Gateway Bank is built on a solid foundation. The Board of Directors represents a cross-section of experienced banking professionals and business leaders in the Sarasota/Bradenton community.

Pictured left to right: David J. Grain; Shaun P. Merriman, President & CEO; Gavin W. Meshad, Vice Chairman; Dr. Gary K. Bockhold; David E. Sessions; Charles J. Bartlett, Chairman; Wayne M. Ruben; and Katherine K. Moulton. Not pictured: David K. Maholias.

Gateway Bank is built on a solid foundation. The Board of Directors represents a cross-section of experienced banking professionals and business leaders in the Sarasota/Bradenton community.

Shaun P. Merriman – President and CEO
A 27-year banking veteran, Shaun began organizing Gateway Bank in November, 2006, during the most adverse banking climate seen in Southwest Florida in decades. He authored a convincing business plan, managed a $19.5 million capital raise, and assembled a notable board of directors and talented banking staff. Shaun then took the aggressive approach to open three banking centers within the first 12 months of operation, which is virtually unheard of. Under Shaun’s leadership, Gateway Bank has grown to over $210 million in total assets, reaching sustained profitability in just 31 months of operation. By comparison, most start-up banks do not reach profitability until their third or fourth year of operation. Prior to organizing Gateway Bank, Shaun served as Southwest Florida’s Area Executive for AmSouth Bank in Sarasota. He oversaw 45 banking centers in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. Over two-thirds of Shaun’s career was spent with SouthTrust Corporation. He held several senior leadership positions including Executive Vice President and Senior Lender as well as President and CEO of SouthTrust’s Suncoast Market in Sarasota, Florida and banking operations in Houston, Texas. Shaun is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a major in Finance and a minor in Accounting. He is also a graduate of the Wisconsin School of Commercial Banking and The Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is active in the Sarasota community currently serving as the immediate past chair for Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, trustee board member for Doctors Hospital, board member and Corporate Secretary for Team Tony Cancer Foundation, and past Chairman for the United Way of Sarasota County. Shaun is a recipient of the 2009 (Bronze), 2010 (Silver), and 2011 (Silver) President’s Volunteer Service Awards, a national award recognizing his community service in the Sarasota community.

Charles J. Bartlett – Chairman
Charles J. Bartlett is a Senior Shareholder of Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen and Ginsburg, PA, a premier law firm serving the Southwest Florida area since 1953. He specializes in commercial and business litigation, real estate and business law with an emphasis on the representation of small-to-medium size companies. Mr. Bartlett has practiced law with the Icard Merrill firm for 33 years and served as president of the 32 attorney, 70 employee firm from 1987 until 1998. Every year since 1999, he has been the recipient of the prestigious “AV” rating, the highest rating available from Martindale Hubbell, which is regarded as the most respected source of authoritative and dependable information about members of the legal community. Mr. Bartlett has also been regularly named to the Florida Super Lawyers list, consisting of less than five percent of the attorneys in the state, as well as to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, and as a “Best Lawyer” by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. In addition, Mr. Bartlett has been repeatedly selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of Commercial Litigation. This honor is based on a rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 2.5 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. Mr. Bartlett received his undergraduate degree with high honors from Florida State University and his law degree from University of Florida, with high honors. He has held numerous offices and terms with Sarasota County Bar Association including a term as president from 1993-1994. He currently serves as a member of the Executive Council of the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar. Mr. Bartlett has also served as a trustee member for Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and numerous other civic boards and non-profit organizations. He has been a resident in this community for 42 years.

Gavin W. Meshad – Vice Chairman
Gavin W. Meshad is Vice President of JWM Management, Inc., a real estate management, development and leasing company that currently owns and manages nearly 1 million square feet of commercial space in Florida, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. The company developed several well known projects in the Sarasota area such as Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Maxfield Commerce Park, Gateway Professional Center and Midtown Medical Office Park. Prior to joining JWM Management, Inc., Mr. Meshad served as Vice President for HCA Healthcare Corporation where he was responsible for a large nationwide managed care subsidiary under the HCA group. Mr. Meshad received a BA in Economics from University of Georgia and an MBA from George Washington University. He is a member of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County; a board member of the St. Armand’s Circle Business Improvement District (BID); and was recently appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott to the Florida Board of Pharmacy as one of only two consumer members. Mr. Meshad previously served as an advisory board member for SouthTrust Bank in Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Meshad is a life-long resident of Sarasota, and is the father of four daughters.

Dr. Gary K. Bockhold
Dr. Gary K. Bockhold is a board certified optometric physician with the prestigious Center for Sight Medical Group in Sarasota. A native of Warren, Ohio, Dr. Bockhold received his undergraduate and Doctor of Optometry degree from Ohio State University. He then served as a clinical instructor at University Clinics until relocating to Sarasota in 1977. He has owned and operated an optometry clinic in this area for more than 31 years. His professional associations include membership in American Optometric Association, Florida Optometric Association and Manasota Society of Optometry, where he served as president from 1982 and 1983. Dr. Bockhold is also a board member and past-president of Sunrise Rotary Club. He has been a resident in this community for 35 years.

David J. Grain
David J. Grain is Chairman and CEO of Grain Management, a privately held investment company in Sarasota specializing in wireless communications throughout the United States. Prior to forming Grain Management, Mr. Grain was President of Global Signal, Inc., a NYSE listed company. Global Signal became one of the largest independent wireless communications tower companies in North America prior to selling to Crown Castle Corporation. Prior to joining Global Signal, Mr. Grain served as Senior Vice President of AT&T Broadband’s New England Region. Prior to joining AT&T, he spent over a decade in the financial services industry in New York City, most recently as a Principal at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Grain is active in national civic affairs, and in July 2011 was appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist appointed Mr. Grain to the State Board of Administration’s (SBA) Investment Advisory Council where he serves as Chairman. Mr. Grain received a BA in English from Holy Cross College in Worchester, Massachusetts and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He currently serves on the board of trustees for the Holy Cross College, and on the MBA advisory board for Amos Tuck. Mr. Grain also serves on the advisory committee for Booker High School. He has been a resident in this community for ten years.

David K. Maholias
David K. Maholias is President and CEO of the Gateway Bank of Florida and Gateway Financial Holdings of Florida, Inc., a position he has held since January 2006. David has been a resident of Daytona Beach, Florida since 1975. He has over 21 years of banking experience with SouthTrust Bank and Barnett Bank within the Daytona Beach area. For 11 years, he served on the Executive Management team for SouthTrust Bank’s Central Florida market encompassing Volusia, Flagler, Alachua, Lake and Sumter counties. Prior to joining Gateway Bank of Florida, he served as Executive Vice President and Senior Lender of SouthTrust Banks Central Florida market from 2002 until its sale to Wachovia in 2004. Earlier he served eight years as Executive Vice President and Retail Banking Administrator for SouthTrust Bank’s Central Florida market overseeing 29 Banking Centers, Sales and Marketing, Compliance /CRA, Consumer Lending and Small Business Lending. Mr. Maholias is a graduate of Seabreeze High School and the University of South Florida with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Finance. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Daytona Beach Halifax Chamber, a member of the Florida Bankers Association’s Board of Directors as of June 2012, and has been appointed to the Florida Bankers Association’s Government relations Council every year since 2008.

Katherine K. Moulton
Katherine (Katie) Moulton is a more than 30-year award-winning hospitality executive with expertise in luxury resort management; fine, casual and family dining restaurants; employee relations; recreation management; communications, marketing and advertising; and retail operations. As a Florida Supreme Count Certified Mediator, Katie offers a unique understanding of applying alternate dispute resolution to virtually all aspects of the industry and related businesses. In addition to more than 25 years as President of the renowned Colony Beach and Tennis Resort, and before that as a food facilities design consultant with Cini Grissom Associates, Katie has also dedicated herself to her industry and community, including as the past-chairman of the Florida Lodging Association and the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. Other organizational involvement includes board positions with the Florida Council of 100, American Hotel & Lodging Association, Tampa Bay Partnership, University of South Florida/Sarasota School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Sarasota Economic Development Corporation, Tourist Development Council, Sarasota Convention and Visitor Bureau, Sarasota Schools Business Advisory Committee, Girl’s Inc., and Florida Winefest and Auction. Additionally, Katie has been a member of the Cornell Hotel Society, Southern Innkeepers Association, Association of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and International Women’s Forum. Katie is a graduate of the esteemed Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Katie’s personal honors include the prestigious Independent Hotelier of the World designation from Hotels magazine; Tampa Bay Business Journal Women in Business Award; Girls Inc. Visionary Award and “She Knows Where She’s Going”; Tourism Leader of the Year from the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau; Businessperson of the Year from Sarasota magazine; and Maddux Report Distinguished Women in Business Award. She was selected to be a Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, speaks at conferences and seminars, and is often asked to moderate forums and panels.

Wayne M. Ruben
Wayne M. Ruben is a partner in Ruben-Holland Development, LLC in Sarasota.  His company specializes in commercial and residential real estate development in Southwest Florida. Mr. Ruben moved to Florida in 1992 to open the Florida division for Benderson Development Corporation, a New York based company. As the managing partner for this new division, Mr. Ruben and staff spent the next twelve years completing over 80 projects and expanding the company’s holdings from a single shopping center to one that owned and operated several million square feet of retail, industrial, office and self-storage space throughout Florida. Mr. Ruben is a highly regarded and sought after expert in real estate development working closely with the City of Sarasota, Sarasota County and Sarasota Memorial Health Systems in a variety of consultant roles. He is best known for his ability to redevelop under-performing commercial projects by dramatically improving the project’s aesthetics and then pursuing a merchant mix of high quality national tenants that will complement each other thus resulting in higher than average occupancy, renewal rates and revenue. In 2004, Mr. Ruben sold his interest in Benderson Development Corporation to form Ruben-Holland Development, LLC. Mr. Ruben attended the American University in Washington, DC. He currently serves as board member of the Savoy on Palm condominium association, and has been a resident in this community for 19 years.

David E. Sessions
David E. Sessions is the Owner and President of Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc., a Sarasota-based construction management firm. David has had more than 29 years of multi-disciplined experience in educational, healthcare, religious, green sustainable, industrial and commercial construction. Under David’s stellar leadership and guidance, Willis Smith Construction received several awards. Most recently, the company was recognized as one of the highest quality construction companies in the area and in 2010 won the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious Frank G. Berlin, Sr., Think Green Business of the Year Award. The company also won the Manatee Chamber’s 2010 Small Business of the Year Award. In 2009, the company received the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County’s Hall of Fame “Green to Gold” Award. In 2007, they were awarded Service Company of the Year by the EDC of Sarasota County. In 2006, they were awarded the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s Frank G. Berlin, Sr., Small Business of the Year Award. David was named 2008 CEO of the Year in the construction and real estate category by Tampa Bay CEO magazine. For the past two years, the firm was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama, for providing over 2,000 hours of community service in 2010 and 1,700 hours of community service in 2011 to Sarasota and Manatee organizations. A graduate of the University of Florida with a B.S. in Building Construction, David is extremely active in the community. He currently serves on various boards including the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, and SCOPE (Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence). David is past Chairman of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County. He is also Chairman of StartUps, past Chairman of the Sarasota County Education Foundation, and a member of Leadership Florida, Class of 2011-12. Willis A. Smith Construction, which was founded in 1972, is a mid-size construction management firm serving specialized client markets throughout Southwest Florida. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, some of the company’s recent projects include Booker High School Rebuild, LECOM School of Dental Medicine, Sarasota County Technical Institute and the recent completion of the Tervis Tumbler facility expansion. A few of the company’s clients include the School Boards of Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Ringling School of Art and Design, Florida State University Ringling Museum of Art, Tidewell Hospice, New College, Mote Marine Laboratory and numerous other well-known businesses throughout the area. David has been with the company for over 24 years, and has been a resident in this community for 30 years.