Directors and Management
Eric H. Brunngraber has been a director since 2003. Mr. Brunngraber currently serves as Chairman of the Company, a position he has held since his retirement as CEO effective April 18, 2023 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors, a position he has held since 2015. Mr. Brunngraber has served in several executive and numerous other positions with the Company since his employment with Cass began in 1979, including as CEO from 2008 until April 2023, President from 2006 to 2022, Chief Operating Officer (COO) from 2006 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from 1997 to 2006, and Executive Vice President of Cass Commercial Bank, the Company’s bank subsidiary. Mr. Brunngraber is and has been active in numerous civic, charitable, and professional organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area, including the Regional Business Council, CEOs Against Cancer, and Concordance, a St. Louis based nonprofit established to reduce reincarceration rates. The Board selected Mr. Brunngraber to serve as a director because of his long tenure with the Company that has provided him with a deep understanding of its strategy, business lines, operations, finance, regulatory environment, and culture.
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 of National Bank Holdings Corporation, a publicly traded bank holding company, where he is also 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. Mr. Ebel began his tenure with Universal Printing Company as CFO and Board member in 1986. In 1996, he was appointed to the position of CEO. Mr. Ebel 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 duties as CEO of a privately-held business based in St. Louis provided 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 of his management expertise in investment banking, including experience with capital markets transactions and investments in both public and private companies.
Wendy J. Henry has been a director since 2022. Ms. Henry served as Managing Partner of the BKD, LLP (BKD), now Forvis Mazars, LLP, St. Louis office until her retirement in 2021. Prior to becoming Managing Partner, Ms. Henry served as an Audit Partner in BKD’s Colorado office, where she held various positions and managed the audits of numerous organizations. Her career at BKD began in 1993 when her prior firm merged into BKD. 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 business with a concentration in accounting from Illinois College. The Board selected Ms. Henry for her financial and risk management expertise, including understanding the complex risk management, 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 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. 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 publicly traded manufacturing company, obtained international expertise and worked successfully with large corporate enterprises.
Ann W. Marr has been a director since August 2022. She joined World Wide Technology, Inc. (WWT), a St. Louis based systems integrations, value added reseller and software development company, in 1997 as Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources, a position she served in until her retirement in January 2024. Ms. Marr has over 30 years of experience in human resources and has previously held positions with Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Anheuser Busch Companies. Ms. Marr also managed WWT’s Corporate Development Program, which includes diversity and inclusion, supplier diversity and small business enterprise and was President of the WWT Charitable Foundation. She is very active in the St. Louis community, having 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. Ms. Marr also is on the Advisory Board of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. The Board selected Ms. Marr to serve as a director because of her extensive background in human capital management, bringing perspective to the dramatic changes in the work environment and her leadership and oversight experience with respect human resources and other executive compensation related matters.
Martin H. Resch was elected to serve as a director on the Board in 2023. Mr. Resch is President and CEO of the Company, positions he has held since 2022 and April 2023, respectively. Prior to joining the Company in November 2020, Resch was senior executive at Bank of the West in San Francisco, California. As executive vice president, Resch functioned as the commercial banking group’s chief administrative officer/chief operating officer with responsibility for strategy, operations, finance, technology and human resources, as well as collaborating with a B2B FinTech incubator. His other roles at Bank of the West included serving as corporate treasurer and leading the regulatory response to the Dodd-Frank and Volcker legislation. Resch earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Oregon State University and master’s degree in business administration from Cornell University. The Board selected Mr. Resch to serve as a director because of his role as the Company’s CEO in which he is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day leadership of the Company. Furthermore, Mr. Resch has highly relevant technology experience and valuable insights running banks.
Sally H. Roth has been a director since 2019. Ms. Roth served as Area President-Upper Midwest for Regions Bank from 2007 until her retirement in 2014. Prior to her appointment as Area President, Ms. Roth 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. He currently serves as Lead Director of the Board, a position he has held since 2019. He retired from a 45-year tenure with 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 time at Olin, Mr. Rupp served as Chairman of the Board from 2016 until his retirement in 2017, as Chairman and CEO from 2015 to 2016, as Chairman, President and CEO from 2005 to 2014, and as President and CEO from 2002 to 2005. Mr. Rupp previously served on the board of directors of Nucor Corporation, a publicly traded producer of steel and related products, Dot Foods, Inc., a privately held foodservice redistribution company, and O-I Glass, Inc., a publicly traded glass bottle manufacturer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Board selected Mr. Rupp to serve as Lead Director because it believes he has valuable experience understanding the day-to-day and more complex issues that face multi-faceted, publicly traded organizations.
Randall L. Schilling has been a director since 2009. He is 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. He was the President and CEO of BoardPaq LLC, a privately-held software company based in St. Charles, Missouri, from 2010 until the sale of the company in 2019. 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 the President & CEO of Munibit, a privately held software company based in St. Charles, Missouri. 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), which was 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 for 33 years, 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 currently serves on the advisory Board 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.