J. Thomas Cardwell (invited)
Commissioner
Florida Office of Financial Regulation

J. Thomas Cardwell was appointed on August 11, 2009 as Florida’s Commissioner for the Office of Financial Regulation. Prior to government service, Mr. Cardwell practiced law and was a leader in the development of financial institutions legislation and regulation in Florida.

He began his legal career with Akerman Senterfitt, one of the largest law firms in Florida. During his time at the firm, he served as Chairman and CEO, and headed the Financial Institutions Practice Section. He was General Counsel to the Florida Bankers Association from 1982-2009. The Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court appointed Mr. Cardwell to its Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force, which made recommendations in 2009 for the court system to deal with the mortgage foreclosure crisis in Florida. Mr. Cardwell has been rated number one in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for Florida Banking and Finance and has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America in both Banking Law and Commercial Litigation for many years. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Cardwell received his B.A. from Duke University in 1964 and his J.D. (with honors) from the University of Florida, College of Law, in 1966 where he was an executive editor of the law review.

Linda Charity
Director, Division of Financial InstitutionsFlorida Office of Financial Regulation

In 1979, Linda Charity began her career with the Office of Financial Regulation (formerly the Department of Banking and Finance) as an entry-level bank examiner in West Palm Beach. Linda moved from the field to the Tallahassee headquarters in 1983 to develop and implement an extensive examiner training program. In 1989, she was promoted to the Chief of the Bureau of Research, Planning and Staff Development and in 2000 she assumed the position of Chief of the Bureau of Financial Institutions, District I.

The former Department of Banking and Finance was reorganized in 2003 and Linda was appointed the Director of the Division of Financial Institutions in February 2003. The Financial Services Commission appointed her Acting Commissioner of Office of Financial Regulation from June – August 2009.

Linda earned a Bachelors degree from the University of Florida and a Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance at Florida State University. Linda has attended and taught at a number of state and federal regulatory schools, as well as numerous industry schools and seminars.

Steven D. Fritts
Associate Director of Supervision & Consumer Protection
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Steven D. Fritts is a 27-year veteran of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). He has served in managerial roles for the FDIC in Knoxville, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; and Washington, D.C. His responsibilities have spanned a variety of corporate functions, including risk management supervision, bank resolutions, and consumer compliance. Mr. Fritts was appointed Associate Director for Risk Management Policy on July 1, 2002. He is a graduate of Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky and the Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ron Lindhart
Assistant Deputy Comptroller
South Florida Field Office, OCC

Ron Lindhart is the Assistant Deputy Comptroller in charge of the South Florida Field Office for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He is responsible for the supervision and regulation of national banks headquartered from Vero Beach to the Florida Keys and over to Naples. 

Ron joined the OCC in 1975 and was commissioned as a National Bank Examiner in 1980. He has previously served the OCC in several other management capacities:  Director for International Banking and Finance, Deputy Comptroller for Compliance Management, Field Manager of the OCC South Florida Duty Station, and OCC Director for Enterprise Governance. In 2008, Ron was detailed to the US Treasury Department to help establish the operations of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Ron holds a M.S. Degree in Regulatory Policy from the George Washington University and a B.B.A. in Finance from Boise State University. He is also a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the Federal Executive Institute.

Stephanie J. Ovington, CRCM
Field Supervisor (Compliance)
FDIC

Ms. Ovington joined the FDIC in July 1989 as a Risk Management examiner in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Field Office. She spent much of her early career examining problem institutions in Louisiana, California, and New England. In 1994, Ms. Ovington transferred to the Los Angeles Field Office where she dealt with complex issues related to the state’s real estate downturn. In 1996, she transferred to the Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs in Sacramento, California, and served a seven month detail in the Community Affairs branch of the Washington Office preparing examiner guidance for large bank CRA evaluations.

Ms. Ovington accepted the position of senior compliance examiner in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1998, where she was primarily responsible for the states of North Carolina and Virginia. In 2004, she was promoted to her current position as field supervisor for the FDIC’s compliance operations in Florida. She has served as a fair lending and CRA instructor at the FDIC Training Center, and has regularly served as the compliance instructor for the North Carolina and Florida Directors Colleges.

Ms. Ovington received her B.S.B.A. from Auburn University in 1981 and later received an accounting degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned the designation of Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) in 1998 and completed the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in 2002.

Sean Snaith, Ph.D.
Director, Institute for Economic Competitiveness
University of Central Florida

Sean Snaith is a widely recognized economist in the field of business and economic forecasting. As an award-winning forecaster, researcher, and professor, Sean is always interested in the application of academic expertise to the solution of real world problems. He has served as a consultant for a client list ranging from local and regional municipalities to multi-national corporations, including Compaq, Dell and IBM.

Sean has held teaching positions at Pennsylvania State University, American University in Cairo, University of North Dakota and University of the Pacific. He frequently appears in national and regional media and is sought after as a speaker. Renowned for his engaging presentations, one business editor wrote, “Snaith (has) an uncanny knack of making economics not only understandable but interesting.”

Sean is a member of several economic organizations and national forecasting panels including USA Today’s Survey of Top Economists, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Survey of Professional Forecasters and the Livingston Survey. He holds a B.S. in Economics from Allegheny College and an M.A and Ph.D. in Economics from Pennsylvania State University.

Sharon Lee Stark
Managing Director
Sterne Agee & Leach

Sharon joined Sterne Agee & Leach in September 2009 as a Managing Director, Fixed Income Strategist in the Fixed Income Division. Previously, Sharon was the Senior Economic and Policy Advisor at the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) in Washington D.C. where she participated in the development and review of new federal programs to enhance liquidity and expand credit capacity in the U.S. financial system. These programs included recent initiatives such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and national loan modification standards for home mortgages (HAMP).

Prior to joining the OTS, she was the Chief Market Strategist and Director of Research and Strategy for Legg Mason and subsequently, Stifel Nicolaus & Co., Inc. for twelve years. Sharon led the development of investment strategies for clients based upon relative value analyses, economic and market assessments, clients’ financial objectives, and regulatory/legislative issues. She provided written and oral analyses on domestic economic and monetary conditions and their current and potential effect on the financial markets and was frequently interviewed by the financial press such as CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters and others.

She has published in various professional journals and has been nominated for Institutional Investor’s All-Star Fixed Income Research team. She is a graduate of the George Washington University.

Bradley J. Waring
Assistant Regional Director
Office of Thrift Supervision

Bradley J. Waring began his regulatory career in 1987 as a safety and soundness examiner with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Waring transferred to the Office of Thrift Supervision following its creation in 1989. In 1991, he relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, where he worked as an examiner and Field Manager with responsibility for overseeing the examination and supervision programs of OTS-regulated thrifts and thrift holding companies in North and South Carolina.

In 2005, Mr. Waring accepted a Senior Examiner position in the Complex and International Organizations department in Washington, D.C., and in 2006, was promoted to Director of Conglomerate Operations. In 2008, Mr. Waring accepted a transfer to Atlanta, GA, where he works as an Assistant Regional Director with responsibility for overseeing the supervisory programs of thrifts and thrift holding companies in Florida.

Mr. Waring graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1987, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

"As a first time director I found this meeting extremely informative. I was surprised at how it held my interest. Great meeting!"

"This meeting was well planned and executed. The topics were timely and the speakers were superb."

"This meeting really exceeded my expectations. It was an excellent, well rounded event with very informative topics. I'll be back next year."

"This is the third directors meeting I have attended and all of them have been informative and very good."

2010 Registration Fees Per Person:

FBA Member

$400.00

$450.00

Additional FBA Member

$350.00

$400.00

FBA Non-Member

$800.00

$900.00

Additional FBA Non-Member

$700.00

$800.00

De Novo Bank Less Than One Year Old

$350.00

$400.00