Click on a person's name or image to view his or her biography.
Senior Management
Michael C. Rechin President and Chief Executive Officer
Michael C. Rechin is President and Chief Executive Officer of First Merchants Corporation. Rechin joined First Merchants in 2005 as Chief Operating Officer. He was promoted in April 2007 to President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining First Merchants Corporation, Mike was Executive Vice President of Corporate Banking for National City Bank, managing its Indiana operations.
Mark K. Hardwick Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mark K. Hardwick is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, of First Merchants Corporation. Prior to joining First Merchants Corporation in 1997, Hardwick was a senior accountant with BKD, LLP.
Hardwick is a graduate of Ball State University with a Bachelors degree in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Michael J. Stewart Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer
Michael Stewart is Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer for First Merchants Corporation. Previous to First Merchants, Stewart spent eighteen years with National City Bank, most recently as Executive Vice President of the Corporate Bank and Sales Manager of a regional Large Corporate Group. Previously, he was the Sales Manager of the Upper Middle Market Group, Chief Credit Officer of the Indiana bank and a Relationship Manager and team leader in the Wholesale Bank Group.
Stewart has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Millikin University in Decatur, IL, and an MBA from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN.
Jami L. Bradshaw Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Jami L. Bradshaw is Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of First Merchants Corporation. Previous to her current position, Bradshaw was Vice President and Corporate Controller from 2006 to May 2007 and Assistant Vice President and Assistant Controller from 2002 to 2006.
Bradshaw holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.
Robert R. Connors Senior Vice President, Operations and Technology
Robert R. Connors is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of First Merchants Corporation. Prior to joining First Merchants Corporation, Connors was Senior Vice President of Operations and Compliance at First Internet Bank of Indiana, Senior Vice President of Operations & Technology at Peoples Bank & Trust, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Regional Office Manager.
Connors is a graduate of Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio with Bachelors degrees in Finance and Philosophy. He also is a graduate of the Iowa School of Banking.
Kimberly J. Ellington Senior Vice President and Director of Human Resources
Kim Ellington is Senior Vice President and Human Resources Director of First Merchants Corporation. Prior to joining First Merchants Corporation in December 1996, Ellington was a member of the Ball State University Human Resources Services staff for 13 years.
Ellington has a Bachelors degree from Ball State University and a Masters degree in Executive Leadership Development from Ball State and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Jeffrey B. Lorentson Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer
Jeffrey B. Lorentson is Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of First Merchants Corporation. Previous to his current position, Lorentson was Senior Vice President and Controller at First Indiana Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana; First Vice President and Corporate Controller at First Merchants Corporation, Muncie, Indiana; and Senior Manager, Business Risk Services at Ernst & Young LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Lorentson is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois with a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting and a Minor in Speech Communications. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
John J. Martin Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer
John J. Martin is Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of First Merchants Corporation. Martin joined First Merchants in 2007 as Senior Manager of Lending Process in the Credit Division, was promoted to Deputy Chief Credit Officer in 2008 and to Chief Credit officer in June 2009.
Martin is a graduate of Indiana University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration in finance from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.
Board of Directors
Charles E. Schalliol Chairman
On June 1, 2007, Mr. Schalliol left his job as Indiana's Chief Financial Officer to return to the private sector joining a large Indiana law firm, Baker & Daniels, of Counsel. He is also pursuing private equity and venture capital opportunities.
Mr. Schalliol was named Director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget and Chief Financial Officer for the State of Indiana, as Governor Mitch Daniels’ first appointment, immediately following the November 2004 election. In this role, he had direct responsibility for the Administration’s budgets and financial organizations, including the State's two pension funds, as well as agencies with 2,000 state employees. He was also responsible for the State's efficiency efforts for all state institutions. He was active for the administration in all financially based legislative efforts. He led the financing of the billion dollar Indiana stadium and convention center project and was responsible for both the planning and implementation of the four billon dollar leasing transaction of the Indiana Toll Road. He led the Administration's effort to license the Indiana Lottery. Under his leadership, the State achieved it’s first balanced budget in eight years, passed four years of balanced budgets, and received credit upgrades from major rating agencies.
Prior to assuming his responsibilities with the State of Indiana, Mr. Schalliol served as the first President and CEO of BioCrossroads, the Indiana-based life sciences initiative. In that role, he led the effort to create a comprehensive strategy for Indiana’s life science sector and the formation of several new businesses and two venture funds: the Indiana Future Fund 1 and Indiana Seed Fund 1.
Preceding BioCrossroads, he held a variety of executive positions at Eli Lilly and Company, principally in strategic planning, investment banking, and business development. Most recently, he was Founder and Managing Director of Lilly’s three venture funds and Executive Director of Corporate Finance and Investment Banking. Mr. Schalliol led the purchase and sale of companies for Lilly including the formation of Guidant Corporation. He has held senior operating positions in a San Diego medical device company, IVAC Corporation, in operations, quality assurance, product testing, engineering, and regulatory. He previously worked in both public accounting and law firms.
Mr. Schalliol holds a business degree with high distinction from Indiana University and a law degree from Yale University. He is active on several boards of directors of both for profit and not-for-profit corporations.
Thomas B. Clark
Retired Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jarden Corporation, a provider of niche consumer products for the home. Mr. Clark was Alltrista's President and CEO from 1995 to 2001, and Board Chairman from 2000 to 2001. Director of First Merchants Corporation since 1989.
Jerry R. Engle
Mr. Engle served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lincoln and the President and Chief Executive Officer of its wholly owned subsidiary, Lincoln Bank, from 2005 to 2008. From 2004 to 2005, he was Vice Chairman of Lincoln’s Board and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Lincoln Bank. On April 17, 2009, Lincoln Bank merged into First Merchants Bank of Central Indiana, National Association (“FMBCI”), a wholly owned subsidiary of First Merchants, and Mr. Engle became the Indianapolis Regional President of FMBCI.
Roderick English
President and Chief Executive Officer, The James Monroe 2005 Group, LLC, a provider of business management and consulting services, since 2006. Mr. English was Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Communications, Remy International, Inc. (formerly, Delco Remy International, Inc.), a manufacturer of electrical and powertrain products for autos, trucks and other vehicles, from 1994 to 2006. Director of First Merchants Corporation since 2005.
Jo Ann M. Gora
President, Ball State University, since 2004. Dr. Gora served as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Boston from 2001 to 2004. She was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Old Dominion University from 1992 to 2001. Director of First Merchants Corporation since 2004.
William L. Hoy
Vice President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Owner of The Columbus Sign Company, a custom sign and graphic fabricator located in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, Mr. Hoy is Co-Owner of Innocom Corporation, an environmental graphic design and custom display company, as well as M&B Properties, a real estate partnership.
Barry J. Hudson
Retired Chairman of the Board of Directors of First National Bank of Portland ("FNB"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation. Mr. Hudson was Chief Executive Officer of FNB from 1982 to 2000, and he was its President from 1982 to 1998. Director of First Merchants Corporation since 1999.
Michael C. Rechin
Michael C. Rechin is President and Chief Executive Officer of First Merchants Corporation. Rechin joined First Merchants in 2005 as Chief Operating Officer. He was promoted in April 2007 to President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining First Merchants Corporation, Mike was Executive Vice President of Corporate Banking for National City Bank, managing its Indiana operations.
Patrick A. Sherman
Since 1975, Patrick Sherman has been a partner and Certified Public Accountant with Sherman & Armbruster, LLP of Greenwood, Indiana. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Sherman served on the Lincoln Bank Board of Directors where he served as Chair of the Audit and Compliance Committees as well as served as a member of the Loan and A&L Committees.
Terry L. Walker
Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer, Muncie Power Products, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of power take-offs and hydraulic components for the truck equipment industry, since 2005. Mr. Walker was Muncie Power's President and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 to 2005. Director of First Merchants Corporation since 2006.
Jean L. Wojtowicz
President and Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Capital Management Corp., a manager of non-traditional sources of financing, since 1983. Ms. Wojtowicz is also a director of Vectren Corporation and a trustee of Windrose Medical Properties Trust, which are both listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Director of First Merchants Corporation since 2004.
