Huntington, as well as at Sky Bank (acquired by Huntington in 2007) and The Ohio Bank.  

“I believe Civista is in a very strong position,” Shaffer said in the release. “We have a talented leadership team, a more than capable successor in Chuck, and employees across the organization who care deeply about our customers and our communities. That gives me great confidence in the future.”

Prior to joining Civista, Parcher also spent time at various Ohio lenders, including FirstMerit Bank, Huntington and Sky Bank. 

Shaffer “has been both a colleague and a mentor, and his steady leadership has positioned the bank for continued success,” Parcher said in the release. “I am grateful for the foundation he has built and that he will remain as Chairman of the Board to help guide this next chapter. I look forward to leading our continued growth and service to our customers, employees, shareholders, and communities.”

Civista’s board and executive leadership team “remain focused on remaining independent,” the release said. When the bank said it would buy Farmers, Civista also announced the launch of a public offering of common stock that raised about $80.5 million. 

Civista, founded in 1884, has 44 locations across Ohio, southeastern Indiana and northern Kentucky.