Phil Baldwin, president and CEO of Citizens Bank of Batesville, and Susan M. Miller, a partner at BKD LLP of Little Rock, were honored with lifetime achievement awards at the Arkansas Business CFO of the Year luncheon on Wednesday.
Baldwin, the CFO Lifetime Achievement Award winner, held the post of chief financial officer for a little over a decade at four stops during his 36-year career, including at Arkadelphia’s Southern Bancorp. There, he helped grow the company into America’s largest rural development bank. After leaving Arkansas and spending time in Atlanta, where he served as CEO of CredAbility, he was lured back to the state by Citizens Bank in 2013.
Miller, the Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Award winner, became partner at BKD in 2003. In 2007, she was named the firm’s health care niche leader. The health care team has 16 employees and works with about 30 hospitals to improve their bottom lines. Miller has also been involved with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas since 2006, and serves on the board of directors’ executive committee.
The awards are part of an annual event produced by Arkansas Business that honors lifetime achievements and chief financial officers in several categories.
Each of the honorees was chosen by an independent panel of judges. This year’s judges were Gena Wingfield, CFO of Arkansas Children's Hospital; Marnie Oldner, CEO of Stone Bank; and Jim W. Smith, founding partner of Smith Hurst PLC.
The event's other honorees were:
- Ben Hollowell of Applied Technology Group USA, as Small Private Company CFO of the Year
- Bill Harrison of E. Ritter & Co., as Large Private Company CFO of the Year
- James Schnoes of One Bank & Trust, as Small Bank CFO of the Year
- Karla Payne of Arvest Bank, as Large Bank CFO of the Year
- Harry Hutchison of St. Bernards Healthcare, as Nonprofit Organization CFO of the Year
- Adam Adair of Arkansas State University-Newport, as Education/Public Sector CFO of the Year
Short biographies on all of the winners and finalists are available here.