Phillip Baldwin Chosen To Succeed Suzanne Boas as President of CredAbilityMonday, June 06, 2011

Former CEO of Southern Bancorp Brings History of Outstanding Service to Credit Counseling Organization

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ATLANTA – The Board of Directors of CredAbility has selected Phillip N. Baldwin to serve as the new president of CredAbility, a national nonprofit credit counseling organization. Baldwin succeeds Suzanne E. Boas, who is retiring after nearly twenty years in the role.

CredAbility’s Board, led by its search committee, conducted a rigorous search and considered many highly qualified candidates from both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors before choosing Baldwin. “Phil’s extensive leadership experience in community development banking and organizational finance was a key factor in our decision. The Board believes his passion for CredAbility’s mission made Phil the right person to guide the agency into the future,” said CredAbility Board Chair Belinda Stubblefield.

“Suzanne Boas has been an outstanding leader of both this organization and the credit counseling industry in the United States. As her successor, we believe Phil has many of those same leadership qualities, and will make invaluable contributions to our organization,” Stubblefield added.

For the past 10 years, Baldwin served as president and chief executive officer of Southern Bancorp, a $1 billion bank holding company that is America's largest rural development bank. Under Baldwin’s leadership, the bank grew in both assets and earnings while expanding its presence into underserved communities in rural Arkansas and Mississippi. In 2010, Baldwin and Southern Bancorp were among a select group identified as America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs by Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Baldwin retired from Southern Bancorp in February 2011.

Baldwin’s career spans more than 30 years in banking and finance. He is a certified public accountant and a graduate of University of Arkansas.

“When I announced my retirement from Southern,” said Baldwin, “I expressed my intention to continue working in support of people in need. Although I did not plan to accept a new position so quickly, I could not have anticipated such a marvelous opportunity to fulfill my personal commitment to help others on a national scale, while directly applying all of my experience in finance and management. I have the greatest respect for CredAbility, and I am honored to have the opportunity to follow Suzanne Boas in upholding the mission of this valuable community resource.”

Baldwin currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for United Way of America and is an at-large member of United Way Worldwide Board of Directors. He is also a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Arkansas Capital Corporation, Ouachita Baptist University and the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce. He received the United States Small Business Administration District Directors Special Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership and was named Economic Developer of the Year by the Economic Developers of Arkansas.

Baldwin and his wife, DeeDee, will relocate to Atlanta from their home in Arkadelphia, AR. He begins his new role on July 1, 2011, following a brief transition period with retiring president Boas.

Board Chair Stubblefield thanked the volunteer community leaders who serve on the CredAbility Board of Directors, with special recognition of those who participated in the Search Committee.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome Phillip Baldwin to the CredAbility family.” Addressing retiring president Suzanne Boas, Stubblefield added, “Together with the Board, the employees of CredAbility and the millions of clients served by the agency during her tenure, I would like to thank Suzanne Boas for her sincere dedication and tireless commitment over the past 19 years. Her work has influenced practices, shaped public policy, and elevated the stature of professional nonprofit credit counseling to the highest echelon. Most importantly, she has changed the lives of people facing financial challenges, and left an indelible impact on communities across the nation. Thanks to her capable leadership and vision, we are moving forward confidently into the future, in service to those in need.”