Texas City-based Texas First Bank has hired Lincoln C. McKinnon to serve as chief operating officer. Taking on a new role within Texas First Bank, McKinnon is responsible for overseeing the organization’s strategic direction, project implementation and growth objectives, as well as supervising the retail, treasury management and operations teams.

McKinnon joins the bank with nearly 20 years of experience in financial institution advisory services. Most recently, he was a partner at Crowe LLP, for which he led the Houston financial services practice, spearheading numerous growth strategies and managing statewide teams as they performed audits and consulting services for community banks and other financial institutions across Texas. Prior to Crowe, he was senior vice president of finance and operations for a $6 billion investment management firm specializing in fixed-income and equity portfolio growth.

“Having been our external audit partner for five years, he has gotten to know us and we’ve gotten to see him work,” says Christopher Doyle, president and CEO. “His experience in the industry and understanding of how we operate make him a great fit.”

A native of League City, McKinnon holds an MBA degree in banking and financial institutions from Sam Houston State University. He is a certified public accountant in Texas and a graduate of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas’s Bank Operations Institute. McKinnon serves on the Sam Houston Executive MBA advisory board.

Established in 1982, Texas First Bank operates 27 offices in East Texas and the Houston region.