Mr. Milton Ray Cole, Jr., also known as Hoppy, has been the President of First BancShares Inc. since August 8, 2005. Mr. Cole has been the Chief Executive Officer of First Bancshares Inc. and The First, A National Banking Association (known as The First National Bank) since September 2009. He serves as President of the Picayune branch of First Bancshares Inc. He has worked at for 16 years at The First, a national banking association. He served as President of the Picayune branch of The First National Bank until August 8, 2005. Prior to joining the First Bancshares Inc. in September 2002, Mr. Cole served as Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Headrick Companies, Inc. for eleven years. He began his career with The First National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans, Louisiana and held the position of Corporate Banking Officer from 1985 to 1988. In December 1988, Mr. Cole joined Sunburst Bank in Laurel, Mississippi serving as Senior Lender and also served as President of the Laurel office. He has been a Director of Mississippi Association Of Financial Institutions For Deposit Inc. since June 18, 2015. He has been a Director of First Bancshares Inc. since 2001 and also serves as a Director of The First National Bank, a subsidiary of First Bancshares Inc. He serves as Director of Sunburst Bank and The First National Bank. He served as a Director of Laurel Bank and First National Bank of the Pine Belt. He graduated from the University of Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Business Administration. Mr. Cole also attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware.