Movers & Shakers — Chris Hurn Separates from Phoenix, Community Bankshares

October 23, 2025

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher, Coleman Report

Movers & Shakers — Chris Hurn Separates from Phoenix, Community Bankshares

SBA Industry Leader, Chris Hurn, Separates from Community Bankshares, Inc.

Chris Hurn, the President and CEO of Community Bankshares, Inc., the bank holding company of the nation’s fastest rising SBA 7(a) lender (Community Bank &Trust), and the LSP he cofounded, Phoenix Lender Services, has moved on.

From his press releases:

Chris Hurn, President and CEO of both Community Bankshares, Inc. (CBI), the bank holding company for Community Bank & Trust – West Georgia (CB&T), and Phoenix Lender Services (PHX), an SBA-approved Lender Service Provider (LSP), announces his separation after just over two years of involvement with CBI and CB&T.

There has been much change at the CBI companies this year. According to various press releases and other media, Hurn helped launch PHX in early January of this year while also being the President and CEO of CBI. In late January, CBI announced the acquisition of Thomas USAF, rebranding it as Thomas Financial Group (TFG), a well-known USDA business loan packager.

The following month, the leader of TFG, Thomas Kimsey, departed for Washington, D.C. to become the Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of Capital Access, widely seen as the number three at SBA.

The CBI entities appear to have had a bang-up year thus far, announcing over $69 million worth of SBA and USDA closings in the first quarter and another just over $184 million of SBA and USDA closings in the second quarter of the calendar year. That totals over $253 million in fundings for small and rural businesses through the first half of the calendar year. Then, just two weeks ago, CBI announced only the second ever multi-lender securitization of SBA 7(a) unguaranteed loans, totaling $118.9 million. And according to recent social media posts, CBI closed another $72.7 million of SBA and USDA loans in the just completed third quarter, bringing their year to date totals to over $325 million.

The CBI companies have received other press this year for being innovative as a small bank using fintech to scale business lending with technology.

So, this news came as quite a surprise to us here at the Coleman Report.

I reached out to Hurn for comment and this is what he said, “This is an unfortunate situation, Bob. There was a difference of opinion about the direction of the enterprise and its numerous successes. I did enjoy my time there, bringing my valuable team over from my previous company, launching Phoenix, being the interim President of Thomas Financial Group, helping CB&T get PLP status and restart its dormant SBA lending, recently culminating in it becoming the 34th most active SBA 7(a) lender in fiscal year ‘25 with over $210 million of approvals.”

“I even invested my own funds in CBI, so I quite literally bought into the vision and brought it to life. Wearing the hats of President and CEO of the holding company [CBI], Phoenix, and then Thomas, was a big responsibility, but helping small businesses has always been my passion, so I was honored to help, innovate, and partner with Jeremy [Gilpin].”

When I asked him what his next act will be, Hurn replied, “I haven’t thought too far ahead yet. We’ll see what happens. I’ve already heard from various folks, and I’m assessing my options since I’m now a free agent and can go wherever it suits me best. The name may change, but my commitment, passion, and abilities to help Main Street America will continue in some form or fashion. I’ve now done this three times, so I’ve learned a thing or two over the decades. I do hope nothing but the best for the employees at the CBI companies.”

Sounds like this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Chris Hurn. More to follow……..