Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> September 12, 2002
MICHAEL L. COX is President and Chief Executive Officer of First
Merchants Corporation, a $2.7 billion financial holding company
headquartered in Muncie, Indiana, which operates nine banks in
Central Indiana and Ohio. The corporation also operates First
Merchants Insurance Services, a full-service property casualty,
personal lines, and healthcare insurer, headquartered in Muncie,
Indiana, and is a majority member of Indiana Title Insurance
Company, LLC, a title insurance agency. He has also served First
Merchants Bank N.A., the founding bank of the organization, in
the capacities of President and CEO, Executive Vice President,
member of the Board of Directors, Executive, Trust and Audit
Committees of the commercial bank. Prior to joining First
Merchants bank, he was associated with Ontario Corporation,
Ontario Systems Corporation, City Securities Corporation and The
Merchants national Bank of Muncie. He earned his Bachelor of
Science degree in Business Administration from Ball State
University in 1970 after serving two years in the U.S. Army. He
graduated with honors from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking
in 1998. Profile
TWST: Would you begin with a brief historical sketch of FirstMerchants and then give us a picture of things as they are now?
Mr. Cox: First Merchants Corporation is a