McFatridge changes roles at OakStar; new president on board

Mark McFatridge is no longer president and chief operating officer at OakStar Bank and now is serving as senior consultant to the CEO for an "interim period," according to CEO Jim Bracht.

Bracht would not comment on whether McFatridge was forced to take the new position or resigned, calling it a "collaborative decision." McFatridge, who joined OakStar in summer 2008 after two years as the local executive for Regions Bank's Central/Southern Missouri Group, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The change came about as OakStar is bringing on a group of local investors to increase the bank's capital, Bracht said.

Randy Johnson - previously regional loan administrator at BancorpSouth - started last week as McFatridge's replacement.

"Mark is still a part of OakStar. He is still an officer in this interim period," Bracht said this morning. "As we go into this process of bringing in additional capital and increasing the size of the bank ... it's a matter of Mark looking at it and saying, 'Well, I think I'm going to do something else. If I'm bringing Randy in as a senior officer, we can't have two presidents.'"

Bracht said McFatridge is no longer working regular hours at OakStar but continues to stop in occasionally. His responsibility as senior consultant to the CEO is to do "whatever he and I need him to do for the good of OakStar Bank," Bracht said.

"Mark is an excellent bank manager and has a tremendous résumé, and I think the world of him as an officer and employee of OakStar Bank," Bracht said. "This is just a simple business situation."

OakStar officials aren't ready to provide more information on the investor group that's boosting the bank's capital, Bracht said, but new President and COO Johnson called it an exciting opportunity.

"We're looking forward to the direction that OakStar Bank is going and enjoying the strong background that's already in place," Johnson said. "In a time when other banks are struggling and worrying about capital, we're enjoying one of the strongest capital-asset ratios of any local institution in Springfield. We're in the process of doubling that."[[In-content Ad]]