Then & Now: Longtime banking leader versatile in his experience

Editor’s Note: The following story appeared in the Feb. 12 issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Then & Now” is a profile of a past member of the Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class.

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Loren Shackelford has more than 32 years of banking experience, all of it in Northwest Arkansas. The Fayetteville native began his banking career in college, working part-time for the Bank of Fayetteville.

Since then, he has worked in senior leadership positions for multiple Northwest Arkansas banks, including a startup. The sense of accomplishment and the opportunity to help people reach their goals and make a positive difference in the community have kept him in the industry for the past three decades.

“I like the challenge,” Shackelford said. “It’s a different thing every day.” He might be working with someone in automotive sales one day. On other days, he might collaborate with people in commercial real estate, agriculture or industrial sectors.

“It suits me well because there’s such a diversity of what you got to…know enough about to be intelligent and have that conversation with those customers,” he added. “It’s also very fulfilling that you’re helping those folks meet their goals.”

In 2005, Shackelford left Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank to help start Signature Bank of Arkansas in Fayetteville as the bank’s president just a couple of months before the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal named him to the Forty Under 40 class. Signature Bank of Arkansas was founded in 2005.

Working for a startup bank, he earned a variety of experience and engaged in multiple aspects of the business, including budgeting, product development, marketing, policy writing, human resources and hiring.

“There were a lot of firsts for me in that role because being in a leadership position of a startup, you have so much new ground that you’ve got to cover,” he said.

He served as president through the Great Recession, and in 2012, he left to work for Searcy-based First Security Bank. He spent almost two years there before he was named chief lending officer of the northern division for Danville-based Chambers Bank.

“Chambers was a great opportunity,” he said. “We always try to figure out a way to say, ‘Yes,’ and not say, ‘No,’ so I like the creativity of this organization and the opportunity we have to grow.

“The bank’s doubled in size since I joined the company 10 years ago. We opened a new location in Rogers, are remodeling our Fayetteville location, and are getting ready to announce a new building in Elkins. It was an opportunity to join a group committed to growth in the region and to lead that growth.”

Construction on the full-service branch in Elkins is expected to start this year. The branch will replace two existing locations in Elkins.

In 2018, Shackelford was promoted to market president in Northwest Arkansas and is responsible for leading the bank and its regional growth. In the news release announcing the promotion, President Mike Donnell said the bank’s assets increased more than 20% during Shackelford’s tenure as chief lending officer. “Loren played a key role in that growth,” Donnell said. As of Sept. 30, Chambers Bank had more than $1.28 billion in total assets, according to the FDIC.

Shackelford, 53, remains chief lending officer as the market president and has helped to guide the bank through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Fed’s more than 5 percentage point increase in the federal funds rate.

He said banking, like other industries, has become more dependent on technology and online communication over the years. Face-to-face communication is less prevalent than it was in the past. People are seeking more opportunities to use technology better and to become more efficient.

“We continue to look for opportunities to better serve the customer – more electronic products, more streamlined efficiencies,” he said. “It’s still a personal business…Most people want to have a banker that they know, that they can call and communicate with, tell their story and have some understanding.”

Shackelford and his wife, Mary Christy, have four children and reside in Goshen. He is a member of the Arkansas Bankers Association Board of Directors, Goshen Planning Commission, and is the Washington County Planning Board chairman. He enjoys spending time outdoors, hunting and fishing.