First Carolina Financial Services Realigns Executive Leadership Roles to Support Retail Banking, Payments and Strategic Growth
First Carolina Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: FCBM), the holding company for First Carolina Bank, has announced a realignment of key executive responsibilities as the company continues to strengthen its retail banking, payments and strategic growth initiatives.
The company announced the appointment of Pat Pritchard to the newly created position of Chief Retail Banking and Chief Information Officer for First Carolina Bank. Andrew Mathieson has been appointed Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer for both First Carolina Financial Services and First Carolina Bank.
The leadership changes are designed to align the executives’ responsibilities more closely with the company’s future strategic priorities and the areas in which they are expected to drive growth.
Pritchard previously served as Chief Information Officer of the Bank, while Mathieson previously held the position of Chief Revenue Officer of the Bank.
The newly expanded roles reflect First Carolina’s continued evolution as it seeks to leverage its retail branch network, payments capabilities, technology platforms and strategic initiatives to generate additional revenue and strengthen its overall banking franchise.
Ron Day, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Carolina Financial Services and First Carolina Bank, said the appointments reflect a clearer alignment between the executives’ titles and their areas of focus going forward.
“I am pleased to announce the appointments of Pat and Andrew to these newly created leadership positions, which we believe better align their titles with their focus going forward,” Day said.
According to Day, the changes are intended to place greater emphasis on the company’s retail banking operations and payments businesses while strengthening strategic coordination across the organization.
Pritchard to Lead Retail Banking and Technology
Under his new role, Pritchard will continue serving as Chief Information Officer while taking on additional responsibility for retail banking.
His expanded responsibilities will place a greater focus on people, market and revenue development across First Carolina’s branch network.
The company described its branch network as one of the most visible and valuable components of its fixed asset base.
By adding retail banking leadership responsibilities to Pritchard’s existing technology role, First Carolina aims to combine operational knowledge with a stronger focus on customer relationships, branch performance and revenue generation.
Day said the new structure will place Pritchard among the bank’s key direct revenue-driving leaders.
He will join Doug Ford, Chief Banking Officer, and Gregg Ferrell, Head of Real Estate Banking, as one of three senior executives with a direct focus on revenue generation across important areas of the banking business.
The expanded role reflects the company’s intention to make its retail banking network a more active contributor to growth.
Retail banking continues to be an important component of the financial services industry, particularly as banks seek to balance digital transformation with the value of physical customer relationships.
Branch networks can provide opportunities to build relationships with consumers, small businesses and local communities.
They can also serve as important channels for deposits, lending, wealth management and other financial products.
By focusing on people, markets and revenue development, Pritchard will be expected to help maximize the potential of First Carolina’s retail banking platform.
Mathieson Expands Leadership Across Payments and Strategy
Mathieson’s new role as Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer will expand his responsibilities across the company and the bank.
In addition to continuing to lead corporate financial planning and analysis, Mathieson will assume leadership of the company’s payments business.
The payments business includes the BM Technologies and BankMobile platforms, which have become an important part of First Carolina’s broader financial services strategy.
The company expects Mathieson to focus on maximizing revenue opportunities across these platforms while supporting the development of new strategic initiatives.
Mathieson will also continue to oversee business intelligence activities and will add procurement responsibilities to his portfolio.
In addition, he will have overall responsibility for developing and guiding First Carolina’s corporate strategy.
His responsibilities will include further integrating BM Technologies into the Bank.
The expanded mandate reflects the importance of payments and digital financial services to First Carolina’s future growth.
Payments have become one of the most competitive and rapidly evolving areas of the financial services industry.
Banks and financial technology companies are increasingly developing digital payment platforms, embedded financial services and integrated banking solutions to serve consumers and businesses.
By placing payments, corporate strategy and revenue development under a single executive leadership role, First Carolina aims to create greater coordination across these strategic priorities.
Experience in Payments Supports Mathieson’s Expanded Role
Day highlighted Mathieson’s experience in the payments industry as a key reason for his expanded responsibilities.
“Andrew is an industry-recognized expert in the payments space, and he is well-suited to lead our go-forward strategic initiatives in this critical line of business for the Bank,” Day said.
Mathieson’s experience will be particularly relevant as First Carolina seeks to maximize opportunities within the BM Technologies and BankMobile platforms.
The company believes that the payments business can provide opportunities to develop new sources of revenue and deepen relationships with customers.
The addition of procurement responsibilities to Mathieson’s role will also provide him with broader oversight of corporate resources and spending.
Combined with responsibility for financial planning and analysis and business intelligence, the expanded role gives Mathieson a broad view of the company’s financial and operational performance.
This combination of responsibilities could support more integrated decision-making as First Carolina evaluates growth opportunities, investments and strategic initiatives.
Further Integration of BM Technologies and BankMobile
A central element of Mathieson’s expanded role will be the continued integration of BM Technologies into First Carolina Bank.
The company acquired BM Technologies in January 2025 following an earlier partnership relationship that began in December 2023.
The businesses associated with BM Technologies and BankMobile have become an important part of First Carolina’s broader platform.
The integration process provides opportunities to combine technology, payments capabilities and banking expertise.
The company is seeking to leverage these assets to create a more integrated financial services platform.
Day noted that Mathieson will be responsible for further integrating BM Technologies into the Bank while continuing to lead the company’s broader corporate strategy.
The integration of technology-driven financial services businesses into traditional banking organizations can create opportunities for increased efficiency, expanded customer reach and new product development.
However, it also requires careful coordination across technology, operations, compliance, customer service and financial management.
The expanded leadership role is intended to support that process.
Pritchard Brings Experience Across Retail Banking and Technology
Day also emphasized Pritchard’s extensive experience in retail banking.
“Pat is one of the most experienced retail banking experts in the business,” Day said.
The company believes his background will support the bank’s efforts to strengthen its branch network and focus more closely on retail banking revenue opportunities.
Pritchard’s previous role as Chief Information Officer also gives him significant knowledge of the bank’s technology infrastructure.
The combination of technology expertise and retail banking experience may allow him to identify opportunities to improve customer experiences, streamline operations and support branch performance.
As customers increasingly use digital banking services, banks continue to evaluate the role of branches within their overall distribution strategies.
Branches remain important for relationship-building and complex financial services, while digital platforms provide convenience and scalability.
The integration of these channels is becoming increasingly important to banking institutions.
Pritchard’s expanded responsibilities could position him to help First Carolina connect technology capabilities with the bank’s physical retail network.
Leadership Changes Reflect Broader Strategic Priorities
The executive realignment comes as First Carolina continues to evolve its business model.
The company is seeking to develop multiple sources of revenue across traditional banking, payments, technology and other financial services.
The appointment of dedicated senior leaders for retail banking and payments reflects the strategic importance of these businesses.
For retail banking, the focus will be on improving the performance and growth potential of the branch network.
For payments, the objective will be to maximize opportunities through the BM Technologies and BankMobile platforms.
At the corporate level, the company will continue to focus on financial planning, business intelligence, procurement and strategic development.
The new leadership structure is designed to provide greater clarity regarding executive accountability.
By aligning executive responsibilities with specific growth priorities, First Carolina expects to strengthen its ability to execute its long-term strategy.
Experience With BM Technologies Provides Foundation for New Responsibilities
Day also praised Pritchard for his work in helping manage the company’s relationship with BM Technologies and BankMobile.
According to Day, Pritchard played an important role in onboarding and curating the businesses beginning with the original partnership relationship in December 2023 and continuing through First Carolina’s acquisition of the company in January 2025.
That experience gave Pritchard insight into the technology-driven businesses and their relationship with the traditional bank.
Day said Pritchard’s work in that area demonstrated his ability to manage complex strategic initiatives and integrate different business models.
The company now expects him to bring the same creativity and energy to a renewed focus on retail branch assets.
“Pat did an amazing job onboarding and curating the BM Technologies and BankMobile businesses starting with the original partnership relationship in December 2023 and following our acquisition of the company in January 2025,” Day said.
“Building on those successes, it will be exciting to watch him bring that same zeal and creativity to a renewed focus on our retail branch assets,” he added.
The new executive appointments highlight First Carolina Financial Services’ focus on growth, integration and revenue diversification.
Pritchard’s appointment combines responsibility for retail banking and information technology, while Mathieson’s expanded role brings together payments, corporate strategy, financial planning, business intelligence and procurement.
The structure reflects the company’s view that technology and traditional banking must increasingly operate together.
Retail banking remains an important part of the customer relationship, while payments and digital platforms provide opportunities to reach customers through new channels.
First Carolina’s ability to integrate these areas could be an important factor in its future development.
As the company continues to integrate BM Technologies into First Carolina Bank, leadership coordination will remain important.
The new executive roles are intended to support that integration while providing focused leadership for the company’s key growth businesses.
The appointments also demonstrate First Carolina’s continued emphasis on developing internal leadership capabilities and aligning executives with the areas of greatest strategic importance.
With Pritchard focusing on retail banking and technology and Mathieson leading revenue, payments and corporate strategy, the company has created a leadership structure designed to support its next phase of growth.
The realignment represents another step in First Carolina’s broader transformation as it seeks to build a more diversified financial services organization combining banking, payments, technology and strategic financial capabilities.
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