The board of directors of First Financial Bank, subsidiary of First Financial Bankshares, made multiple promotions as part of its ongoing management succession, which management and the board have been working on for several years.
James Alexander has been promoted to executive vice president, head of commercial banking for the bank, a position most recently held by David Bailey, president of the company and the bank.
Chris Evatt has been promoted to the position of senior banking executive, where he will provide executive leadership for the bank’s Southern regions.
Rick Vaughan was promoted to chairman and CEO of the West Texas region of the bank, a position previously held by Chris Evatt.
Luke Uherik was promoted to market president of San Angelo and senior relationship manager for the West Texas region of the bank.
“These recent promotions reflect our commitment to strong leadership for the future and demonstrate the depth of talent within our organization,” David Bailey, president of First Financial, said. “Each of these advanced roles align with the management changes we have been implementing over the past few years, ensuring that our organization remains agile and well-positioned for growth. We are confident that each teammate stepping into a new role is prepared to lead with confidence and uphold our tradition of excellence.”
James Alexander
James Alexander began his career with First Financial in 2018, upon the bank’s acquisition of Commercial State Bank in Kingwood, where he was then serving as president of the bank. James has over 20 years of experience in commercial banking, having begun his career in commercial lending with Compass Bank. He has served in multiple roles since then as market president of Sterling Bank, president of Commercial State Bank, and senior lender of the Kingwood region of the bank. In his most recent role of president of the Greater Houston region of the bank, Alexander was responsible for overseeing regional operations, driving strategic growth initiatives and managing commercial lending activities.
He holds a bachelor of business administration in finance from Texas A&M University and a master of business administration in finance from the University of Houston. He is also a graduate of the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at SMU and FFIN University.
Chris Evatt
Chris Evatt began his career at First Financial in 2001 as a credit analyst. Like many other regional presidents and CEOs of the bank, Evatt worked his way up the ladder, having served as commercial relationship manager in Stephenville, senior vice president – commercial relationship manager in Abilene, and most recently as CEO of the West Texas region of the bank. In this most recent role, he has overseen the growth and expansion of the West Texas footprint of the bank. Having spent his entire banking career with First Financial, Evatt has a unique understanding of the bank’s culture and values that will benefit him greatly in this new role.
Evatt holds both a bachelor of accounting and master of business administration from Tarleton State University. Evatt is also a graduate of the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at SMU and FFIN University.
Rick Vaughan
Rick Vaughan joined First Financial Trust & Asset Management, a subsidiary of the company and affiliate of the bank, in 2024, most recently serving as senior vice president, relationship manager and San Angelo market supervisor. Vaughan brings over 30 years of banking and wealth management experience, having served as regional banking president for Wells Fargo, where he oversaw over 40 branches across multiple states. Immediately prior to joining the company, Vaughan served as the private banking manager for a community bank in Santa Fe, NM. In his new role for the company, Vaughan will continue to play an active role in the leadership of the San Angelo Market of First Financial Trust & Asset Management in addition to leading the growth efforts of the entire West Texas Region of the bank.
Vaughan is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a bachelor of business administration. He is also a graduate of the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at SMU.
Luke Uherik
Luke Uherik has been with First Financial for over 17 years, having joined the bank as a junior commercial relationship manager and working his way up to his most recent role of executive vice president, commercial relationship manager. Prior to joining the bank, Uherik served as a banking officer with Plains Capital Bank.
Uherik is a graduate of Texas Tech University, where he earned a bachelor of science in agricultural and applied economics and a bachelor of business administration. He also completed the Texas Tech University School of Banking program and is a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU. Additionally, Uherik holds his Credit Risk Certification from the Risk Management Association.
