Midland States Bancorp, Inc. announced promotions within its executive management team and its wholly-owned subsidiary Midland States Bank.

• Jeffrey G. Ludwig has been promoted to President of the Company and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. Prior to these promotions, Ludwig served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company and President and Chief Financial Officer of the Bank.  He also has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Bank.
• Jeffrey S. Mefford has been promoted to President of the Bank from his prior position as Executive Vice President.
• Stephen A. Erickson has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of the Company and the Bank from his prior position as Director of Mergers & Acquisitions for the Bank.

Leon J. Holschbach, Chief Executive Officer of Midland States Bancorp, said, “The promotions announced today reflect the continued implementation of our management succession plan. Jeff Ludwig and Jeff Mefford have been instrumental in building Midland into one of the largest community banks in Illinois, and with their increased responsibilities, we are well positioned to continue executing on our strategic plan in the years ahead and creating additional value for our shareholders.  We are also fortunate to have an individual with Steve’s background in accounting, investment banking and the overall financial services industry to step into the CFO role. In the six years that Steve has been with Midland, he has been an integral member of our finance team and has demonstrated exceptional leadership and organizational skills while serving as our Director of Mergers & Acquisitions.”

Ludwig joined the Company in November 2006 as Chief Financial Officer, was promoted to Executive Vice President of the Company in October 2010, and was named President of the Bank in March 2016. He serves on the Company’s Executive Committee and Capital Management and Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and chairs its Asset/Liability Committee. Prior to joining the Company, Ludwig held the positions of Associate Director, Corporate Reporting, for Zimmer Holdings, Inc., from 2005 to 2006; Director of Corporate Accounting for Novellus Systems, Inc., from 2002 to 2005; and held various positions, including Senior Manager—Audit & Advisory Services, at KPMG LLP, from 1993 to 2000 and in its technology practice, from 2000 to 2002.

Mefford has been with the Bank since 2003 and served as the Bank’s Executive Vice President, Banking, since March 2016 with responsibility for retail, commercial, mortgage and treasury sales, marketing, community development and CRA. He previously was Senior Vice President, Community Banking. Prior to joining Midland, Mefford held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Farmers State Bank of Camp Point, from 2000 to 2003; Vice President, Mortgage Department Manager, at Marine Bank, from 1998 to 2000; and Vice President, Small Business Banking Manager, for Bank One, Illinois, from 1991 to 1998.

Erickson joined Midland in 2012 in connection with Midland’s acquisition of EnablePay Direct, Inc., of which he was co-founder and President. Erickson has served as Midland’s Director of Mergers and Acquisitions since 2015, and as President of Midland’s Merchant Services division from 2012-2015. Before founding EnablePay, he served as Chief Financial Officer of EVO Merchant Services, Inc., He has also held the positions of Vice President of Investment Banking – Financial Services, at Bear Stearns & Co. (1999-2003), Senior Accounting Officer at Goldman Sachs & Co., and Senior Associate at Coopers & Lybrand, LLP.