Monday, October 07, 2013CANFIELD, Ohio -- The board of directors of Farmers National Banc Corp. has "relieved John S. Gulas of his duties as president and CEO of the company and of Farmers National Bank of Canfield, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the company."
The termination took place Sept. 30, according to the announcement, which was made following the close of trading Friday. No reason was given for the termination.
A spokeswoman for the bank, Amber Wallace, senior vice president of marketing, said the separation is unrelated to “the safety and soundness of the bank.” Gulas’ employment contract with Farmers prevented her from elaborating, she said.
Reached Saturday, Gulas iterated that his contract prohibits him from comment but said he would expand his response to the extent he could early this week.
Farmers said it provided Gulas "notice of termination of his employment effective Nov. 4, in accordance with the terms and conditions of his employment agreement dated Dec. 30."
The board also announced late Friday that Kevin J. Helmick has been appointed to serve as interim president and CEO of the company and the bank until a permanent successor to Gulas is named.
Helmick, 41, has served as the executive vice president and secretary of the company and executive vice president–retail and wealth management of the bank since January 2012. Prior to that, Helmick served as the bank’s vice president of wealth management and retail services since 2008.
Shares of Farmers National Banc Corp. closed Friday at $6.30, unchanged since Thursday’s close, on volume of 15,446. The volume Thursday was 82,968 shares.
"The holding company board of directors is confident the team has the knowledge and skill to continue leading our company to new levels of success, " the company said in its announcement.
Farmers Banc Corp. recently received "high praise from a nationally respected publication in the banking and financial services community," the announcement added. "Bank Director lists Farmers as one of the best banks in America in its 2013 Bank Performance Scorecard."
Farmers National Banc Corp. is a diversified financial services with more than $1 billion in Banking assets and $1 billion in trust assets. Its wholly-owned subsidiaries are comprised of The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, a full-service national bank engaged in commercial and retail banking with 17 retail offices in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Stark counties in Ohio; Farmers Trust Co., which operates two trust offices and offers services in the same geographic markets; and National Associates Inc. Farmers National Insurance LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The bank was founded in 1887.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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