Leadership at Live Oak Bank | Management Team Biographies

Live Oak leadership continues to drive a company and brand that is associated with trust, expertise across our industries, and the highest level of customer service.

Our Leadership Team

James S. (Chip) Mahan III
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

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James S. (Chip) Mahan III

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Chip Mahan is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Live Oak Bancshares. He serves on the board of directors for Apiture, a joint venture between Live Oak and First Data which focuses on creating next-gen technology for financial institutions. He is also a director of Payrailz, a digital payments company which offers advanced solutions for the financial services industry. Chip is a co-founder of nCino, a cloud-based banking software built on the Salesforce platform.

Prior to Live Oak, Chip was the Chairman and CEO for S1 Corporation and founder of Security First Network Bank, the world’s first Internet bank. Under his leadership, S1 Corporation grew to become a $234 million software and services provider in only six years, averaging more than 200 percent growth year over year. At its peak, S1 had a market capitalization of $7.8 billion. During his term as CEO, Chip was ranked as one of the 10 Most Influential Personalities in Financial Services by FutureBanker magazine.

Prior to founding Security First Network Bank and S1 Corporation, he launched Cardinal Bancshares, where he served as Chairman and CEO. Chip built Cardinal into an institution with $800 million in total assets and took the company public in 1992. Before launching Cardinal, Chip spent several years with Citizens Union National Bank & Trust Co., serving as President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman and becoming Chairman and CEO in 1984. In 1986, he formed an investment group that purchased Citizens Union and subsequently sold it to BankOne Corp. of Columbus, OH. Chip began his career in 1973 at Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. in Winston-Salem, NC, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA.

Neil Underwood
President – Live Oak Bancshares

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Neil Underwood

President – Live Oak Bancshares

Neil Underwood currently serves as partner of Canapi Ventures, a strategic fintech venture fund, and as president of Live Oak Bancshares, the holding company of Live Oak Bank. While at the bank, he co-founded nCino, a cloud-based bank operating system now serving over 250 financial institutions globally.

Through the venture arm of Live Oak, Neil has incubated and helped raise capital for companies focused on digital bank transformation such as Finxact, Payrailz, DefenseStorm and Greenlight. In 2017, Neil co-founded Apiture, a joint venture between Live Oak and First Data, serving as a cloud-native omni-channel onboarding and servicing platform.

Prior to Live Oak, Underwood served as general manager of S1 Corporation (SONE), where he was responsible for the S1 Enterprise Retail division. S1, since acquired by ACI (ACIW), built and deployed financial services systems such as online banking, payments and mobile solutions to over 3,000 financial institutions worldwide.

Underwood currently serves on the board of Live Oak Bank, Defense Storm, Apiture, Payrailz, and is board observer at Finxact and Greenlight. A native of Miami, FL, he holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Huntley Garriott
President – Live Oak Bank

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Huntley Garriott

President – Live Oak Bank

Huntley Garriott currently serves as president of Live Oak Bank. Prior to joining Live Oak, he was a partner at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division and served as co-head of the Banks and Specialty Finance team within the Financial Institutions Group. Over his 20-year career at Goldman, Huntley covered regional banks throughout North America and held a variety of roles focused on traditional investment banking, private equity investing, debt capital markets and risk management. He was named managing director in 2007 and partner in 2014. Garriott earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and economics from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar.

Lee Williams III
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors

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Lee Williams III

Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors

Lee Williams is the vice chairman of the company and one of the original founders of the bank. Prior to starting Live Oak Bank, Lee spent 19 years in corporate banking at Wachovia and worked for 14 years at Vine Street Financial doing SBA lending. Lee began his banking career in 1973 at Wachovia, where he worked with Wachovia Services, Inc, then Wachovia Regional Corporate Lending, calling on and lending to mid-market regional companies. In 1987, he relocated to Wilmington, NC, where he managed the Wachovia Corporate Lending group for the three-county area of southeastern North Carolina. In 1992, he re-joined Chip Mahan at Cardinal Bancshares as they began Vine Street Financial, a niche SBA lending division, of Vine Street Trust Company. Lee held several positions within this group including president and senior SBA lender. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Vine Street Financial became a division of BB&T, where Lee served as a senior SBA lender, resigning in May of 2007 to found Live Oak Bank. Lee graduated in 1973 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He currently serves on several private company boards, as managing member, and has served in the capacity of president and treasurer on numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations in Wilmington and elsewhere in North Carolina.

David G. Lucht
EVP – Credit

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David G. Lucht

EVP – Credit

David Lucht is EVP of credit for Live Oak Bank. Before joining Live Oak Bank in May of 2007 as a founding member of executive management and the board of directors, David held executive positions with several different banking institutions, including chief credit officer, executive vice president and director for First Merit Bank in Akron, OH, where he was responsible for leading a turnaround in credit culture and performance of the $10.5 billion bank. Prior to First Merit, David served as senior credit officer of National City Bank, Cleveland, OH. A native of Ohio, David began his banking career with National City Bank in 1985 after graduating from Kent State University with his master’s in business administration. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing at Miami University in Ohio. His approach to the identification and management of credit risk is one of the keystones of our organization. He has helped to positively shape the corporate culture of the company since inception and his leadership at the board and executive management levels has contributed to our success.

Brett Caines
Chief Financial Officer

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Brett Caines

Chief Financial Officer

Brett Caines is the chief financial officer for the company and the bank. Brett joined Live Oak Lending, Inc., the precursor to Live Oak Banking Company, in 2007 as its finance officer after obtaining an MBA from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Brett was integral in the establishment of Live Oak Banking Company and its initial operations that commenced in 2008. In his role as finance officer, Brett was foundational in the formation of the accounting and capital markets departments. In January 2011, he was named the chief financial officer of the company and Live Oak Bank. Prior to Live Oak, Brett worked as a production engineer for INVISTA and as a process engineer for Shell Chemical Company. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Steve Smits
Chief Credit Officer

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Steve Smits

Chief Credit Officer

Steve Smits is the chief credit officer for Live Oak Bank. He is the former associate administrator for the Office of Capital Access at the U.S. Small Business Administration. While at the SBA, he was responsible for managing and overseeing the agency’s programs and operations designed to expand access to capital for America’s small businesses. This included managing the agency’s $100 billion small business loan portfolio. He also played a critical role in implementing many of the provisions in the Small Business Jobs Act that was signed into law by the President in September 2010.

Micah Davis
Chief Marketing Officer

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Micah Davis

Chief Marketing Officer

Micah Davis is chief marketing officer for Live Oak Bank, where he leads marketing strategies for the bank and its subsidiaries. Since joining Live Oak in 2012, Micah has built an internal marketing team and in-house creative agency supporting the bank’s multi-channel marketing efforts. Prior to joining Live Oak, he spent eight years working in various design and marketing roles within Bank of America. This included roles in social media marketing, brand marketing, and the sponsorship marketing group, where he focused on partnerships with the NFL, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins, and New England Patriots. Before his time at BofA, Micah was an entrepreneur, founding three companies, and a freelance marketing and design consultant, supporting client-marketing initiatives across print, digital, and traditional media. Micah is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in visual design and communications. He was also a two-time NCAA All-American, and two-time Pac-10 Champion for Oregon in track and field.

Courtney Spencer
Chief Administrative Officer

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Courtney Spencer

Chief Administrative Officer

Courtney Spencer serves as chief administrative officer at Live Oak Bank. In this capacity, she leads strategic oversight of the employee experience and shared services including recruitment, onboarding, compensation and career development, benefits, education and training, wellness, community and philanthropic involvement, corporate flight operations and on-site dining. She joined in 2016 and brings 25 years of financial services and HR experience to Live Oak. Previously, Courtney was human resources strategic business partner and vice president of budget and management reporting at Square 1 Bank. Prior to her role at Square 1, Courtney served in a variety of finance and control positions at Wachovia and Wells Fargo. Courtney received her MBA from the College of William & Mary, and a Bachelor of Science degree in health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Susan Janson
Chief Risk Officer

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Susan Janson

Chief Risk Officer

Susan Janson serves as chief risk officer at Live Oak Bank where she oversees risk management, including regulatory relations and compliance. Susan brings more than 30 years of financial and risk management experience to Live Oak. She previously served as senior capital markets and securities specialist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) where she led regulatory risk assessments for financial institutions, including working with FDIC staff in Washington, DC, other federal and state agencies, and bankers to further understand and implement sound governance practices. Prior to that, she served as managing director at First National Capital Markets and Comerica Securities.

Brian Lora
Chief Technology Officer

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Brian Lora

Chief Technology Officer

Brian Lora serves as chief technology officer at Live Oak Bank, where he leads development and strategies for the bank’s IT architecture and products. Prior to joining Live Oak, Brian led digital transformations, innovations and product developments as the CTO/CIO for high-growth Saas companies over the last 16 years. In 2012, he was named CIO of the Year by the Triangle Business Journal in Raleigh, NC, for transformation and innovation. As the lead technologist of Arsenal Digital Solutions, he created a unique services architecture that fueled the creation of a new, disruptive cloud-based utility business model. Arsenal was acquired by IBM in 2008 and became the cornerstone of IBM’s Smart Cloud Architecture. In addition, Brian is the lead inventor on two U.S. and 12 international patents creating unique SaaS/Cloud architectures. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where he earned an engineering degree, and serves as an outside board member to the NCSU Department of Computer Science.

Greg Seward
EVP – General Counsel

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Greg Seward

EVP – General Counsel

Greg Seward joined the company in 2015 as general counsel. He has 15 years of experience advising on a broad range of corporate matters, with a focus on financial institutions and other financial service providers. Prior to joining Live Oak, Greg spent the majority of his career as an attorney in the legal department of Capital One Financial Corporation, most recently leading a team of attorneys advising on securities disclosure and financial reporting, capital markets and corporate finance, executive compensation, equity administration, and general corporate and transactional matters. He began his career as an associate at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP where his practice focused on securities offerings, M&A, and corporate governance. Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in english literature from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar, and a JD from Duke University School of Law.

Mark Moroz
EVP – Head of Product

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Mark Moroz

EVP – Head of Product

Mark Moroz serves as the head of product for Live Oak Bank. He leads the product team and defines strategies across all products to drive customer engagement and experience. Prior to joining Live Oak, Mark was vice president of retail deposits for Barclaycard US, senior director of retail banking for Sallie Mae, vice president of marketing at JP Morgan, and senior manager of product and marketing at ING Direct US. Over the course of his 20-year career, Mark has become an expert in the online banking arena where he has helped to secure billions of deposits for his companies’ funding needs. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in political science/criminal justice from the University of Delaware.

Wesley Sutherland
Chief Accounting Officer

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Wesley Sutherland

Chief Accounting Officer

Wes Sutherland joined the Company in 2014 as the Chief Accounting Officer. He has 20 years of experience in navigating the accounting and reporting issues confronting the financial institution industry. Prior to joining the Company, Wes was the founder and owner of an accounting and consulting firm, an audit partner in the financial institutions services group of the largest CPA firm based in the South and had served as the president of a $300 million mutual savings bank. Wes worked, earlier in his career, in the banking practices of two national firms and served as a financial analyst for a Fortune 500 company. He is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.

James Capolongo
EVP – Deposits

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James Capolongo

EVP – Deposits

James Capolongo serves as the head of deposits and payments for Live Oak Bank. He provides oversight of all deposit functions including deposit product management, strategy and operations. He brings more than 15 years of experience in the financial industry, including extensive experience in consumer deposit products and banking. Prior to joining Live Oak, Capolongo served as head of consumer deposit products at TD Bank where he oversaw the management of more than $90 billion in deposits. He serves on the SCORE Association Board and sits on the Consumers Bankers Association Deposits and Payments Committee. He received his MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting management from Tulane University.

Lew Woodbury
EVP – Head of Small Business Banking

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Lew Woodbury

EVP – Head of Small Business Banking

Lew Woodbury leads Live Oak’s small business banking team providing operational, strategic and business direction for the bank’s lending division. He’s responsible for operational efficiencies, pricing, product diversity, growth strategies and all aspects of loan production. Prior to joining the bank in 2016 as a senior loan officer, Lew was a senior vice president in the Capital Markets Group at Raymond James. He began his career at Wells Fargo Bank as a lender in the Merchant Banking Group. Lew holds a bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Jordan Blanchard
EVP – Specialty Finance

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Jordan Blanchard

EVP – Specialty Finance

Jordan Blanchard is the head of Live Oak’s energy and infrastructure lending team at Live Oak. His team specializes in solar energy, bioenergy, water and environmental, and community facility lending utilizing USDA financing and other programs. Prior to this role, Jordan was managing director of Live Oak’s SBA 504 secondary markets team where he co-founded a closed-end mutual fund that purchased small business commercial real estate loans from banks and non-bank lenders. He previously held leadership roles at Community National Bank, Temecula Valley Bank and Excel National Bank. Jordan received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from San Diego State University.

Angus McDonald
EVP – Specialty Finance

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Angus McDonald

EVP – Specialty Finance

Angus McDonald is the head of Live Oak Bank’s specialty finance lending team providing capital to sponsor finance, hotels, senior housing, venture banking, commercial real estate and capital markets. He joined the bank in 2015 as a senior loan officer with over 12 years’ experience in real estate financing and investing. He previously held roles at Medalist Capital, Tri Properties, and JP Morgan. Angus holds an undergraduate degree in economics from UNC Chapel Hill, as well as an MBA and Master’s in Accounting from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a CFA Charter holder.

Keith Merklin
EVP – Small Business Banking

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Keith Merklin

EVP – Small Business Banking

Keith Merklin is the head of Live Oak’s small business team providing capital to veterinary, pharmacy, healthcare, wine and craft beverage, and entertainment center industries as well as general SBA lending. Over his 20-year banking career, he has lent over $500 million to small businesses nationwide and forged key relationships with industry leaders and customers. Most recently, Keith was chief lending officer at Live Oak where he developed strategies and go-to-market plans for the bank’s diverse industry segments. Before Live Oak, he worked as business development officer for Wells Fargo Bank and specialty dental and veterinary lender at Matsco. Keith holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco.

Terry Campbell
EVP – Small Business Banking

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Terry Campbell

EVP – Small Business Banking

Terry Campbell is the head of Live Oak’s small business lending team providing capital to the agriculture, funeral home and cemetery, self-storage and service contractor industries. Terry previously held various roles with a leading self-storage supplier. Starting as a drafter/estimator, he advanced to vice president of sales and marketing and executive vice president of operations. He is a partner in several self-storage facilities across several states. He served as a managing member and part owner of a large self-storage facility in Northern Virginia in the early 2000’s. Terry has also served on the Editorial Advisory Board for the ISS Magazine and the board of the North Carolina Self-Storage Association since its formation. He has been involved in many seminars and webinars offering education to the self-storage industry and is a frequent presenter at industry events and trade shows as well as a writer for industry publications.

Mike McGinley
EVP – Small Business Banking

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Mike McGinley

EVP – Small Business Banking

Mike McGinley is the head of Live Oak’s small business lending team providing capital to investment advisory, insurance, accounting, education, franchise, emerging market, home health and broadband industries. Since 2008, Live Oak has been financing small business growth nationwide and is one of the top originators of small business loans in the country. Prior to his role, Mike lead the investment advisory and hotel lending teams and was a senior loan officer on the bank’s investment advisory lending team. He also brings commercial lending experience from his time with PNC Bank. He has an undergraduate degree from Penn State University and an MBA from Drexel University.

Sherrill Stockton
EVP – Credit

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Sherrill Stockton

EVP – Credit

Sherrill Stockton serves as EVP of credit at Live Oak Bank. She has more than 25 years of experience in SBA lending and joined Live Oak Bank in 2015. Sherrill is a nationally recognized industry leader and is serving her fourth term as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL), where she is also chair of the NAGGL Technical Issues Committee. She has also served on the NAGGL Executive Committee and is a frequent panelist and instructor at association events.

Debbie A. Warwick
EVP – Head of Operations

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Debbie A. Warwick

EVP – Head of Operations

Debbie Warwick serves as head of operations at Live Oak Bank. She joined Live Oak in 2008. Her role includes oversight of loan operations, closing, construction, quality assurance and insurance.

Debbie is a native of Wilmington and after attending Montreat College her first banking role was with Wachovia Bank then later Dominion Bank in Virginia. After returning to North Carolina, she began an 18-year career with First Citizens Bank. Her leadership experience in commercial, mortgage and retail lending has been a key influence in creating an effective operations team for Live Oak.

Dawn Thompson
SVP – Government Relations

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Dawn Thompson

SVP – Government Relations

Dawn Thompson serves as SVP of government relations for Live Oak Bank. Dawn leads advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. with Congress, federal agencies, and local and state government agencies.

Previously, Dawn was senior vice president, director of federal affairs, and associate counsel at the North Carolina Bankers Association where she led federal grassroots and advocacy efforts, answered bank regulatory and compliance questions, maintained corporate governance, and was the staff liaison for the North Carolina Young Bankers and Bank Security Committee. Prior to her role at the North Carolina Bankers Association, Dawn practiced law at Stewart & Schmidlin, PLLC in Smithfield, NC. Dawn is a graduate of Campbell School of Law in Raleigh, NC, and Stetson University in DeLand, FL.

Stephanie Mann
SVP – Corporate Development and Strategy

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Stephanie Mann

SVP – Corporate Development and Strategy

Stephanie Mann currently serves as senior vice president of corporate development and strategy at Live Oak Bank where she is responsible for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic investments, including Live Oak Ventures. She has over 20 years of experience in advising companies on capital structure, growth strategy, M&A and capital raising. Stephanie is a former managing director of investment banking at Citi where she advised Fortune 500 technology companies out of the New York and London offices. During her tenure, she worked on more than $125 billion of M&A transactions, including cross-border, leveraged buyout and joint ventures for public and private companies. She also has experience as a founder, employee and advisor of a number of technology start-ups. Stephanie received her MBA with honors from The Wharton School and her BA from Stanford University.

Live Oak BankLeadership

Our Leadership Team

James S. (Chip) Mahan III

Neil Underwood

Huntley Garriott

Lee Williams III

David G. Lucht

Brett Caines

Steve Smits

Micah Davis

Courtney Spencer

Susan Janson

Brian Lora

Greg Seward

Mark Moroz

Wesley Sutherland

James Capolongo

Lew Woodbury

Jordan Blanchard

Angus McDonald

Keith Merklin

Terry Campbell

Mike McGinley

Sherrill Stockton

Debbie A. Warwick

Dawn Thompson

Stephanie Mann

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