Virginia National Bank CFO to retire

After nine years, Tara Y. Harrison will retire as the chief financial officer of Charlottesville-based Virginia National Bank, which has 13 offices around the state, and its parent company, Virginia National Bankshares. Her successor is Cathy W. Liles, the bank holding company announced Wednesday.

Liles, a certified public accountant, will step into the position Friday, with Harrison serving as a senior adviser to assist with the transition.

Previously, Liles served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Hampton-based Old Point National Bank and its bank holding company, Old Point Financial.

Prior to that, she served as senior vice president and chief accounting officer at Danville-based American National Bankshares for more than eight years. Liles has a degree in accounting and finance from Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina.

Before joining Virginia National Bank in 2016, Harrison, who is also a CPA, worked for more than a decade as director of internal audit for Charlottesville-based Stellar One Corp., which was acquired by Union First Market Bankshares Corp. in 2014. Harrison has a degree in accounting from the University of Virginia.

Harrison, who recently became a grandmother, is retiring to devote more time to friends and family.

“It’s always tough to lose a critical member of your team, but I truly understand Tara’s decision,” Glenn W. Rust, president and CEO of Virginia National Bankshares, said in a news release.

During Harrison’s tenure, she navigated the pandemic, new bank regulations and laws and a 2021 merger with Warrenton-based Fauquier Bankshares.

“Through all these challenges, the bank grew from $800 million to $1.6 billion in assets and became one of the more profitable community banks in Virginia,” Rust added.

For many years, Harrison and Liles worked together on the CFO Committee of the Virginia Bankers Association. “I am confident that she has the skills and experience to succeed in this role,” Harrison said of her successor in a statement.

Virginia National Bankshares reported net income for 2024 of $17 million, an 11.9% decrease from the previous year. Virginia National Bank has seven banking offices throughout Fauquier and Prince William counties, four branches in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, and locations in Winchester and Richmond. At the end of last year, the bank had 146 full-time equivalent employees.