Howard Kent is the latest in the group of Anthony C. Weagley’s former colleagues from his North Jersey banking days, to join the CEO at the Paoli based Malvern Bancorp, after Kent was elected as the bank’s new Chairman of the Board, writes Jeff Blumenthal for Philadelphia Business Journal.

Kent, who joined the board last year, currently works as the Chairman of the Loan and Discount Committee. He will be replacing George Steinmetz, who decided to step down from the position that he has successfully held since 2014, to devote more time to his business, the Matthews Paoli Ford automobile dealership. Prior to his position at Malvern Bancorp, Kent was a director of Center Bancorp in Union and nearby ConnectOne Bank.

In his rich professional career, Kent has also worked as Chairman of Union Center National Bank in Union, and is currently serving as the Principal and Co-Founder of Real Estate Equities Group, as well as a Principal of Real Estate Management Group in Englewood.

Weagley, who was President and CEO of Center Bancorp at the time it merged with ConnectOne two years ago, was supposed to take the position of Chief Operating Officer of the combined bank. However, Weagley resigned once the ConnectOne merger was completed and soon after was hired by Malvern.

“Mr. Kent’s knowledge about, and experience in, the real estate investment and management business led the board to tap his expertise in expanding the leadership in the chairman position for the bank,” commented Weagley.

He also added that the goal of Kent’s appointment was to bring additional depth of skills and experience to the board of the bank at a time when the company strives to enter a phase of strategic growth, most notably in its loan portfolio as it looks to maintain “its continuous effort to remain one of the nation’s finest financial institutions.”