Drew Chandler

age: 39 | Chief Financial Officer | Farmers Bank & Trust

Drew Chandler’s father had a huge influence on his decision to become an accountant. “I became an accountant because my dad was one. He was the Director of Finance for Wendy’s, so in college, I tried accounting, and it made sense to me, and I did well,” he explained. “My dad has always been an excellent role model and mentor to me.”

As the Chief Financial Officer for Farmers Bank & Trust, the department Drew manages is in charge of reporting and managing the balance sheet and income statement, the budget, interest rate risk, liquidity, investment accounting, pledging, wires, ACH, accounts payable, dividends, taxes, capital and other account functions.

Drew’s greatest personal accomplishments are his children, Griffin and Addison. While admitting that his wife has a lot to do with them being the people they are, he says that he sees great potential in them for the future. 

Best advice you’ve ever received:

“LIFE IS 10% WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU AND 90% HOW YOU REACT TO IT.” – DREW’S MENTOR, QUOTING CHARLES SWINDOLL

Included in the Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 in 2013, Drew was also CFO of the Year finalist in 2013 and 2016. His greatest professional accomplishment is being a part of Farmers Bank & Trust’s success. “When I started at Farmers Bank & Trust, seven years ago, the bank was around $600 million in assets and had a net income of $6.5 million. This year, we are over $1.4 billion in assets and will have net income of $24 million. We have increased assets by over two times and increased net income by over three times,” he acknowledged.

Drew is very active in his church, Walnut Church of Christ, and enjoys being active within the church. He also helps out at Spring Hill Elementary School, where his wife, Audrey, serves as principal. Working at Farmers allows him to be active within the community with schools, police, and other service organizations. One of his favorite projects is the Cara McCollum birthday book project which provides a free book to elementary children on their birthday to help promote literacy.

In 10 years, Drew hopes to see himself continuing to work at Farmers and helping it grow from $1.4 billion in assets to around $5 billion in assets. 

Name something about you that very few people know:

“Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, visited the hospital and signed my baby book when I was born.”