Don Shamey

Donald Shamey, president and CEO of NexTier Bank, will retire July 31 after four decades with the bank.

His retirement was announced Thursday by the NexTier Bank board of directors, according to a bank news release.

Shamey, 64, began his career at NexTier, then called Citizens National Bank, in 1974 as a management trainee after graduating from Dickinson College with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

After earning his MBA from Duquesne University in 1977, Shamey advanced through the ranks from cashier to CEO. He has been CEO since 2000 and also serves as the president of NexTier Inc., the bank’s holding company.

“I have spent the past 40 years with NexTier. It has been a great run, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead this organization,” Shamey said in the release.

He said that he originally intended to retire at age 62, but he was asked by the Snyder Group of Kittanning, which owns the bank, to stay on until the bank was on better footing.

In 2011, the Snyder Group invested just less than $2 million in NexTier to keep the bank independent and to help it meet federal banking regulations.

In May 2013, NexTier announced a merger with Farmers & Merchants Bank of Western PA, which has a large presence in Armstrong County and also is owned by the Snyder Group.

When the merger is complete later this year, NexTier will become a much larger regional bank with about $1 billion in assets and 24 locations in Butler, Armstrong and Allegheny counties. The merger also will increase the bank’s legal lending limit.

“With our financial health restored and the merger heading toward completion, I believe that my work is done,” Shamey said.

During his time as CEO, he said the bank has expanded its services and geographic reach, continued to improve customer service and has been named the best bank in the northern Pittsburgh region several times.

Mark Snyder, chairman of NexTier Inc., thanked Shamey for his leadership.

“I have seen an unparalleled level of dedication and integrity since we began working together in 2011. We are grateful that Don chose to stay on board to lead NexTier back to a profitable and operationally sound organization and helped facilitate the successful merger with Farmers and Merchants Bank,” Snyder said in a news release.

Rich Krauland, president and CEO of Farmers & Merchants, will take over for Shamey on Aug. 1. When the merger between the two banks is complete, Krauland will run the organization.

Shamey said he will savor his time off in retirement and later will decide what exactly he will do.

Shamey lives in Penn Township but is moving to Pine Township, Allegheny County. He and his wife, Susan, have five children and one granddaughter.