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

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

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

Hagler previously served as deputy commissioner for supervision at the Georgia DBF since Aug.1, 2008, where he was directly responsible for supervision of depository financial institutions including state-chartered banks and trust companies, state-chartered credit unions and bank holding companies and foreign banking organizations conducting business in Georgia.

He began his career as an assistant financial examiner with the DBF in 1997 and progressed through the examiner ranks to become a supervisory examiner in 2002 in district 1 in Northwest Georgia.

In 2003, Hagler was appointed to the position of district director in district 1 where he assumed field regulatory and supervisory responsibilities for the financial institutions in that district.

Hagler started his career by working for Altus Bank before taking a position with The Bank of Mobile. In 1994, he moved to Atlanta to work for SunTrust Bank in the factoring division, and later worked in retail banking.

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

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