TowneBank names new CEO

Suffolk-based TowneBank announced Friday that William “Billy” I. Foster III will become CEO, succeeding J. Morgan Davis, who is retiring.

Foster, the bank’s market president for Central Virginia and the Carolinas, joined TowneBank as a regional president in 2004, leading the bank’s expansion into the Norfolk area. Before that, he was eastern region president for Central Fidelity Bank.

Davis will step down as CEO on Dec. 31 but will remain with the bank until March 31, 2023, to assist with the transition. He will also continue serving on TowneBank’s board of directors and as an executive consultant focused on mergers and acquisitions, member relations and other special projects.

“Billy’s extraordinary leadership style is deeply rooted in the Towne culture of caring that serves as the foundation of our long-term success,” TowneBank Executive Chairman G. Robert Aston Jr. said in a statement. “His stellar record of achievement throughout his career stands as tribute to his warm, welcoming nature that is a hallmark of great community bankers. Rest assured, the future strategic direction of our company will be to maintain a steady, conservative course while reaching for new and exciting horizons.”

A Virginia Beach resident, Foster earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Old Dominion University and he also holds an MBA from William & Mary.

Davis has served as CEO since March 2018. Before that, he had served as president from 2011 until he relinquished his position as president in July 2021. From 2011 through 2018, he was also chief banking officer. From 2005 to 2011, he served as president of Towne Financial Services Group, which oversees TowneBank’s nonbanking businesses, which include mortgage, insurance and real estate brokerage. From 1999 to 2005, Davis was president of TowneBank Virginia Beach.

Before joining TowneBank, Davis was founding president of Princess Anne Commercial Bank for 13 years, before becoming a founding member of TowneBank in 1998.

On Aug. 18, TowneBank announced it would acquire Windsor-based Farmers Bankshares Inc., the parent company of Farmers Bank.