Top Arvest banker in Fort Smith leaves for Little Rock

John Womack, one of the two Arvest employees who launched the bank’s operations in the Fort Smith region in 1999, will soon be the top Arvest exec in the Little Rock region.

Womack, president of banking operations in the Fort Smith region for Northwest Arkansas-based Arvest Bank, will begin his Little Rock duties July 6. He held a Monday morning meeting (June 21) with his Arvest-Fort Smith management team and an e-mail was sent to all Fort Smith area employees notifying them of the upcoming change.

The move was unexpected for the Fort Smith-native who said the 1999 move was the chance of a lifetime to pursue a banking career while returning home.

“I never thought I would leave, to tell you the truth. I thought I would come to retire in my hometown. But life sends you many curves and changes,” Womack said Monday.

Womack said it was a “gut-wrenching decision” for he and his wife, Becky, because they are both heavily involved in the community. John serves on the boards of the Arkansas Tech University Foundation, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Foundation, St. Edward Mercy Health System and the U.S. Marshal’s Museum Foundation.

Womack will move from a Fort Smith market with about $730 million in assets to a Little Rock market with more than $1 billion in assets. Along with Northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the Little Rock market is one of the bigger markets for Arvest with at least one-tenth of the bank’s total assets.

Arvest operates more than 200 locations in 16 locally-managed markets in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Total assets exceed $10 billion, making Arvest the largest bank in Arkansas ranked by deposits, and the largest bank in Oklahoma ranked by number of locations.

What drew Womack, 58, away from his home city to Little Rock was the support of Cliff Gibbs, regional president of Arvest, and the opportunity to manage a larger, growing market. The Little Rock market includes Conway, Hot Springs, Jacksonville and North Little Rock.

“Cliff just kept insisting I look at it. He thought it was a good fit for my personality and for my management style,” Womack explained. “This may be a good time to hang my hat on the opportunity to go one of our largest markets.”

In an Arvest statement, Gibbs said this of Womack: “John’s record of success in the Fort Smith market, especially his strong and effective management skills and outstanding leadership qualities, make him the perfect fit for us in Central Arkansas. … John is the only president we have had in Fort Smith, joining Arvest in 1999 when we opened a loan production office with the desire to grow our operations in the River Valley region. Since then he has led our bank there to more than $730 million in assets and the third highest deposit market share in the region.”

Womack wouldn’t comment about who might be the next Arvest president in the Fort Smith region. He has encouraged at least two in the Fort Smith management team to apply, but noted that Arvest managers from other regions will also apply.

“This will be a highly sought after job. Fort Smith is a popular market,” Womack said.

The other Arvest banker who helped Womack start the Fort Smith operations is Craig Rivaldo, who is executive vice president of Arvest-Fort Smith.