John Hakopian, who built First Foundation’s wealth management unit to more than $5 billion in assets and saw up close the company’s turmoil in the past three years, is sticking around after its acquisition by FirstSun Capital Bancorp.
“I was one of the founders from the onset, building it from when it was just a few people,” Hakopian told the Business Journal. “I felt a personal responsibility to get it back to where it was and make it a world-class organization.”
With the April 1 merger completed, local executives can now discuss growth plans for Sunflower Bank, FirstSun’s public-facing bank.
The idea is for the First Foundation Advisors to become the platform for SunFlower. While First Foundation Advisors has $5.4 billion in assets under management, Sunflower has an additional $1.4 billion.
“We want to double the size of the wealth management firm in the next five years,” said Hakopian, who is president of First Foundation Advisors.
Sunflower will also launch a private banking unit to serve middle-market companies and family offices, offering a single point of contact for their investment, banking and trust needs.
Sunflower also hired banking veteran David Musicant as its regional president in charge of Orange and San Diego counties in Southern California. Musicant, who started this month, was previously managing director for Citizens Bank’s Western Region.
“It was a really compelling opportunity” to join Sunflower Bank, Musicant said.
$20B in Assets
First Foundation traces its roots to 1990, when it was co-founded by Rick Keller and Hakopian, among others, as a wealth management firm.
In 2007, they started a bank in Irvine and named it First Foundation, where Hakopian managed the wealth management unit.
It became Orange County’s third-largest bank with $13.3 billion in assets and a market cap that topped $1.5 billion at one point.
In 2023, the bank side of the business ran into trouble as interest rates soared, and its multifamily loan portfolio lost value. Keller and other directors resigned from the board, and several executives departed.
Last year, Keller, along with his son Zane Keller, opened Ducere Wealth Management in Newport Beach. First Foundation and Keller are involved in ongoing litigation, said Hakopian, who declined to comment on the case.
Last October, Denver-based FirstSun announced the acquisition of First Foundation in an all-stock deal valued at $785 million at the time (Nasdaq: FSUN).
Subsequent to the closing, FirstSun has, on a pro forma basis as of Dec. 31, 2025, $20.4 billion in total assets, $13.8 billion in total loans and $16.4 billion in total deposits, before planned balance sheet down-sizing and merger-related adjustments.
Through its subsidiaries and affiliated entities, FirstSun, which has a $1.8 billion market cap, operates depository branches in 10 states and offers mortgage services in 44 states.
FirstSun also announced that Thomas C. Shafer, former chief executive officer of First Foundation, joined the company as a director and executive vice chairman. In addition, Sam Edelson, Henchy Enden, Benjamin Mackovak and C. Allen Parker—each a former director of First Foundation—were appointed to the FirstSun board.
The Wealth Side
While the banking side of First Foundation will change its name to Sunflower, a new name for the wealth management side hasn’t yet been determined.
Employees in Sunflower’s wealth management unit will be moving to First Foundation’s side. The unit plans to increase its employee count by about 20% to 25% in the coming years, Hakopian said.
The acquisition gives the wealth management unit a “wider geographic lens” to expand into, including Texas, where Sunflower Bank has a strong presence, he said.
The unit’s edge is its more than 30 years in business and a product offering that is “top notch.”
“They’re really good at banking, and we’re really good on the wealth management side,” Hakopian said.
The Sunflower Edge
Musicant said Sunflower has an edge over the nation’s largest banks that face much tougher regulations.
“Being below superregional gives us a lot of flexibility,” he said.
The bank will keep its Irvine office that overlooks the San Diego (405) Freeway and where Musicant works four days a week.
First Foundation’s headcount in Orange County has fallen from 304 a year ago to about 179 currently. It will also keep First Foundation’s 22 branches.
Musicant said the layoffs have already occurred, and he’s looking to hire about 10 bankers in the coming two years.
“I got hired with a mandate to grow,” he said. “We’re looking for seasoned banking leaders who have deep roots in the Orange County market.
“Orange County is a super attractive place to live and work for a lot of reasons.”
