20-year veteran to strengthen security and protection efforts for multiple stakeholders

MUNCIE, Ind. – First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ - FRME) announced Chad Kimball as its new senior vice president and chief risk officer. He will be responsible for the Bank’s enterprise risk management program that supports First Merchants’ strategies. 

Along with overseeing the company’s governance and strategy for risk management and compliance, including relationships with key regulators and supervisory institutions, he will work to ensure multiple stakeholders remain well informed of any risks.

“Chad comes to us with deep financial services and risk management experience,” said First Merchants CEO Mark Hardwick. “I believe in his proven ability to lead teams that uphold a risk aware culture while delivering responsible high-performance growth.”

With more than 20 years of risk management experience, Kimball most recently served as senior vice president of risk for Huntington Bank, where he led risk teams for key Basel-aligned functions including internal and external fraud, third-party risk, destruction of physical assets, business disruptions and system failures, employment practices and workplace safety.

“I am eager to join the First Merchants family as they continue to grow,” Kimball said. “I look forward to putting my knowledge to work to provide security and protection for all stakeholders – from employees to the communities we serve.”   

Kimball’s comprehensive knowledge of bank risk and best practices comes from his experience in the banking industry. Before Huntington, he worked at both EY and KPMG, where he successfully completed risk, audit, and consulting projects for organizations like U.S. Bank, First Financial Bancorp, Park National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Old National Bank, Republic Bancorp and Provident Bank. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting with a minor in computer science from the University of Rio Grande and is a certified Information System Auditor and Certified Internal Auditor. 

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About First Merchants Corporation
First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Ind. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank. The Bank also operates as First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (as a division of First Merchants Bank). First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s website (www.firstmerchants.com). FIRST MERCHANTS and the Shield Logo are federally registered trademarks of First Merchants Corporation.