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First Foundation Shakes up Exec Team

CFO/interim president Thompson departs; CEO assumes president title

First Foundation Inc. (Nasdaq: FFWM), a Dallas-based firm with most of its banking and wealth management operations in Irvine, today announced major executive changes.

Chief Financial Officer and interim President Kevin Thompson has stepped down and will be replaced by Amy Djou, First Foundation Bank’s chief accounting officer, while the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement.

Scott Kavanaugh, who has been chief executive since 2009, has also taken on the role of president of First Foundation Inc. and First Foundation Bank.

On Nov. 8, the company announced that David DePillo resigned as president effective immediately. Thompson took over the position on an interim basis. Thompson, who was CFO since 2020, was previously CFO at rival Opus Bank.

First Foundation was based in Irvine where it ranked No. 3 on the Business Journal’s annual list of the biggest banks with headquarters in Orange County. Kavanaugh was the only top-level executive who moved to Dallas when it shifted its headquarters to Texas in 2021.

Shares of First Foundation fell 2.7% to $14.05 and a $793 million market cap. The shares have fallen 51% since a 52-week high of $28.61 a year ago.

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Peter J. Brennan
Peter J. Brennan
With four decades of experience in journalism, Peter J. Brennan has built a career that spans diverse news topics and global coverage. From reporting on wars, narcotics trafficking, and natural disasters to analyzing business and financial markets, Peter’s work reflects a commitment to impactful storytelling. Peter’s association with the Orange County Business Journal began in 1997, where he worked until 2000 before moving to Bloomberg News. During his 15 years at Bloomberg, his reporting often influenced financial markets, with headlines and articles moving the market caps of major companies by hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2017, Peter returned to the Orange County Business Journal as Financial Editor, bringing his heavy business industry expertise. Over the years, he advanced to Executive Editor and, in 2024, was named Editor-in-Chief. Peter’s work has been featured in prestigious publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he has appeared on CNN, CBC, BBC, and Bloomberg TV. A Kiplinger Fellowship recipient at The Ohio State University, he leads the Business Journal with a dedication to uncovering stories that matter and shaping the local business community and beyond.
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