GULFPORT, Miss., July 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veteran Gulf Coast business and civic leader James B. "Jim" Estabrook, Jr., will assume responsibilities as Chairman of the Board of Hancock Holding Company (Nasdaq:HBHC), one of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies and corporate parent of 110-year-old Hancock Bank.
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Estabrook becomes Hancock Holding Company chairman on July 6, 2009, as former Hancock chairman and retired chief executive officer George A. Schloegel begins his term as Gulfport's new mayor.
Estabrook is the president of Pascagoula-based Estabrook Motor Company -- which his father started in 1951 -- as well as Estabrook Automotive and several other automotive related enterprises. Estabrook served on the board of directors of the Pascagoula Moss Point Bank (PMP) before joining the Hancock Holding Company board during PMP's 1982 merger with Hancock Bank. During almost 30 years with Hancock Bank, he has worked closely with the company's senior leaders on numerous corporate management committees. He currently chairs the Hancock Holding Company Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee, is a permanent Loan Oversight Committee director, and recently served on the Asset Liability Committee (ALCO). Additionally, Estabrook has held numerous executive leadership positions with Gulf Coast business, economic, and service organizations for four decades.
"Jim Estabrook has played an integral role in Hancock's growth across the region. With his fellow Hancock directors, he has helped ensure the company's financial stability through some of the best and the most challenging times in our national and regional history. He has been actively involved in sustaining the company's 110-year-old legacy of strength, stability, and integrity. We believe his business acumen, exemplary community service, and devotion to the people of this area will remain invaluable as he guides Hancock into a new era of opportunity," said Hancock Holding Company President and CEO Carl J. Chaney.
Estabrook is past chairman of the Ford Zone Dealer Council and currently vice chairman of the Southern Quality Ford Dealer Advertising Fund. He is also currently the secretary and treasurer and a director of Versant Holding, Inc. A past director of the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association and past president of the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association Services, he has been a Ford dealer since 1967 and has received distinguished achievement and customer satisfaction awards for multiple years from Ford Motor Company, Nissan Motor Company, and Toyota Motor Company.
"We are very fortunate that our Hancock directors are some of the Gulf South's most accomplished business men and women.
