R. Helm Dobbins

After 44 years in the financial industry, R. Helm Dobbins (Com ’73 L/M) retired on March 30th as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of American National Bank and Trust Co./American National Bancshares (NASDAQ: AMNB) of Virginia and North Carolina. After taking his degree from the McIntire School with honors in 1973, he received an MBA degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

He spent a number of years with the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh and the Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. /J.P. Morgan in New York City. Later, he spent 17 years with the Liberty National Bancorp in Louisville Ky. and became Executive Vice President and head of Corporate/Commercial banking, helping successfully grow the organization from $800 million to $5 billion in total assets when it was sold in 1994. At American National, he led the organizations credit policy and execution and fully avoided the negatives of the 2008–2012 economic collapse, including no reduction of dividends, declining the federal government TARP capital assistance program offered to banks, maintaining superior earnings, capital and asset quality as well as completing three significant acquisitions during his tenure as Chief Credit Officer.

He continues to serve on several boards in Virginia and work on strategic credit issues and troubleshooting for different institutions in the mid-Atlantic region. He also continues to pursue his deep interests in aviation, history and politics.

He was the founder and first President of the UVA Club of Southern Virginia, co-chaired the UVA Families Committee, served on the Parents Committee and its Executive Committee, and chaired the southern regional Board for the Sorensen Institute for Politics. In 2013, he co-chaired the Class of 1973 40th Reunion for the University. He is a member of the University’s Cornerstone Society and a Life Member of the Alumni Association. He and his wife Leslie are the parents of Courtenay M. Dobbins (Col ’12), and H. MacNeil Dobbins (Col ’16).