Bear State Financial Inc. of Little Rock released its proxy statement Wednesday and announced that its annual shareholders meeting will be held at 11 a.m. May 17 at the company's office at 135 Section Line Road in Hot Springs.
The annual filing also disclosed that Bear State Financial Holdings LLC of Little Rock remained the largest shareholder with a 40.28 percent stake worth more than $141 million.
Carol Hendrix of McKinney, Texas, holds a 6.75 percent stake worth $23.6 million. Scott Ford of Little Rock, a director, holds a 2.27 percent stake worth nearly $8 million.
The proxy also noted that two new members are serving on the board of directors.
J. Matthew Machen, 35, joined the board in January when he was named president and CEO of Bear State Financial. Machen replaced Mark McFatridge, who resigned Jan. 14.
William Changose, 56, joined the board in February to fill the vacancy created when the board was expanded to 12 seats. Changoes is chief operating officer of Westrock Capital Partners LLC and Westrock Group LLC and president of Westrock Coffee Roasting LLC. He also serves as chief operating officer of BSF Holdings, the company's largest shareholder.
The 2016 salaries among the top six executives at Bear State didn't change with one exception.
The salary for Sherri Billings increased 12.5 percent to $225,000 in connection with her promotion to senior executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief accounting officer.
Rounding out the list is Mark McFatridge, former president and CEO, $425,000; Matt Machen, president of Bear State Bank, $250,000; Tom Fritsche, executive vice president and chief risk officer, $350,000; Shelly Loftin, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, $180,000; and Yurik Paroubek, EVP and chief technology officer, $180,000.