BLACKSBURG – National Bankshares, Inc. announced Monday F. Brad Denardo, the company’s chief executive officer and chairman, will retire from his position effective June 30, 2025.
He will also retire from his position as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of National Bankshares Financial Services, Inc., the company’s wholly owned financial services subsidiary. Denardo will remain chairman of the boards of directors of the company and the bank.
Denardo has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2017 and was president from 2017 through Dec. 2024. He joined the bank as a vice president in 1983 and has served in an executive capacity with the bank since 1989. He became Executive Vice President of the company in 2008 and president and chief executive officer in 2014.
Denardo has entered into a consulting agreement with the company and the bank.
Effective July 1, 2025, Lara E. Ramsey, the president of the company and the bank, has been appointed by the boards of directors to succeed Denardo as president and chief executive officer upon his retirement. Ramsey joined the company in 1996 and was promoted to senior vice president of administration in 2011. In 2022, she was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer and in Jan. 2025 she was named president of the company and the bank. Ramsey, who has also served as a director of the company and the bank since Jan. 2024, has managed the company’s Investment, Human Resources, Marketing, Training, Corporate Administration, and Strategic Planning functions during her career.
“Brad has played a key role in our success for over 40 years,” said Ramsey. “Under his leadership, National Bankshares has grown to serve new communities and has implemented successful strategies to deliver personalized financial services in an ever-changing marketplace. National Bankshares has also maintained its position as a top-tier community bank holding company under his guidance, during a period marked by global uncertainty and economic disruption. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Brad for nearly 30 years, and we are delighted that he will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and as a consultant to our organization after retiring. I am also humbled to have the opportunity to succeed Brad, and I look forward to carrying on the tradition of community banking excellence he has fostered.”
“I feel very privileged to have played a role in a tradition of service that stretches back for 133 years,” said Denardo. “I am also proud of our accomplishments and the positive impact we have made for our customers, our communities, and our shareholders. Our success would not be possible without their loyal support. It has been a great pleasure to work with so many talented and dedicated employees during my career, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside them as Chairman of the Board and as a consultant.”
“We are very excited to have Lara as our President and Chief Executive Officer,” Denardo added. “Her experience at National Bankshares is extensive, encompassing many critical functions throughout the Company. Her expertise, along with her enthusiasm and strong leadership, make her ideally suited to help continue our tradition of service and deliver solid shareholder value well into the future. Lara has been an instrumental part of the Company and the Bank for nearly 30 years, and we are confident that she will excel as the Company’s President and CEO.”
