Management
Lars B. Eller
President & CEO, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. & Farmers & Merchants State Bank
Mr. Eller joined The Farmers & Merchants State Bank as its President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2018. He was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. and The Farmers & Merchants State Bank in September 2018. He assumed the additional position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. on February 1, 2019 upon the retirement of the then current President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Eller has a Master of Business Administration degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and an undergraduate degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Prior to joining the Bank, he worked as a consultant for Cambridge Savings Bank. In 2013, he joined Royal Bank of America as Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer. Royal Bank of America was a publicly held community bank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which was acquired in 2017. Previous banking experience includes serving as Director of Sales and Marketing at Clarity Advantage Corporation; Senior Vice President of Retail Banking for TD Bank in Pennsylvania, Head of National Sales for U.S. Wealth Management at TD Bank, leadership roles at National City Bank in Cleveland, Youngstown, and Dayton; and starting his banking career with TD Bank Financial Group working his way through the ranks as a management trainee to an area manager.
Having recently relocated to Northwest Ohio, Mr. Eller has extensive experience at both large national and regional banks, as well as community banks. He can provide knowledge and expertise to the board regarding executive management, sales and marketing, retail banking, bank mergers and acquisitions, human resource management, executive officer compensation and incentives, strategic planning, and shareholder relations. He is a member of the Executive Committee.
Barbara Britenriker
Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer (Farmers & Merchants Bancorp) and Executive Vice President/Chief Retail Banking Officer
Ms. Britenriker is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Farmers & Merchants Bancorp. In January of 2019, she handed over the role as the CFO for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank and took on the responsibility to head the transformation of the retail division by becoming the Chief Retail Banking Officer. She has been employed by the Bank for 35 years, beginning in the new accounts department and progressing through operations to become the Comptroller and then the CFO. She is responsible for SEC compliance and reporting and enjoys the interaction with investor calls and reviewing merger possibilities to expand the franchise.
Ms. Britenriker has served on many Boards such as Financial Women International. She has filled many positions during her association with FWI including a past Maumee Valley Group and District of Ohio President. Her time is spent involved in many other organizations – she currently serves as a trustee for Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges, Junior Achievement of Archbold Board member, Past President of Rotary Club of Archbold and Archbold Athletic Boosters. She is also active in her religious community, St. Peter’s of Archbold, having served on the finance committee, as an education instructor and an active Eucharistic minister.
As a graduate of Defiance College, Ms. Britenriker received a Bachelor of Science Degree with a double major in Mathematics with Computer Science and Business Administration. She received her Master of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting from the University of Toledo. She is a graduate of the Ohio Bankers Association School of Banking and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking, Madison, Wisconsin.
Ms. Britenriker was raised in New Bremen, Ohio and met her husband at college and has resided in Stryker, Ohio since then. Their three children live in the surrounding areas and have blessed them with eleven grandchildren who keep them busy attending local events.
Amy L. Cover
Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer
Ms. Cover joined F&M in 2009 as the Marketing Assistant. Amy was appointed an Officer of the Bank in 2012. In 2019, she was promoted to Vice President/Marketing Manager and joined the executive team. As Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Cover will lead marketing and brand strategy, communications and public relations across F&M’s footprint.
Amy earned both a Master’s of Business Administration degree and an undergraduate degree from Defiance College. She is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. While attending the Graduate School of Banking, she also received an Executive Leadership Certificate through the University of Wisconsin School of Business.
Ms. Cover is active with the Ohio Bankers League, where she served as secretary of the Next Generation Advisory Board. She also serves on the Board of the Archbold Area Chamber of Commerce.
Amy resides in Archbold, Ohio with her husband and their four children.
Katrina DeGroff
Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer (Farmers & Merchants State Bank)
Ms. DeGroff joined F&M in 2016 as Comptroller. In 2019, she was promoted to Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer for the Bank.
Katrina has almost 30 years of finance experience. She attended Northwest Technical College and Bowling Green State University, majoring in Accounting. Katrina also received her MBA from Bowling Green State University, majoring in Operations/Materials Management/ Prior to joining F&M, she was the Corporate IT Manager and Controller for an automotive supplier.
Ms. DeGroff resides in Wauseon, Ohio with her husband and their two children.
Rex Rice
Executive Vice President/Chief Lending Officer
Mr. Rice has been with the Farmers & Merchants State Bank for 38 years. He began his career as an Assistant Agricultural Banker serving the Wauseon and Delta areas. In 1984 Rex was promoted to the Head of the Agricultural Department and served in that capacity until 1993 when he became the Chief Lending Officer and an Executive Vice President. In 2004 Rex was named Head of the Commercial/Ag divisions of the bank and remains in that capacity today. Rex has seen the bank grow from $80 million dollars and four offices to its present $1.5 billion asset size and 30 offices.
Mr. Rice is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and completed his course study at the Graduate School of Banking in Madison Wisconsin. He has attended numerous banking educational opportunities and conferences during his tenure at the bank.
Mr. Rice has served on the Northwest Ohio Development Assistance Corporation Board (NODAC) which oversees the SBA 504 program in our area. He also has served on the County Extension Advisory Committee, the FFA Alumni group, Park and Recreation Board, the Community College Foundation Board and volunteered for various community activities and high school functions.
Mr. Rice was born in Wauseon, Ohio and still resides in that community. Rex and his wife have two grown daughters and they both reside with their spouses and children in the Pittsburgh area. Rex is a member and trustee at First Baptist Church in Wauseon. He has been a coach over the years for the local youth softball and baseball programs.
Benét Rupp
Executive Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer
Ms. Rupp joined F&M in June of 2019. She serves as the Chief People Officer and joined the executive team. Her responsibilities include developing a people strategy which aligns the vision, mission and values of F&M. She will provide strategic counsel and oversight for diversity and inclusion, talent management, succession planning, organization development and cultural transformation, total rewards and HR technology. She has leadership accountability for the functional areas of human resources ensuring the installation of programs, processes and practices which build a culture that attracts, retains and develops the best team for F&M.
Benét has 30 years of human resources, leadership, and mergers and acquisitions experience. She most recently served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources at ProMedica. Prior to this role, her career included a variety of progressive human resources leadership roles at The Andersons Inc., Therma-Tru Doors, MSC Walbridge Coatings and National City Bank. She has served on many Northwest Ohio Boards and Affiliations in leadership roles.
She has a Bachelor of Science in I/O Psychology from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo. She has several industry specific certifications.
Shalini Singhal
Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer
Ms. Singhal joined Farmers & Merchants State Bank in 2020 as Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer. Shalini has over 20 years of information technology and banking experience. She previously served as the Chief Information Officer for The Middlefield Banking Company in the Cleveland, Ohio market.
Shalini earned a Master in Business Administration in Systems and Operations from the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad, India. She is passionate about technology, reads daily and participates in many industry trainings to keep her competitive edge and industry knowledge up to date. Shalini resides in Perrysburg, Ohio with her husband and their two daughters.
Alexis Smith
Vice President/Chief People Officer
Brett Baumeister
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/REGIONAL PRESIDENT
Mr. Baumeister joined Farmers & Merchants State Bank in 2019 as Senior Vice President/Commercial Banker managing the F&M commercial banking team in the Eastern Ohio market. In 2021, Brett was promoted to Senior Vice President/Regional President of F&M’s Southern Ohio market.
Brett has over 30 years of commercial banking experience. He studied finance at the University of Toledo and completed the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Georgetown University.
Brett has been active in various community organizations, including the United Way, Chamber of Commerce and YMCA. In 2016, he was named Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year.
David Gerken
Senior Vice President/Senior Commercial Banking Manager
Mr. Gerken joined Farmers & Merchants State Bank in 2016 as Vice President/Commercial Banker serving Northwest Ohio. In 2020, Dave was promoted to Senior Vice President/Commercial Banking Manager and joined the executive team. Dave oversees the commercial banking activities for F&M, as well as the Western Market group of lenders.
Mr. Gerken has over 27 years of commercial banking experience. He received a bachelor’s degree in Management and Finance from Defiance College, where he also played basketball. Dave was born and raised in Fulton County and is a 1990 graduate from Delta, Ohio.
Dave resides in Wauseon, Ohio with his wife and their daughter. He is a member of the Wauseon Rotary Club and was also elected to the Executive Board of Directors for the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation.
Phillip Lucas
Senior Vice President/Regional President
Mr. Lucas serves Farmers & Merchants State Bank as Senior Vice President/Regional President of the East Central Indiana market. Phil came to F&M in January 2019 as a result of the merger with the Bank of Geneva.
Phil has over 34 years of banking experience and graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a minor in Finance. He was with the Bank of Geneva for 13 years and served the bank in various capacities.
He is a voting member of the bank’s loan committee and responsible for Commercial, Consumer and Home Loan activities at the six former Bank of Geneva offices.
Phil resides in Anderson, Indiana. He and his wife have four daughters and one granddaughter.