Forty Under 40: Matt Hicks

Matt Hicks began his career in banking by accident.

After graduating with a sports management degree from Arkansas State University in 2004, he needed a job but wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Liberty Bank in Jonesboro hired him as a teller. He found he enjoyed the work and began to rise in his career.

He worked his way up to vice president of lending, then to market president after Centennial Bank bought Liberty. In 2014, he moved to Northwest Arkansas to become market manager for Great Southern Bank, then worked for First National Bank of NWA as vice president of lending.

In December, Chambers Bank hired Hicks as the company’s chief credit officer. He is responsible for measuring and managing the risk in the bank’s loan portfolio.

Chambers Bank announced the acquisition of Rivertown Bank in April, which will push the company to just under $1 billion in assets. “The goal is to continue to grow well past that,” Hicks said.

Originally from Lawrence, Kan., Hicks completed his MBA from Harding University in 2011. Watching the people who work for him do well in their own careers and achieve their goals gives him satisfaction.

“I know how much people did for me, and I wouldn’t be sitting where I am today outside of that,” he said. “It’s always important for me to try to do some of that for others.”

Extremely competitive, Hicks pushes himself to be a continuous learner, get better and “be as good as I possibly can at whatever my job is at the time.”

In his spare time, Hicks enjoys spending time outside playing golf, hiking, biking and being on the trails or at the beach.