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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Jan. 4, 2023) – Encore Bancshares, Inc. and its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Encore Bank, are pleased to announce the appointment of four new board members. Mark Richardson has been appointed to the Encore Bancshares, Inc. Board of Directors and Rita Lowman, Chad McNair and Garrett Frost have been appointed to Encore Bank’s Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome these four new directors,” said Chris Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Encore. “Their unique experiences and backgrounds will be instrumental to us as we continue to grow and build a different kind of bank for our clients, partners and employees. We are fortunate to have these strong leaders join our team.”

Mark Richardson

Richardson is the CEO and president of his family-owned RAM Investments, LLC and MAR Real Estate, LLC, both of which invest, finance, source and syndicate capital into a variety of real estate developments and investments across the country. He is active in industrial, retail, office, hospitality and residential developments.

Richardson has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Clemson University, where he was a three-year varsity letterman in football and a member of the 1981 National Championship team. He also earned an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He is a member of the Clemson University Board of Trustees and Teach for America South Carolina Advisory Board.

Richardson and his family founded and owned the Carolina Panthers and Bank of America Stadium from their inception in 1993 until 2018. Richardson served as president of the Carolina Panthers until 2009 and was a member of the NFL Competition and NFL Broadcast Committees.

Rita Lowman

Lowman, former president of Pilot Bank, is a 45-year banking veteran who has blazed trails for the industry throughout her career. Her career highlights include managing 23 acquisitions, including the NationsBank-Barnett merger in 1997.

Elected chair of the Florida Bankers Association in 2017, Lowman was the third woman to serve in this capacity in its 130-year history. She also served on the American Bankers Board of Directors and Vice Chair of its Government Relations Council and Community Council Board. Lowman served as the Chair of the 2020-2022 ReliaQuest Bowl and serves or has served on a number of other boards.

She is the author of several published banking articles and the recipient of numerous distinguished awards. Most recently, Lowman was named the Tampa Chamber of Commerce 2019 Outstanding Leader and received the Working Women of Tampa Leadership Award. In 2021, she was recognized as Tampa Bay’s Woman of Influence, and in 2022, she was honored as Gracepoint’s Guy King Mental Health Champion. Lowman’s book, “From the Farm to the Boardroom: Leadership Lessons,” has received excellent reviews since its December 2016 release and was named the #1 Business Book of 2017 by Richter Publishing.

Chad McNair

McNair is CEO of McNair Java Partners, a San Antonio-based firm that invests in and provides management expertise to various startup ventures in aerospace, coffee, real estate and other industries.

McNair began his career as part of a large consulting engineering group after earning a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA in finance from the University of Houston. In 1988, he made a significant career change and founded Aspen Beverage Group, a cold brew coffee extract business. After relocating the Aspen Beverage Group from Houston to San Antonio in 1993, McNair’s coffee business grew to become the largest Cold Brew Coffee manufacturer globally, serving major quick serve restaurants, retailers, bottlers, roasters and distributors. McNair sold the company in 2017 to form his family office, McNair Java Partners.

Garrett Frost

Frost is the president and CEO of Frost Flying, Inc., an Air Tractor dealer primarily focusing on the sale of new and used aircraft, parts and aircraft maintenance. His business has operations in the U.S., Central America and South America.

Frost brings experience in both aviation and agriculture. He grew up working at his family's flying service in Marianna, Arkansas where he fell in love with flying and honed his leadership abilities. As a young boy, Frost had a keen interest in entrepreneurship. Frost founded Unlimited Aviation Insurance in 2012 while he was still a student at the University of Arkansas, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance. Additionally, Frost is an active real estate investor, specializing in farmland and commercial properties.