The Board of Directors of First National Financial Corporation announced the appointments of Stephen Smith as Executive Chairman of the Board and Jason Ellis as President and Director effective January 12, 2022. Mr. Smith co-founded First National in 1988 with Moray Tawse. Since taking First National public in 2006, Mr. Smith served as the company's founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and now will continue to provide strategic guidance to the management team in the newly created role of Executive Chairman.

Mr. Ellis joined First National in 2004 with responsibility for First National's treasury and capital markets activities, was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and added the title of President in 2019. Mr. Ellis will be responsible for day to day operations and the design and maintenance of strategy in the pursuit of business excellence. Prior to joining First National, Mr. Ellis served in the Asset/Liability Management group at Manulife Financial and with RBC Dominion Securities in Toronto and New York where he traded fixed income and interest rate derivatives.