Kevin Hagler is the new commissioner of the Georgia Departmentof Banking and Finance.

Hagler succeeds Rob Braswell, who retired from the post on June 1 after servingat the helm since December 2005 and in various capacities at thedepartment for more than 30 years.

On June 28, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced Hagler'sappointment, which became effective on July 1.

Hagler previously served as deputy commissioner for supervisionat the Georgia DBF since Aug.1, 2008, where he was directlyresponsible for supervision of depository financial institutionsincluding state-chartered banks and trust companies,state-chartered credit unions and bank holding companies andforeign banking organizations conducting business in Georgia.

He began his career as an assistant financial examiner with theDBF in 1997 and progressed through the examiner ranks to become asupervisory examiner in 2002 in district 1 in NorthwestGeorgia.

In 2003, Hagler was appointed to the position of districtdirector in district 1 where he assumed field regulatory andsupervisory responsibilities for the financial institutions in thatdistrict.

Hagler started his career by working for Altus Bank beforetaking a position with The Bank of Mobile. In 1994, he moved toAtlanta to work for SunTrust Bank in the factoring division, andlater worked in retail banking.

Hagler is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree infinance and is a certified examination manager.

With Hagler's new role, Lori Godfrey has been appointed to fillthe position of Georgia DBF deputy commissioner for supervisioneffective July 1. Prior to her appointment, she had served as thedepartment's director for supervision since January 2011.