Forum 2024 speaker:

James H. Sills, III

President and CEO, Mechanics and Farmers Bank

James H. Sills is President and CEO of Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Durham, NC, which has total assets of $473 million and seven branches. With 117 years of service, it is the second oldest African American-owned bank in the U.S.

Sills has a unique combination of executive experience within large-scale banking operations, community banks and governmental organizations. He has over 35 years of banking and technology management experience.

Currently, he serves on various banking industry boards and non-profit boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where he serves as the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; Secretary and Executive Committee member of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA),  the largest community bank trade association in America; past Chairman of the North Carolina Bankers Association, representing the nation’s 10th largest banking market;  Executive Committee, NC Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the DEI Advisory Board; the National Bankers Association; and former member of the FDIC Minority Banking Advisory Committee.

Sills received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, an MPA from the University of Pittsburgh, and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Banking School.