Atlantic Union CEO tapped as American Bankers Assoc. chair-elect

Atlantic Union Bankshares CEO John C. Asbury is the 2023-2024 chair-elect for the American Bankers Association.

ABA announced its new board officers and directors on Tuesday, following its annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

Asbury was the ABA’s 2022-2023 vice chair. He’s a past chairman of the Virginia Bankers Association and the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America.

Asbury joined Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bankshares, the holding company for Virginia’s largest community bank, in 2016. He was previously president and CEO of First National Bank of Santa Fe.

Atlantic Union Bank reported $20.6 billion in assets and $15.7 billion in deposits as of June 30. In July, Atlantic Union announced it would acquire Danville-based American National Bankshares, the holding company of American National Bank and Trust, forming a bank with total assets of $23.7 billion as of June 30.

Along with being a Virginia Port Authority commissioner, Asbury serves on the boards of the Greater Richmond Partnership and chairs Virginia Learns. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from William & Mary.

Another Virginia bank executive on ABA’s board is Gary R. Shook, president and CEO of Midlothian-based CBB Financial and Community Bankers’ Bank. Shook, who also chairs the ABA Government Relations Council, is continuing his term as a director. He also serves on the board of the ABA’s BankPac.

Before joining Community Bankers’ Bank in 2020, Shook was president and chief banking officer of Blue Ridge Bank and chief operating officer of its holding company.

Community Bankers’ Bank is a bankers’ bank owned and directed by independent community banks in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District, a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland. It reported $561,000 in 2022 net income and $162 million in assets.

Like Asbury, Shook is a past chairman of the Virginia Bankers Association. Shook is also on the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges Board of Trustees.