Curtis Carpenter is senior managing director at Hovde Group, LLC and is a veteran within the community bank space.  He has represented banks in well over 100 successful merger transactions and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences throughout the country.  He has been quoted as an industry expert in articles throughout the media, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and CNBC.  Prior to joining Hovde, Mr. Carpenter led the investment banking division of Sheshunoff & Co., helped direct the extensive merger and acquisition activity of a large regional bank holding company, served as the CFO of a financial institution and began his career in the audit department of KPMG in Dallas.