Arvest Bank promotes Craig Shy to market president in Fayetteville

Craig Shy, who has worked for Arvest Bank since September 2004, will take over Nov. 1 as the president and CEO of the company’s Fayetteville market. He is succeeding Donny Story, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Shy has 33 years of banking experience. He has worked in various lending and management roles and has been executive vice president and loan manager for Arvest in Fayetteville since 2013.

“Craig has been an instrumental part of our success in Fayetteville, and we are excited for him to step into this new role,” Arvest regional executive Craig Rivaldo said in a news release. “His experience working alongside Donny will no doubt serve him well, as will his leadership skills and deep knowledge of Fayetteville and all of Northwest Arkansas.

“Craig’s promotion provides continuity, but it’s also exciting to know he will lend his own unique perspective as we continue to transform to meet the changing needs and expectations of our customers, communities and associates.”

Shy earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas, majoring in finance and banking. He graduated with honors and distinction for leadership from the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

Shy is the current chairman of the board for Fayetteville nonprofit Life Styles Inc., a past chairman of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce board and past president of the Northside Fayetteville Rotary Club board. He remains active with both organizations and volunteers for Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas and the National Down Syndrome Congress.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to continue to work with my teammates in our Fayetteville region, including Elkins and the communities of west Washington County,” Shy said. “We will continue to work to meet the financial needs of our customers in the communities we serve. Donny Story has done an outstanding job of leading our region for the past 18 years. I have been fortunate to be part of this team, and I look forward to building on the great culture that we have created here.”

You can read more about Shy in this Northwest Arkansas Business Journal profile in September 2021.

Arvest maintains its charter in Fayetteville but operates over 200 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 14 locally managed banks, each with an independent board and management team.

According to the FDIC, Arvest had $26.59 billion in assets as of June 30.