Executive Team

Tim Amerson

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Amerson received a B.S. degree in business finance from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from Duke University. Prior to joining AgFirst in 1987, Mr. Amerson was employed by the National Bank of South Carolina. He serves on the AgFirst/FCBT Plan Sponsor Committee, AgFirst Plan Sponsor Committee, the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation Board of Directors (member of the Governance Committee) and the Farm Credit System Presidents Planning Committee (member of the Executive Council and Business Practices Committee). Mr. Amerson is a member of the AgFirst Executive Committee.

Will Brown

Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer

Mr. Brown received a B.A. in monetary economics and finance from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He joined AgFirst in 2017 and previously worked at First Citizens Bank of South Carolina, First Citizens Bank & Trust of North Carolina and Wachovia Bank. Mr. Brown currently is chairman of the Loan Committee, the Special Asset Management Committee, and co-chairman of the Data Governance Steering Committee. He also serves on the AgFirst Executive, Senior Management and Management Coordination committees, as well as the Asset/Liability Management and Disclosure committees. Mr. Brown is also a committee member on the Risk Work Group of the Farm Credit System.

Jamie Bumgarner

Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

Mr. Bumgarner joined AgFirst in 2004. He previously was employed by Safety-Kleen Inc. Mr. Bumgarner serves as an ex officio member of the Executive Committee and as a member of the AgFirst Senior Management and Management Coordination committees. Mr. Bumgarner serves as a member of the AgFirst Executive, Senior Management and Management Coordination committees. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance and business administration from the University of South Carolina.

Stephen “Steve” Ciambrone

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Stephen “Steve” Ciambrone joined AgFirst in June 2019 as vice president of application development before being named chief information officer later that year. He previously served as managing director of Citgroup’s Global Consumer Banking technology organization, where he oversaw software development services for the Bank’s worldwide fleet of 109,000 ATMs. In addition, Mr. Ciambrone led infrastructure development of Citi’s next-gen payment solutions, including digital wallet, global payment hub and Money² for Health, which was named the 2015 “Innovation of the Year” by American Banker. Prior to joining Citi, he served as the vice president of distribution solutions software at Nationwide. He also held leadership positions with Bank One/JPMorgan Chase, NationsBank/Bank of America and National Westminster Bank. Mr. Ciambrone serves on the AgFirst Executive and Senior Management committees. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and anthropology from Stony Brook University and an MBA from Dowling College.

Stephen Gilbert

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Gilbert received a B.S. in business administration with a major in accounting and a minor in economics from Syracuse University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of South Carolina and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). Prior to joining AgFirst in 2007, he was employed by Price Waterhouse LLP, Pirelli Cables and Systems North America, and Hanson Brick and Tile North America. Mr. Gilbert currently serves as chairman of the Disclosure Committee at AgFirst and co-chairman of the Data Governance Steering Committee. He is a member of the AgFirst Executive, Senior Management, Management Coordination and Asset/Liability Management committees, as well as the Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICFR) Steering Committee. Mr. Gilbert is also a member of the Farm Credit System Disclosure Committee.

Chad Toney

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer

Mr. Toney joined AgFirst in 2001 and previously served 10 years in the United States Air Force in telecommunications. He received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and an PMBA from the Darla Moore School of Business. Mr. Toney is chairman of the Information Security/Business Continuity Committee, vice chairman of the Fraud Risk Management Steering Committee, and co-chairman of the Project Execution and Advisory Committee. He also serves as a member of the following: Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICFR) Steering Committee, Project Prioritization and Governance Committee and Data Governance Steering Committee, as well as the AgFirst Executive, Senior Management and Management Coordination committees.

Frances Griggs

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Mrs. Griggs received a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Prior to joining AgFirst in 2013, she was the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Howden North America. She has previous experience as in-house counsel for insurance companies and as a litigator in private practice. Mrs. Griggs serves on the AgFirst Executive, Senior Management and Management Coordination committees. She also serves on the Asset/Liability Management, Disclosure and Executive Credit committees.

Juan Silvera

Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Mr. Silvera joined AgFirst in 2020 overseeing marketing, communications and product management. He previously worked as chief marketing officer at Rabobank N.A. and as managing director of digital marketing for MUFG Union Bank. He also served as senior vice president for eMerchandising and interactive design at Bank of America and Wachovia, respectively. Mr. Silvera serves as a member of the Executive, Senior Management and Executive Strategy committees. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from California State University, Los Angeles, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Dan LaFreniere

Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive

Mr. LaFreniere has a B.B.A. in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. Before joining AgFirst in 2013, he worked for SCANA Corp. in Columbia, S.C.; The Coleman Co. Inc. in Lake City, S.C.; Baxter Healthcare Corp. in Deerfield, Ill.; and Deloitte and Touche in Chicago. He has prior experience at the plant, division and corporate levels including audit, accounting and corporate planning positions. He is an ex-officio member of the Bank’s Executive and Senior Management committees.