Tom Panther named new CFO of EVO

Dive Brief:

EVO Payments, a payment technology integrations and acquiring solutions provider, announced on Tuesday Tom Panther will step in as executive vice president and CFO on Monday.
Panther joins EVO after 15 years at SunTrust Banks, Inc. over which time he served as chief accounting officer, corporate controller, director of corporate finance, and head of capital planning and analysis, EVO said in a release.
Panther is leaving SunTrust ahead of its billion-dollar merger with BB&T Bank, a business move that has shuffled up the c-suites at both companies, Banking Dive reported.

Dive Insight:

Panther’s primary experience is in executing M&A integration, business process offshoring, organizational redesign, and large-scale system implementations, the release said.

He began his career at accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where he delivered accounting and advisory services to financial institutions for just under a decade. Panther, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond is a certified public accountant, a common professional title among CFOs.

Per Panther’s LinkedIn page, since 2017, he has served as SunTrust’s head of total rewards, a role in which he leveraged his previous experiences as director of corporate finance, controller, and chief accounting officer to “analyze complex business issues and grow shareholder value,” he wrote.

“Tom’s financial expertise and large public company experience in the financial services industry will further allow us to deliver market leading financial performance,” EVO CEO James G. Kelly said in a statement. “I’m excited to welcome Tom to EVO’s executive management team.”

Panther replaces Kevin Hodges, who has been CFO of EVO for seven years.

According to the release, Hodges will transition to a separate “operational leadership role,” in which he will direct “strategic integration projects” and continue reporting to Kelly.

“I have been fortunate to work with Kevin over the past seven years as he built EVO’s finance organization. Kevin was integral to the company’s IPO and international expansion, and I look forward to his continued contributions in his new role,” Kelly is quoted as saying.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Kevin Hodges had only been CFO of EVO since January. Hodges has been in the role for seven years.