Management

Lars Eller has been leading F&M Bank and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2018 and 2019, respectively.

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.

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.

Mr. Eller and his wife reside in Bryan, Ohio.

Barb Britenriker is Chief Financial Officer of F&M Bank and The Farmers & Merchants Bancorp. She has been employed by the bank for over 35 years, beginning in the new accounts department and progressing through operations to become the Comptroller and then the CFO. She leads the redesign of the company’s finance capabilities to support a bank with $5 billion in total assets. Her focus is on financial reporting, cash management, financial systems and investor relations.

Mrs. 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, Mrs. 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.

Mrs. 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.

Andrew Baker joined F&M in 2022 serving as Regional President of Northern Indiana. The following year, Mr. Baker was named F&M Bank’s Chief Retail Banking Officer and continued his role as the Regional President. He is responsible for F&M’s Northern Indiana region from Fort Wayne, Indiana north to the Michigan border.

In his newest role, Mr. Baker is responsible for leading all aspects of F&M’s community-based retail baking operations, including the company’s branch network, mortgage line of business and private banking.

Mr. Baker brings nearly 30 years of banking experience, most recently as Executive Vice President and the Market Manager for PNC. Throughout his career, he has excelled in several leadership roles along with being recognized for his ability to build and strengthen teams.

Mr. Baker has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University.

Andy and his wife live in the Fort Wayne area.

Amy Cover serves as F&M’s Chief Marketing Officer leading marketing, brand strategy, communications, public relations, product development and customer experience initiatives across F&M’s growing footprint.

She earned both Masters of Business Administration 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, Mrs. Cover also received an Executive Leadership Certificate through the University of Wisconsin School of Business.

Mrs. Cover is active within her community, serving as the President of the Archbold Area Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Junior Achievement Board in Archbold and as secretary of the Next Generation Advisory Board.

Amy has been with F&M Bank since 2009 and resides in Archbold, Ohio with her husband and their four children.

Katrina DeGroff joined F&M Bank in December of 2016 and now serves as Chief Accounting Officer. In 2021, Ohio Governor Mike Dewine appointed Mrs. DeGroff to the Northwest State Community College Board of Trustees; her term will end in the summer of 2027.

In her role, Mrs. DeGroff is accountable for all financial reporting on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as valuation, verification and strategic planning initiatives.

She has 31 years of finance experience and attended Northwest Technical College and Bowling Green State University, majoring in Accounting. Mrs. DeGroff 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 Plant Controller for a global Tier 1 automotive supplier.

Mrs. DeGroff resides in Wauseon, Ohio with her husband and their two grown children.

Eric Faust serves as F&M’s Chief Risk Officer and joined the bank in the fall of 2022. As CRO, he is responsible for the company’s enterprise and regulatory risk management functions.

Mr. Faust has held many roles in the banking industry; most recently the position of First Vice President/Director of Risk Management at Northstar Financial Group in Wyoming, Michigan. He was also, previously, an Examination Manager for the State of Michigan, Department of Insurance and Financial Services.

Mr. Faust has an MBA from Davenport University and a BS in Business Administration from Central Michigan University.

Eric lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

David Gerken serves as F&M’s Senior Commercial Banking Manager and has 30 years of commercial banking experience. After joining the bank in 2016, he was promoted to Senior Vice President/Senior Commercial Banking Manager and joined the executive team in 2020. Mr. Gerken oversees the commercial banking activities for F&M overall, as well as the Western market group of lenders.

Mr. Gerken received a bachelor’s degree in management and finance from Defiance College, where he also played basketball. He was born and raised in Fulton County, Ohio and is a 1990 graduate from Delta. 

Dave resides in Wauseon, Ohio with his wife and their daughter. He is a long-time member of the Wauseon Rotary Club and is an elected member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation. Dave also sits on the Triangular Processing Board and the Fulton County Health Center Foundation Board.

Phillip Lucas serves as F&M’s Regional President of the East Central Indiana market. Joining the bank in 2019, he brought with him 13 years of experience with the Bank of Geneva. In total, Mr. Lucas 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 is a voting member of the bank’s loan committee and responsible for Commercial, Consumer and Home Loan activities at six former Bank of Geneva offices, and offices in Ossian, Bluffton, Oxford and the Loan Production Office in Muncie.

Phil resides in Anderson, Indiana. He and his wife have four daughters and one granddaughter.

Kevin Becker serves as F&M’s Chief Credit Officer. He began his career at F&M in 2015. In his role Mr. Becker is responsible for the oversight of the credit standards for the Bank, leading asset quality reviews to maintain a safe and sound institution, and reviewing the Bank’s allowance for credit losses. He has a B.A. in Business Administration from Defiance College and graduated with high honors from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Shalini Singhal serves as F&M’s Chief Information Officer. She joined the Bank in 2020 with over 20 years of information technology and banking experience. Mrs. Singhal has consistently delivered results by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. She excels in building high-performance teams and fostering collaboration across departments to drive digital initiatives forward. She has a deep-dive understanding of cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing, and emerging technologies which leverage to keep the bank at the forefront of technological innovation.

Mrs. Singhal earned an MBA in in Systems and Operations from the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad, India.

Shalini is passionate about driving change through technology and is dedicated to helping F&M achieve its strategic objectives by harnessing the power of IT. She loves to travel and read.

Doug Shaw serves as F&M’s Regional President of the Southern Ohio market. Since 2013, he has worked for F&M Bank in various positions; starting as an Assistant Vice President - Commercial Banker, then promoted to Vice President – Commercial Banker and then Vice President – Regional Commercial Banking Manager. This all before being named the current Regional President.

Doug has a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) with a specialization in Finance at the University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Strategic Communications from The Ohio State University. Doug is also a graduate of ABA National Commercial Lending School and resides in the Southern Ohio area.

Tim Carsey serves as F&M’s Chief Administrative Officer. Carsey leads F&M’s deposit and loan operations, digital banking and customer care functions.  He joined F&M in 2022 as VP Senior Operations Manager.

With over 31 years of banking experience, Carsey has worked for PNC Bank as a Consumer Lending Transformation Manager and at Union Savings and Loan Association as the Chief Credit Officer/Loan Administration/Senior Vice President. In his role at PNC, he crafted an impressive performance record, highlighting his proven abilities as a change leader.

He attended The Ohio State University.