Board of Directors

Thomas C. Shafer is the Chief Executive Officer and Board member of First Foundation Bank and its holding company First Foundation, Inc. With a wealth of experience in the banking industry, Mr. Shafer previously retired from Huntington National Bank in 2022, where he held the positions of SEVP and Co-President of the Commercial Bank following the acquisition of TCF Bank in June 2021. At TCF Bank, he served as CEO and Vice Chair of the holding company.

Before his time at TCF, Mr. Shafer served as CEO and President of Chemical Bank and as Vice Chairman and Director of Chemical Financial Corporation. Prior to this role, he was the President of Talmer Bank and Vice Chairman of Talmer Bancorp, Inc. Additionally, during his tenure at Talmer, he was the CEO, President and Director of First Place Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Talmer Bancorp, Inc., from acquisition until the merger into Talmer Bank. Prior to Talmer, Mr. Shafer held various executive positions at Citizens Republic Bancorp, where he spent 16 years in roles such as EVP of Regional Banking, EVP of Commercial Banking, and Chief Credit Officer. He began his banking career at Michigan National Bank of Detroit.

Mr. Shafer holds a bachelors degree from Hillsdale College, majoring in economics and business administration, and political economy. He is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking.

Mr. Shafer's commitment to community service extends across the Midwest region, where he has held positions with many organizations. He currently serves as a Board member of Hillsdale College. Noteworthy previous roles include serving as a former director of the Detroit Regional Chamber, fostering economic growth and development in the Detroit area, and as the past chair of Detroit Public Television, reflecting his dedication to promoting educational programming and cultural enrichment within the community. His commitment to community service and philanthropy is further illustrated by his tenure as the former President of the Tall Pine Council of Boy Scouts of America and his previous role as a Trustee of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. These experiences underscore his dedication to youth development and the arts, showcasing a well-rounded and influential leader who continues to make a positive impact in both local and national arenas.

Ms. Lagomarsino has served as President of the Company and a member of its Board of Directors since July of 2024. She has been an executive officer of numerous publicly traded financial institutions including most recently serving as CEO of Luther Burbank Savings and Luther Burbank Corporation from 2019 through February 2024, at which time the merger with Washington Federal was completed. Prior to joining Luther Burbank, Ms. Lagomarsino served as President and CEO of the California Bankers Association from 2017 through 2018. She was President and CEO of Heritage Oaks Bank from 2011 through 2017, when it was sold to Pacific Premier Bank.

Ms. Lagomarsino was recognized as one of the Community Bankers of the Year by American Banker in 2013 as a result of her leadership of the turnaround at Heritage Oaks Bank.  Following the sale of Heritage Oaks, Ms. Lagomarsino served on the Board of Pacific Premier until she became the President & CEO of Luther Burbank.

Ms. Lagomarsino has served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco since 2013, having served at different points as Chair of Audit, Chair of Risk, and Chair of the Board, among other roles during her tenure on the Board. Ms. Lagomarsino served on the Head Office Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2022 through July 2024. Ms. Lagomarsino also served on the Board of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure from 2019-2022.  The Board believes that Ms. Lagomarsino’s extensive executive banking experience, as well as her experience on several banking boards of directors, qualifies her to serve as a member of our Board.

From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Briggs served as Chairman of the Board of Desert Commercial Bank (“DCB”). He was elected as a director of the Company following the Company’s acquisition of DCB in August 2012. Mr. Briggs is, and since 1996 has been the President and CEO of FLC Capital Advisors, a wealth management firm with over $600 million of assets under administration. From 1992 to 2007, Mr. Briggs served as CEO of Franklin Loan Center, a mortgage banking company. Mr. Briggs earned a Business Administration and Finance degree from Stetson University. We believe Mr. Briggs is a valuable member of our Board due to his knowledge of the banking business, gained from his service as Chairman of DCB, particularly as conducted in Palm Desert, California, and its surrounding communities, where we have two of our wealth management offices, and his experience as President and CEO of a wealth management firm.

Mr. Sonenshine has served as a director of the Company since 2007. Mr. Sonenshine is, and since 2012, has served as President of Prell Restaurant Group, an operator of fast casual restaurants. From 2006 until 2012, Mr. Sonenshine served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Professionals Retirement Strategy, a retirement planning and entity risk management firm. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Sonenshine was President and co-founder of RSM EquiCo, an investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisitions of privately-held middle market companies. Mr. Sonenshine earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a Bachelor of Administration degree in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. degree and a MBA degree from the University of Southern California. We believe Mr. Sonenshine’s experience as President of a retirement planning firm is valuable to the Board in overseeing FFA’s wealth management and investment advisory business.

Dr. Rosenberg has served as a director of the Company since 2007. Dr. Rosenberg is, and since 2005 has served as, President and founder of the consulting firm of M. M. Rosenberg & Associates, which provides executive and organizational development services to public and private companies in the fields of financial services, health care and technology. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Rosenberg was Chief Executive Officer for The Picerne Group, an international investment firm investing primarily in real estate, and portfolios of loans. Prior to 2002, Dr. Rosenberg served as Executive Vice President and Director of Business Services for Ameriquest Capital Corporation and directed the Human Resource and Organizational Development functions for Washington Mutual Bank, American Savings Bank and Great Western Bank. Dr. Rosenberg earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Ohio University, a Masters of Science degree in Industrial Psychology from California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. degree in Psychology with an emphasis on Organizational Behavior from Claremont Graduate University, which is the graduate university of the Claremont Colleges. We believe that Dr. Rosenberg’s educational and operational experience in managing the human resource and organizational development functions of a number of banking organizations and a real estate investment firm provides insight regarding the Company’s human resource functions, including compensation considerations that will impact the Company’s growth and expansion.

Ms. Pagliarini has served as a director of the Company since 2019. Ms. Pagliarini is, and since September 2014 has been, the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and since 2019 the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer, of Summit Healthcare REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation that invests in and owns real estate. Her background includes experience in finance, accounting, operations, compliance, securities litigation and executive management. Prior to working at Summit, Ms. Pagliarini was chief compliance officer and FINOP (financial and operations principal) at a Los Angeles-based investment bank from 2005 to 2008, and a principal at a securities litigation and financial consulting firm 2001 to 2005. Ms. Pagliarini received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Valparaiso University. She is also a Certified Fraud Examiner. Ms. Pagliarini is active in her community, serving on the Emeritus Board of Directors for Forever Footprints, a non-profit organization that provides support to families that have suffered the loss of a baby during pregnancy or infancy, and is the Chair of the Mission Viejo, California City Council Investment Advisory Commission. We believe that Ms. Pagliarini’s educational and executive experience in managing the financial, accounting, securities filing and operations functions of several finance-oriented firms qualifies her to serve as a member of our Board.

Mr. Edelson has served as a director of the Company since 2024. Mr. Edelson is a real estate developer and investor based in Denver, Colorado. He is also the founder and President of Exact Title, a Denver based title insurance company.

Mr. Edelson has been working on infill construction and historic adaptive reuse redevelopment projects in Denver since 2020, with more than 700 multifamily units in his pipeline. His focus is on preserving historically significant buildings while also adding attainably priced multifamily units to the housing stock. Prior to starting his development company and title company, Mr. Edelson worked at Cyrus Capital from 2015-2019 with a focus on credit and structured credit investments. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in finance and real estate. We believe Mr. Edelson's experience in real estate is valuable to the Board in overseeing its loan portfolio.

Ms. Enden serves as a director of First Foundation Inc., a position she assumed following Fortress Investment Group's investment in the institution, which closed in July of 2024. Since January 2024, Ms. Enden has served as a managing director at Fortress, where she specializes in investments in the bank space. Prior to joining Fortress, Ms. Enden was a portfolio manager at MFP Investors LLC, an investment management company based in New York, where she had been employed since 2004.

Before joining the Company's board, Ms. Enden served as a director of various public and private companies, in several cases serving as a member or chair of Audit and Asset-Liability Committees:

• Avidbank Holdings, Inc. from August 2022 to January 2024.
• Dynasty Financial Partners from November 2021 to January 2024.
• Atlantic Capital Bancshares, Inc. from June 2015 to March 2022, when it was purchased by SouthState Bank.
• First Security, a bank purchased by Atlantic Capital, from 2013 until 2015.
• Bridgeview Bancorp, a bank in Chicago, Illinois, from July 2015 until May 2019, when the bank was acquired by First Midwest Bancorp.
• West Coast Bancorp, a bank in Lake Oswego, Oregon, from January 2012 until April 2013, when it was acquired by Columbia Banking System, Inc.

Ms. Enden holds a B.S. degree from Touro College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

We believe that Ms. Enden's experience in bank investing, coupled with her service on numerous other boards and involvement in bank governance, provide valuable perspective and insight to the Company's board and management.

Mr. Mackovak has served as a director of the Bank since July 8, 2024. He is a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Strategic Value Bank Partners, an investment firm specializing in community banks founded in 2015. Prior to Strategic Value Bank Partners, Mr. Mackovak was the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Cavalier Capital, an investment firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, from 2012 to 2015. Mr. Mackovak was the Senior Analyst at Rivanna Capital, an investment firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia from 2006 to 2012. Mr. Mackovak worked at First American Trust as an Associate Portfolio Manager, an investment firm based in Newport Beach, California from 2004 to 2005. Mr. Mackovak began his career at Merrill Lynch.  Mr. Mackovak currently serves on the Board of Directors for BankFinancial Corp (NASDAQ: BFIN) since 2024, People’s Bank of Commerce since 2021, Community Bank of the Bay since 2018, and Keystone Bank since 2018. Previously, he served on the board of United Security Bancshares, First South Bancorp, Peak Bancorp, Foothills Community Bank, TIG Bancorp and First State Bank of Colorado. In his experience as a bank director, Mr. Mackovak has served on the Compensation Committee, Loan Committee, Corporate Governance Committee, Nominating Committee, ALCO Committee, M&A Committee, and Audit Committee of various community banks. In addition to serving on bank boards, Mr. Mackovak also serves on the Board of Directors for the Great Lakes Science Center.  Mr. Mackovak Holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts from Kent State University, where he graduated magna cum laude. We believe that that Mr. Mackovak’s experience in banking and as a bank director is valuable to the Company.