L. Frederick Francis

L. Frederick “Rick” Francis is Chairman of the Board of WestStar Bank Holding Company, Inc. and Chairman and CEO of WestStar Bank. He is the Vice Chairman of the board of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation; a member of the Board of Directors of the El Paso Electric Company; Paso del Norte Community Foundation; the Hospitals of Providence and has served the Governing Board in multiple capacities since 1996, including Chairman at the Transmountain, Memorial and Sierra Campuses; as well as the Borderplex Alliance, the El Paso Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Texas Business Leadership Council, the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Community Bankers Council of the American Bankers Association, and the Pioneer Association of El Paso County.

Mr. Francis served on the Board of Regents for Texas Tech University System (2003 - 2019) and was Chairman, on the Executive Committee for the Texas Hospital Trustees, and the board of Western Refining, Inc. (NYSE:WNR). Mr. Francis served as president of Area 5 (Rocky Mountain States) Boy Scouts of America, the Young Presidents Organization, the Yucca Council Boy Scouts of America, the Sunturians, and Crime Stoppers of El Paso. Mr. Francis has been active with the Business Advisory Council at the El Paso Community College, the Rotary Club of El Paso, the Better Business Bureau, and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. In 1996, Mr. Francis was honored as a “Silver Beaver” by the Boy Scouts of America and, in 2001, received the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. In 2005, he was named “Outstanding Ex” by Coronado High School and “Distinguished Alumni” by the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University in 2008. In 2007, Rick and his wife, Ginger, were named El Paso’s “Philanthropists of the Year” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In 2009, he was named “El Pasoan of the Year” by El Paso Inc. and in 2010 was inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame.

He is a graduate of Texas Tech University (BBA Finance), the Texas Tech School of Banking, and the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking conducted at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Francis has been a Director of WestStar Bank since 1996.