Board of Directors

Christopher J. Annas

Founder, Chairman, President and CEO

Mr. Annas is the founder, Chairman, President and CEO of the Bank.  Prior to starting Meridian, Mr. Annas was the President, CEO and co-founder of Stonebridge Bank, West Chester, PA.  Mr. Annas has over 30 years of banking experience in various commercial lending capacities. Prior to Stonebridge, Mr. Annas served as Regional Vice President for Summit Bank, leading the small business lending effort in the Delaware Valley.

During his tenure at Summit Bank, he managed their large corporate lending effort in Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, as well as their media communications business nationally.  Mr. Annas currently serves on the Foundation Board of Paoli Hospital and on the Community Bank Council of the American Bankers Association. He is a former Board member of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry and former Board member of the Peoples Light and Theatre. In 2016, Mr. Annas was named one of the Most Admired CEOs by Philadelphia Business Journal.

Denise Lindsay

Ms. Lindsay is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Bank.  Ms. Lindsay is responsible for asset-liability management, treasury, financial reporting and budgeting.  She also oversees compliance and risk management. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Lindsay was the Vice President and Controller of DNB First, a publically-held community bank in Downingtown, PA.

Prior to that time she was a Senior Accountant for KPMG, LLP. Ms. Lindsay serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Upper Main Line YMCA and recently received their Volunteer of the Year award for Mission Advancement. She also served on the Member Advisory Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank – Philadelphia region. Ms. Lindsay has 25 years’ experience in bank financial management, is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Financial Managers Society and PICPA. In 2016, Ms. Lindsay was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the ‘Women to Watch in Banking”.

Robert T. Holland

Mr. Holland is the Bank’s Lead Independent Director.  He is the Principal of the Holland Advisory Group, LLC a management consulting firm and is a Group Chair with Vistage International,   a CEO mentoring and coaching organization.   Mr. Holland founded c.p. Allstar Corporation, a manufacturer of garage door and gate openers and remote radio control devices in 1997 and sold the business in 2007.

Prior to starting c.p. Allstar Corporation, Mr. Holland was the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded diversified manufacturing company for seven years.  Prior to that time, Mr. Holland was a managing partner in MacDade Abbott & Co., a regional accounting firm headquartered in Paoli, PA, for 15 years.  Mr. Holland serves on the West Goshen Planning Commission, the West Goshen Pension Board  as well as board positions for several not for profit and charitable organizations. He was recently recognized as an Outstanding Director by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Mr. Holland is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the AICPA and PICPA.

Robert M. Casciato

Mr. Casciato is a founding partner of Alliance Environmental Systems, Inc., a West Chester company that was established in 1994. Alliance Environmental provides environmental remediation, selective demolition, structural demolition and asbestos abatement in the Mid-Atlantic region. Alliance was named Business of the Year in 2003 by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater West Chester. Mr. Casciato is also a partner in the RMC/SDI Real Estate Partnership, located in West Chester, specializing in brownfields redevelopment in Chester County. Mr. Casciato is the past Treasurer of the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust.

George C. Collier

Mr. Collier is the Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Streamlight, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-performance lighting equipment for professional fire fighting, law enforcement, industrial and outdoor applications. Mr. Collier is active in the National Fallen Firefighters and Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) organizations, which are national support groups for survivors of firefighters and policemen that have died on the job.

Edward J. Hollin

Mr. Hollin is shareholder, member of the executive committee and chief operating officer of Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco, a suburban Philadelphia law firm headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.  Founded in 1984, Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco focuses its practice on real estate, commercial transactions, litigation, labor law and estate and business planning, representing some of the largest homebuilders and commercial real estate developers in the country, as well as a variety of financial institutions and entrepreneurs.

Mr. Hollin serves on boards and committees of several local organizations, including the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and is solicitor for and a member of the executive committee of South Eastern Economic Development Company of Pennsylvania, a non-profit SBA certified development company.

Anthony M. Imbesi

Mr. Imbesi is Vice President of Patriarch Management, a private real estate investment firm which owns, manages, and develops commercial real estate. He also is a member of the Drexel Lebow School Finance Advisory Council. In addition, Mr. Imbesi is a trustee for the Patriarch Family Foundation, which supports education, health, and well-being in the Delaware Valley.  Mr. Imbesi is a graduate of Villanova University and received his MBA from Drexel University.

Christine Helmig

Ms. Helmig is the Chief Financial Officer of Hankin Group, a real estate development, construction and property management company. In this role, she is responsible for securing financing, managing cash flow, tax planning and compliance, as well as overseeing the Accounting Department. Before joining Hankin Group in 2007, Ms. Helmig was a partner in Boylston, Rothman and Helmig, LLC where she specialized in business and individual taxation, and attest services for small businesses. Ms. Helmig was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as CFO of the Year in 2018.

Aside from her professional achievements, Ms. Helmig plays an active role in the community, serving on boards for Seedcopa, an organization that provides small business loans to Pennsylvania businesses, and Church Farm School Leadership Council. She is also a patient companion for Willow Tree Hospice Care and previously served as a “Big Sister” for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.