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Senior Management

James E. Crites - Chief Executive Officer

Before serving as a founder and incorporator of MCB, Mr. Crites was Senior Vice President/Eastern Caribbean Region Credit Officer of FirstBank Puerto Rico. Prior to that, Mr. Crites was President and Chief Executive Officer of First Virgin Islands Federal Savings Bank from 1992 until 2000. He was a Managing Agent for the Resolution Trust Corporation from 1990 to 1992, and Vice President for Chemical Bank New Jersey from 1987 until 1990. Mr. Crites' banking career began in 1973 with the Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. He has been active in U.S. Virgin Islands business and civic activities for over 35 years. His activities have included, serving as President and Vice President of the Virgin Islands Bankers Association, President of the Institute of Teaching and Learning, Treasurer of Harmonic Lodge #356, Director of the Center for Independent Living, President and Secretary of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas, President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Antilles School, Inc., Campaign Chair for United way of St. Thomas/St. John, and Director for the Virgin Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America.


Valdamier Collens - President

Currently serving as President of Merchants Commercial Bank (MCB), Valdamier (“Val”) Collens most recently served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Virgin Islands Region Director, of FirstBank providing leadership, strategic direction, and management of commercial, mortgage and consumer lending and loan portfolios; retail branch operations; and electronic banking operations. He offers more than 30 years of providing leadership and sustainable changes in processes, systems, fiscal management, auditing, compliance monitoring, and information technology in the private and public sectors.

In the public sector, Mr. Collens served as the Commissioner of Finance for the Government of the Virgin Islands, Executive Director of the V.I. Public Finance Authority, Chief Financial Officer of the V.I. Port Authority, and Executive Assistant Commissioner of Finance between April 2008 – December 2018. In addition, after the devastating back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes of September 2017, Mr. Collens served as the Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR) for the U.S. Virgin Islands, which required significant interaction with the Office of the President of the United States, U.S. Congress, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Economic Development Administration (USEDA).

Mr. Collens earned his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 1998 and has been a New York State Certified Public Accountant for more than 25 years. Mr. Collens is a native of the Virgin Islands and has resided in St. Thomas for the past 18 years.


Anette C. Williams - Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer

Anette Williams is the Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Merchants Commercial Bank. In this role, she is responsible for the overall financial management, financial planning and analysis and investor relations. In addition to her CFO duties, Ms. Williams also oversees the Bank’s Audit, Compliance, and BSA departments. Ms. Williams brings more than 30 years of banking experience to the management team of Merchants Commercial Bank. Previously, she served as the Vice-President and CFO at First Virgin Islands Federal Savings Bank (FVI) for 13 years.

Ms. Williams has held many positions in both the public and private sectors to include Chief Financial Officer, Loan Servicing Supervisor, Compliance Officer, Audit Officer, Deposit Operations Officer, Information Technology Officer, Accounting Manager and Bank Security Officer.

In addition to her professional roles, she is also an active member in the community having both served as a member and in various leadership positions for community organizations to include the Rotary Club of St. Thomas II, Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, and treasurer of the Memorial Moravian Church. Ms. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the College of the Virgin Islands and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1990.


Rohit L. Khiani – Vice President and Chief Credit Officer

Ro Khiani joined the bank in January 2009 as a Client Development Officer prior to being appointed to serve as Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. Mr. Khiani is a native son who returned to the Virgin Islands after graduating with dual degrees from Virginia Tech in 2003. Mr. Khiani is a seasoned philanthropist, having previously served as Treasurer for the Rotary Club of Charlotte Amalie, Director for the India Association of the Virgin Islands, member of the National Academy of Finance at Charlotte Amalie High School’s Advisory Board, and the All Saints Cathedral School Campaign Committee.


Kirk Callwood – Vice President and Chief Operations Officer

Kirk Callwood is a native Virgin Islander who joined Merchants Commercial Bank in December of 2020 as the Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. Kirk’s extensive background includes over 22 years of leadership and finance, including over 13 years in Atlanta where he served in various capacities for large, multi-national companies such as Wachovia Bank (Wells Fargo Bank), First Data Corporation, Cingular Wireless (AT&T), Coca Cola Enterprises and various Private Equity firms. Kirk relocated back to the Virgin Islands in 2011 and held roles such as Director of Treasury for Innovative Companies (Viya) as well as Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer at International Capital and Management Company (ICMC) in St. Thomas.

Prior to joining Merchants Commercial Bank, Kirk served as the Commissioner of Finance for the Government of the Virgin Islands with leadership roles as the Executive Director of the Public Finance Authority, Chair of the Board of Tax Review, Secretary of the Banking and Insurance Board and Acting Chair of the Territorial Hospital Board.

His community leadership service includes, Past President of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas II, Treasurer and Executive Director of My Brother’s Workshop and Board of Director of the DeKalb Academy of Technology and the Environment.

Kirk holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Norfolk State University, an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University, the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) designation from the Association for Financial Professionals and Management Certificates from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.

As the Chief Operations Officer, Kirk is responsible for creating client value in Branch Operations, Information Technology, Facilities, Human Resources and Loan Operations.

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