Directors and Management

Eric H. Brunngraber has been a director since 2003. Mr. Brunngraber is the Executive Chairman of the Company. He has held positions of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as well as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) since 2006, and has also served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company from 1997 to 2006. He has held numerous positions with the Company since his employment began in 1979, including Executive Vice President of Cass Commercial Bank, the Company’s bank subsidiary. Mr. Brunngraber is active in various civic, charitable, and professional organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area, including the Regional Business Council and the American Diabetes Association – Community Leadership Board. The Board selected Mr. Brunngraber to serve as a director because he is the Company’s President and CEO and is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day leadership of the Company.

Ralph W. Clermont has been a director since 2015. Mr. Clermont enjoyed a 39-year career with KPMG LLP, retiring in 2008 as managing partner of its St. Louis office where he led the firm’s Midwest financial services practice and managed the audits of numerous banking organizations. He currently serves as Lead Director for National Bank Holdings Corporation, a publically-traded bank holding company, where he is Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee as well as a member of its Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Clermont is a certified public accountant and member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Saint Louis University. The Board selected Mr. Clermont for his clear understanding of the complex financial and accounting issues that face multi-faceted organizations such as Cass.

Robert A. Ebel has been a director since 2006. He was CEO of Universal Printing Company, a privately-held printing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri until the sale of the company in 2017. He began his tenure with Universal Printing Company as CFO and Board member in 1986. In 1996, he was appointed to the position of CEO. He currently serves on the Board of the St. Louis Graphic Arts Joint Health and Welfare Fund and is active in various civic and charitable organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The Board selected Mr. Ebel to serve as a director because it believes he brings valuable business management and finance expertise to the Board. His current duties as CEO of a privately-held business based in St. Louis provide him with a strong knowledge of the local commercial marketplace served by the Company’s subsidiary bank.

Benjamin F. Edwards, IV has been a director since 2005. He is Chairman, CEO and President of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, a St. Louis-based investment firm. Previously, Mr. Edwards was branch manager of the Town & Country, Missouri office of A.G. Edwards/Wachovia Securities LLC, a national investment firm. Mr. Edwards’ career with A.G. Edwards began in 1977, where he held numerous positions including Employment Manager, Financial Advisor, Associate Branch Manager, Regional Officer, Director of Sales and Marketing and President, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of A.G. Edwards from 1994 to 2007. He currently is a member of the Board of The Bogey Club in St. Louis and a member of the CEO Forum. The Board selected Mr. Edwards to serve as a director because it believes he possesses management expertise in investment banking, including experience with capital markets transactions and investments in both public and private companies.

Wendy J. Henry was appointed as a director in January 2022. Ms. Henry served as Managing Partner of BKD, LLP’s St. Louis office until her retirement in 2021. Prior to becoming Managing Partner, Ms. Henry served as an Audit Partner in BKD, LLP’s Colorado office. Her career at BKD began in 1993 when her prior firm merged into BKD, LLP where she held various positions and managed the audits of numerous organizations. Ms. Henry is a retired certified public accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has previously served on the board of directors at United Way of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis Zoo, Mercy Health East Communities, and Regional Business Council. She earned her bachelor’s degree in in business with a concentration in accounting from Illinois College. The Board selected Ms. Henry for her financial expertise and understanding of the complex financial and accounting issues that face multi-faceted organizations such as Cass.

James J. Lindemann has been a director since 2007. Until his retirement in 2018, he was Executive Vice President of Emerson Electric Co. (Emerson), a publicly-traded manufacturing company based in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Lindemann joined Emerson in 1977, where he has held a number of increasingly responsible engineering and marketing positions with its Specialty Motor business unit. In 1992, he was named President of Commercial Cam, and in 1995, he was named President of the Emerson Appliance Motor business unit. In 1996, Mr. Lindemann was promoted to Chairman and CEO of the Emerson Motor Co. He was named Senior Vice President of Emerson in 1999 and Executive Vice President in 2000. Mr. Lindemann served on the Emerson Advisory Board from 2000 to 2016 and has been a Board member of the CEO Forum since 2003. The Board selected Mr. Lindemann to serve as a director based on his experiences with Emerson, where he has served as a senior manager of a public manufacturing company, obtained international expertise and worked successfully with large corporate enterprises.

Ann W. Marr was appointed as a director in August 2022. Ms. Marr currently serves as Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources at World Wide Technology (WWT) and is also a member of the executive team and board of directors. In addition, Ms. Marr manages WWT’s Corporate Development Program, which includes diversity and inclusion, supplier diversity, and small business enterprise. Prior to WWT, Ms. Marr has held various human resource positions at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Anheuser-Busch Companies.

Ms. Marr is President of the WWT Charitable Foundation and has served on the Board of Trustees for Maryville University, the St. Louis Regional Chamber Association, the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Charmaine Chapman Society, the St. Louis Police Foundation, and the Gateway Arch Park Foundation. She is on the Advisory Board (and founding member of the St. Louis Chapter) of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. She earned her bacholor’s degree in business & human resources management from Webster University. The Board selected Ms. Marr for her extensive background in human resources and her perspective for the dramatic changes in today’s work environment.

Sally H. Roth has been a director since 2019. She served as Area President-Upper Midwest for Regions Bank from 2007 until her retirement in 2014. Prior to her appointment as Area President, she served as Regions Bank’s Commercial Banking Executive for the Saint Louis metropolitan market. Her banking career began at Mercantile Bank (now U.S. Bank) in 1985 where she held various positions including Group Manager - Large Corporate Banking and Community Bank President until 1997. Ms. Roth served in various roles at Bank of America from 1997 to 2002. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University in Saint Louis. The Board selected Ms. Roth to serve as a director because of her extensive commercial banking experience and expertise and her unique knowledge of the banking markets in which the Company does business.

Joseph D. Rupp has been a director since 2016. From 1972 until his retirement in 2016, Mr. Rupp was employed by Olin Corporation (Olin), a publicly-traded global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition located in Clayton, Missouri. During his tenure there, Mr. Rupp held positions of increasing responsibility, serving as President of Olin Brass, Corporate Vice President and Executive Vice President-Operations before being named President and CEO in 2002, a position he held until his retirement in 2016. Mr. Rupp continues as Chairman of Olin’s Board of Directors. Additionally, Mr. Rupp serves as a director of Quanex Building Products Corporation, a publicly-traded manufacturer of components sold in the building products industry, and Dot Foods, Inc., as well as a trustee of Missouri University of Science and Technology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Board selected Mr. Rupp to serve as a director because it believes he has valuable experience understanding the day-to-day and more complex issues that face multi-faceted, publicly-traded organizations. He has been a welcome addition to the Board.

Randall L. Schilling has been a director since 2009. He is President and CEO of BoardPaq LLC, a privately-held software company based in St. Charles, Missouri. From 1992 to 2010, he was the CEO of Quilogy, Inc., a nationally recognized, privately-held information technology professional services company. Mr. Schilling is currently an Advisory Council member of Arch Grants, a St. Louis based non-profit organization that provides equity-free grants and support services to entrepreneurs. He is also the founder and owner of OPO Startups, a co-working center for digital startups providing space and access to mentors, investors, programming, educational resources, and a community of local entrepreneurs. Additionally, Mr. Schilling has been active in various other civic and charitable organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area, including Partners for Progress – Education Chairman. The Board selected Mr. Schilling to serve as a director because he possesses information technology expertise to help address the challenges the Company faces in the rapidly changing information technology arena.

Franklin D. Wicks, Jr. has been a director since 2006. He was Executive Vice President and President of Applied Markets of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (Sigma-Aldrich), a publicly-traded life science and high technology company located in St. Louis, Missouri, until his retirement in 2015. Dr. Wicks worked for Sigma-Aldrich since 1982, beginning as a research chemist and subsequently working in marketing, then as President of Sigma Chemical and Vice President of Worldwide Operations, Sigma-Aldrich. He served as President, Scientific Research Division, Sigma-Aldrich from 1999 to 2002 and was responsible for operations in 34 countries. Prior to his appointment as Executive Vice President and President of Applied Markets of Sigma-Aldrich, Dr. Wicks served as President-SAFC. After receiving his Ph. D., Dr. Wicks served for four years on the staff of the Navigators at the Air Force Academy and at the University of Colorado at Boulder before joining Sigma-Aldrich. He is currently a member of the CEO Forum and serves as a trustee of Covenant Theological Seminary. The Board selected Dr. Wicks to serve as a director because of his public company senior management experience, familiarity with corporate governance, and knowledge of local and global marketplace issues.

Board Diversity Matrix

Directors and Management

Directors and Management

Investor Relations

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