Sept. 8, 2021

Meta Financial Group Inc. president and CEO Brad Hanson is planning to retire, and his successors have been named.

Brett Pharr, co-president and chief operating officer, will assume the role of CEO of Meta Financial and MetaBank on Oct. 1. Executive vice president and chief legal and compliance officer Anthony Sharett will become president of the company and MetaBank.

Hanson plans to remain on the board of directors until its February meeting as well as serving as a strategic adviser to Meta and the board on industry and partner relations until the end of 2022. In his retirement, he plans to focus on “entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors,” Meta said in a statement.

Upon retirement, Hanson will, among other things, work on a forthcoming initiative in which Meta will be a partner through its venture capital arm to provide more efficient cross-border remittance between the United States and Mexico for underbanked customers.

“I am proud of the Meta team, our commitment to our customers and the role we have played in advancing ‘Banking as a Service.’ It has been a privilege to serve as Meta’s CEO, and I know Meta’s commitment to financial empowerment will continue under Brett and Anthony’s leadership,” Hanson said.

Hanson played a pivotal role in growing the payments industry in Sioux Falls. He joined Meta in 2004 with the founding of Meta Payment Systems and served as president until 2013, when he was promoted to president of the entire company. He became CEO following Tyler Haahr’s retirement in 2018.

“On behalf of Meta’s boards of directors, customers, employees and shareholders, we thank Brad for his contributions over nearly 20 years, which helped to build Meta’s leadership position in the financial services and payments industries, and for his commitment to our mission of financial inclusion for all,” said Doug Hajek, chairman of Meta’s boards of directors.

“Meta has a deep bench of experienced and highly qualified senior-level executives, and we are pleased to appoint Brett to the role of CEO and to our boards,” Hajek said. “We are highly confident in the company’s prospects and in Brett’s solid grasp of our unique business model and ability to continue to execute our strategy to create value for all stakeholders as we profitably expand our businesses and execute our ESG and DEI initiatives. Our confidence is further demonstrated by the share repurchase program we announced today.”

The board of directors authorized a share repurchase program for up to 6 million shares of the company’s outstanding common stock on or before Sept. 30, 2024.

Pharr was appointed co-president and chief operating officer of MetaBank in June 2020. Before that, he served as an executive vice president and the group head of governance, risk and compliance. He brings more than  35 years of experience in large, complex financial institutions to the CEO role, having held roles of increasing responsibility at Bank of America and Citizens Bank. He has led commercial, consumer, and merger and acquisition operations and also is a recognized specialist in optimized risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks, Meta said.

“It is an honor to be appointed to lead Meta’s growth at this significant time in our development,” Pharr said. “Meta serves as the backbone for financial technology companies and others offering innovative financial services, while supporting established partners with their programs. Our pipeline has never been stronger, and I look forward to working with our nearly 1,200 employees to continue our growth trajectory.”

Sharett was appointed chief legal and compliance officer and corporate secretary in June 2020 and, before that, served as general counsel of Meta. Previously, he was a partner at BakerHostetler, where he was the national co-leader of the firm’s financial services practice group, and he held legal and business unit leadership positions at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

“Meta was founded in 1954 on the philosophy that it must ‘take care of the people,’ and I look forward to working with our talented leadership team and employees to continue fulfilling that premise and our mission of financial inclusion for all,” Sharett said.