J. Burton Hicks — Chief of Staff, VP of Mergers & Acquisitions and IR Officer at Simmons First National Corporation

Mr. J. Burton Hicks, also known as Burt, serves as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions, Investor Relations Officer and Chief of Staff at Simmons First National Corporation and has been its Secretary since March 25, 2015. Mr. Hicks has been the Chief Operating Officer of Wealth Management & Specialty Lending and Senior Vice President at Simmons First National Bank, a subsidiary of Simmons First National Corporation since January 20, 2016. He was Vice President of Simmons First National Corporation. He served as an Assistant Secretary at Simmons First National Corporation from May 27, 2014 to March 24, 2015. Prior to joining Simmons First National Corporation, Mr. Hicks served as a Business Commercialization Associate at Innovate Arkansas, a joint program of Winrock International and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Mr. Hicks worked at Arkansas Economic Development Commission as a Corporate Rotational Analyst, where he spent 2-3 months working with senior management in various business units within it. Mr. Hicks also worked as an Investment Banking Analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Financial Institutions Group in New York, NY. Mr. Hicks has completed various USAID-funded economic development initiatives and projects in Ghana, Mongolia and Myanmar (Burma). Mr. Hicks also serves on the Board of Directors for the Simmons First Foundation. Mr. Hicks serves as a member of the University of Arkansas Walton College of Business Dean's Business Alumni Advisory Council (since 2008), the Arkansas Fellowship Board of Directors (since 2013), and the Arkansas Independent Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees (since 2013). Mr. Hicks was selected by Arkansas Business for its New Influentials: 20 in Their Twenties designation in 2013. Mr. Hicks is licensed to practice law in the State of Arkansas and has a Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent) and a Series 7 (General Securities Representative) license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ( FINRA). While at the Clinton School of Public Service, Mr. Hicks was selected as one of only four McLarty Global Engagement Graduate Fellows with Vital Voices Global Partnership and one of only twelve Regional Social Impact Graduate Fellows with RSF Social Finance. Mr. Hicks received a B.S.B.A. degree (Finance Investment Management) from the University of Arkansas Walton College of Business in 2008, a Master of Public Service degree from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in 2013 and a Juris Doctor degree (with Honors) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law in 2013.