Officers & Directors

Retired Managing Partner of the Indianapolis Office of Deloitte & Touche (Deloitte) having had responsibilities for marketplace activities and growth. Audit partner for over 25 years serving public and private companies in industries such as financial services, retail, manufacturing, and tax-exempt organizations, including experience with Sarbanes-Oxley and its implementation. Held global, national and regional leadership positions at Deloitte while serving local audit clients and overseeing significant growth as an Indianapolis marketplace leader. Experience in corporate governance as both a board member and as a service provider.

Susan W. Brooks is an accomplished former Congresswoman and former US Attorney who has driven key legislation to reform emergency response, healthcare, manufacturing, technology innovation, higher education and public safety. From 2013-2020, she served as the U.S. Representative for the 5th District of Indiana, which spans eight diverse counties throughout the central part of the Hoosier State.

As a former member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Susan held subcommittee roles in Health; Communications and Technology; Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade; and Oversight and Investigations. She helped shape legislation to improve the health security of Americans through reforms to mental health programs addressing the national heroin and prescription opioid abuse epidemic. Susan also co-founded the 5G Caucus which propelled the United States as a 5G thought leader, driving economic growth and digital innovation. As a former Chair of the Homeland Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, Susan co-authored the reauthorization of the Pandemic All Hazard Preparedness Act (PAHPA) which strengthened our country’s biodefense response to natural or terrorist related attacks.

Prior to Congress, Susan served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. In 2001, Susan was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve for six years as US Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, acting as the chief federal law enforcement officer for most of the state. Prior to her appointment as US Attorney, Susan practiced law at Ice Miller in the Government Services Practice Group. Susan also served as Deputy Mayor for the City of Indianapolis under Mayor Stephen Goldsmith overseeing public safety operations and helped manage law enforcement and emergency response efforts. Previously, she practiced criminal defense law in state and federal courts throughout Indiana.

Mung Chiang is president of Purdue University and the Roscoe H. George Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

From July 2017 to June 2022, he was the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. From April 2021 to December 2022, he was the university’s executive vice president for strategic initiatives. He led Purdue Engineering to its first back-to-back top 4 graduate rankings in the U.S. while growing it to be the largest top 10 undergraduate engineering college in the country.

Previously, he was the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. For his research in wireless networking, Chiang received the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award in 2013, the highest honor presented to an American researcher under the age of 40, and he was elected to the National Academy of Inventors and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He received the Distinguished Teaching Award in Engineering at Princeton for developing one of the university’s first massive open online courses, which has been taught to over 400,000 people.

Most of Chiang’s 25 U.S. patents have been licensed and deployed by the communications and networking industry, and he co-founded three startup companies in mobile networks, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Chiang also served as the science and technology advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State and initiated the U.S. government’s tech diplomacy programs.

Patrick J. Fehring, retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Level One Bank and Level One Bancorp, Inc., served in this position since the founding of the bank in 2007 until their merger with First Merchants in 2022.  Before the founding of Level One in 2007, Fehring spent 27 years with Fifth Third Bancorp and its affiliates, most recently as President of Fifth Third Bank, Eastern Michigan.

Mr. Fehring is an active leader in the local community, where he is engaged with the Entrepreneurs Organization and serves as a Board Member of Ascension Health Michigan and as Board Chair of Catholic Foundation of Michigan.  Fehring received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Miami University in Ohio. 

President and Chief Operating Officer of Ball Brothers Foundation located in Muncie, Indiana. Mr. Fisher joined Ball Brothers Foundation in 2003 after working in administration for Old National Bancorp. In addition to his duties as president and Chief Operating Officer of Ball Brothers Foundation, he serves on the boards of several regional and statewide organizations including the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation, and Delaware Advancement Corporation. A Michigan native, Mr. Fisher has an undergraduate degree from DePauw University and a graduate degree from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

President of Halderman Farm Management Service, Halderman Real Estate Services and Halderman Real Asset Management located in Wabash, Indiana. Mr. Halderman is an Accredited Farm Manager with the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and holds real estate broker’s licenses in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Honeywell Foundation in Wabash, IN and the Wabash County Hospital Board of Trustees. He currently resides in Wabash, Indiana, one of FMC’s long standing rural marketplaces and has served on the FMC Eastern Region Advisory Board since 2010.

Mark K. Hardwick currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of First Merchants Corporation and First Merchants Bank.

Mark joined First Merchants in November of 1997 as corporate controller and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in April of 2002. In June of 2007, Hardwick also assumed all leadership responsibilities related to operations, technology, and risk management for the corporation. In 2016, Mark’s title expanded to include Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the leadership responsibilities for finance, operations, technology, risk, legal, and facilities for the corporation. In 2021, Mark was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining First Merchants Corporation, Mark served as a senior accountant with BKD, LLP in Indianapolis.

Mark is a graduate of Ball State University with a master’s in business administration and bachelor’s degree in accounting. He is also a certified public accountant and a graduate of the Stonier School of Banking.

Mark is a trustee for Ball State University, serving as the chair for the Audit Committee. Mark is also a member of Next Muncie. Mark was inducted into the Ball State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. He was also the recipient of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s “CFO of the Year” in 2012.

Mark and his wife, Cathy, live in Yorktown and have two children, Halie and Bryce.

Kevin D. Johnson is the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), the city’s leading inclusive economic development driver. He has served as president and CEO since June 2018.

Under Johnson’s leadership, the organization focuses on job creation, capital investment and small business growth for the City of Detroit. Access, inclusion and financial growth for all Detroiters form the foundation of all DEGC work.

As president and CEO, Johnson spearheads DEGC’s economic development initiatives, including business attraction and retention, neighborhood small-business growth and international investment. In this role, Johnson builds upon 40-plus years of positive impact the DEGC has had on Detroit. Most recently, Johnson was integral in bringing Fiat Chrysler’s/ Stellantis $4.5 billion investment to Detroit, and with it thousands of Stellantis and supplier jobs.

A veteran of the industry, Johnson has served in both public and private economic-development positions throughout the U.S., including roles in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia. In his most previous role at Invest Atlanta, Johnson led the economic development program for the city, helping to create jobs and generating billions of dollars in new capital investment.

Johnson began his career nearly 30 years ago as the assistant county manager and Director of Economic Development for Caswell County (NC) Municipal Government. Throughout his career he has held a variety of leadership positions including president of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, vice president of business development for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and vice president of business development for Research Triangle Foundation in North Carolina.

Johnson received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Pre-Law from South Carolina State University. He received his Certified Economic Developer designation from the International Economic Development Council and has received numerous professional and community awards. Johnson was named one of the Top 50 Economic Developers of 2019 by Consultant Connect, a consulting agency designed to bridge the gap between economic developers and site consultants. He also serves as a member of the International Economic Development Council. He is also on the board of directors with the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Tech Town, and the Economic Development Leaders of Michigan.

Mr. Kellogg brings to the Board of First Merchants Corporation extensive leadership skills and experience from his time on and off of the court as a professional basketball player for the Indianapolis Pacers and a College Basketball Analyst. Mr. Kellogg resides in the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area. He has served on First Merchants Columbus Advisory Board since 2001 and The Ohio State University Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2019. His involvement with many Columbus-area organizations makes him a recognized Columbus civic leader.

Mr. Lehman is a Managing Director of The Cannelton Group (“Cannelton). He co-founded Cannelton in 2002. From 2012 to 2014, he was the President of Oerlikon USA Holdings, Inc. which is part of the Oerlikon Group (“Oerlikon”), a leading global technology company based in Switzerland. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Lehman was the CEO of Oerlikon’s Drive Systems segment. This segment includes Fairfield Manufacturing Company Inc. (“Fairfield”), Lafayette, Indiana, the largest independent gear manufacturer in the United States, which Oerlikon acquired in 2007. When Oerlikon acquired Fairfield, Mr. Lehman was Fairfield’s President and CEO, and he continued in this position until 2012 and as Fairfield’s Chair until 2014. Prior to co-founding Cannelton in 2002, Mr. Lehman was President and CEO of Philips Lighting Electronics NA and Advance Transformer, a wholly owned subsidiary of Philips Electronics NV; and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations and General Manager of the Body Systems Division of ITT Automotive. Mr. Lehman is currently a member of the Boards of SCP Limited, Inc. and Ash Access Technology, and Chairman of the Board of Greater Lafayette Commerce. Mr. Lehman is a member of the Purdue University Board of Trustees and has served on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education from 2008-2010.

Mr. Rechin is the former President and CEO of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, First Merchants Bank. He joined FMC in 2005, as its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and he led the Company from 2007 until his retirement on December 31, 2020. Before joining FMC, Mr. Rechin held senior management positions with National City Bank (“National City”) for 23 years. Mr. Rechin was the manager of National City’s Indiana Commercial Banking operations from 1995 until 2005. Mr. Rechin currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Sheehan Family Foundation and the Hageman Group. He previously served on the Boards of the Conner Prairie Museum and The Center for the Performing Arts.

As the Company’s former President and CEO, Mr. Rechin is an essential member of the Board. In addition to his leadership, strategic and management skills, Mr. Rechin’s broad knowledge of the banking and financial services industry acquired during his nearly 35 years of service in executive and senior management positions in that industry serves the Company well. Mr. Rechin resides in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, one of the company’s high-growth markets.

Jason R. Sondhi is CEO of Exos Companies, a leading, full-service IT consulting and staffing firm located in the heart of Indianapolis. Exos Companies is the parent of a family of companies that provide cybersecurity, talent and IT solutions across the United States. Formerly known as Sondhi Solutions, Exos Companies is a minority business enterprise (MBE) with seasoned experts who leverage cutting-edge technologies and best practices to deliver tailored solutions and achieve clients’ goals.

An expert in the business, Jason has grown Exos to multiple markets and topped the IBJ Fastest Growing Companies list in 2015-2016 and landing on the Inc. 5000 from 2014-2016. With a focus on supporting its employees, Exos has been honored with the Top Places to Work award in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

As a leader in the community, giving back has been a top priority for Jason over his career. He sits on the board of Weaver Popcorn Fundraising and St Vincent Foundation Board. He created IT Equipment Round UP which provides gently used IT equipment to non-profits, and he started Jingle Books, a yearly Holiday fundraiser providing Indianapolis children books to inspire and educate. To date, 8,000+ books have been collected. Jason has been an active donor and volunteer with the Christel DeHaan Foundation and sits on the Park Tudor Alumni Board.

Ms. Wojtowicz is the founder and President of Cambridge Capital Management Corp. (“Cambridge”), an Indianapolis-based manager of nontraditional sources of capital for businesses. Since Ms. Wojtowicz founded the company in 1983, Cambridge has provided more than $840 million to more than 1,900 businesses in the manufacturing, service and retail sectors. Cambridge manages the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation, which provides fixed-asset financing to small businesses; the Indiana Community Business Credit Corporation, a consortium of financial institutions that pool money to provide loans to businesses in a growth stage; and Lynx Capital Corporation, which provides debt financing to minority-owned companies. Cambridge is also the general partner of Cambridge Ventures L.P., a licensed small business investment company. She previously served as the lead independent director on the Board of Directors of Vectren Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange energy holding company serving Indiana and Ohio. Ms. Wojtowicz is one of the seven members of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, the agency responsible for supervising financial institutions incorporated in Indiana. She also serves as a director of American United Mutual Insurance Holding Company, where she currently serves on the Investment Committee, the Audit Committee, and the Governance Nominating Committee. She also serves on the Boards of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana, and Indiana Chamber Foundation and INBK (Audit Chair and member of the Nominating and Governance Committee). Ms. Wojtowicz authors frequent articles and columns for the Indianapolis Business Journal, Hoosier Banker, and other business and financial publications. Ms. Wojtowicz is the Company's Chair and serves on the Board’s Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and the Compensation and Human Resources Committee.

She is a recognized leader with broad knowledge of the banking and financial services industry. She has business and financial acumen and has acquired valuable expertise in the areas of risk management and compliance. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce named Ms. Wojtowicz the “2011 Business Leader of the Year” because of her significant contributions to the state’s economy and workforce by connecting small businesses with funding options and vital entrepreneurial advice. She resides in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, one of the company’s high-growth markets.