Before joining Bank of St. Francisville, Carter Leak IV spent thirteen years with CB&I (formerly the Shaw Group, Inc.). There he served in multiple financial capacities, including Controller for the company’s Plant Services segment in Baton Rouge; and later in Charlotte, N.C., where he was Vice President and Controller within the Engineering, Construction, and Maintenance segment. During his six years in Charlotte, Carter established CB&I’s local presence, built a high-performing team that began construction on the country’s first nuclear plant in 30 years, and provided financial leadership through a period of explosive growth in size and profitability that saw his segment’s revenues rise from $75M to $1 billion per year.
But in spite of finding success in Charlotte—and a strong social circle based around faith, family, and shared interest—the time came when Carter was ready to contribute to community in a way that could benefit everyone who calls it home. For that, he had to return to St. Francisville and join the bank his father built. In short, he had to come home.
As BSF’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Carter’s broad-ranging experience enables him to move comfortably between the realms of banking and business. As a leader and a natural collaborator, he understands that the right combination of financial expertise, close customer relationships, and frictionless banking technology, puts a small-town bank in a unique position to build a stronger financial institution and a stronger community at the same time. By developing the right products and services to help customers advance their financial goals, Carter has overseen a 40% growth in the bank’s loan business. By nurturing close relationships with individual customers, community institutions, and businesses of all sizes he has enhanced the bank’s ability to serve as an engine for growth in all areas of civic life. Deeply committed to the concept of “balance,” Carter supports economic development that brings a diversity of housing options, recognizes the importance of maintaining an excellent public school system, and preserves the natural beauty of West Feliciana and the flourishing tourism economy that depends upon it.
Carter is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from LSU in 1997, and is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Prior to joining Shaw he served a wide array of different businesses and industries at KPMG LLP, spending nearly 4 years within its financial audit practice.
As a graduate of the Charlotte Leadership Forum, Carter invests significant time in mentoring young men and boys through his involvement with non-profit organizations including Young Life, and Rotary International, as well as through local sports programs and his church. Carter also represents West Feliciana on the Board of Directors of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce and is Chairman of the Young Life Committee in West Feliciana Parish. He and his wife Brittany, and their children Harrison, Mary Field, Madzy, and Jack Samuel, play constructive roles in the educational, spiritual, and civic, as well as the economic, life of their community. In Carter’s estimation, that’s something really worth building. And that’s what banking—and balance—is all about.
