Sundie Seefried to Step Down as Harbor Financial CEO

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GOLDEN, Colo. – Sundie Seefried, founder and chief executive officer at SHF Holdings Inc. (doing business as Safe Harbor Financial), will retire in 30 days. Until then, she will serve as co-CEO, effective immediately.

The company signed a three-year executive employment agreement with Terry Mendez to serve as co-CEO; Mendez will be appointed CEO upon Seefried’s retirement. Post-transition, Seefried will remain on the board of directors.

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During the transition, Mendez will work closely with Safe Harbor’s leadership team and board of directors to capture opportunities for innovation and growth, while Seefried will focus on achieving operational continuity. Seefried and Mendez will be the key decision-makers, ensuring all strategic recommendations are evaluated and presented to the board, as needed, for approval.

Sundie Seefried
Sundie Seefried

“We remain committed to thoughtful succession planning and long-term strategic growth, with the goal of capitalizing on optimizing our market position,” said Seefried. “Terry’s experience in business expansion, transformation and strategic advisory will provide a valuable perspective as we explore ways to enhance our operations and maximize shareholder value. I look forward to working closely with him.”

According to Mendez, “At a time when most financial institutions were unwilling to work with the cannabis industry, Safe Harbor emerged as a pioneer, providing essential banking and financial services to the sector for the past decade. We are now looking at the challenges currently facing the industry and determining how we can leverage our people to develop technology that delivers trusted solutions to the marketplace. I look forward to diving into the business, learning from Sundie and partnering with my fellow operators to deliver value for our shareholders.”

Mendez brings extensive experience in strategic planning and operational transformation within the information technology and cannabis industries. In his role as founder of Amos Advisory Solutions, Mendez served as the CEO of both single-state and multistate cannabis operators, leading turnaround efforts. He began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche. Previously, he served as the vice president of finance and global chief accounting officer for Hitachi Vantara, a subsidiary of Hitachi, overseeing 52 countries.

Karl A. Racine, chair of Safe Harbor’s Nominating and Governance Committee, has been overseeing due diligence activities and advising the executive team and the Governance Committee to evaluate both internal and external candidates as part of the process. This strategic approach and review are part of the Company’s long-term growth strategy, ensuring Safe Harbor continues to maximize shareholder value and executes its strategic vision.

About Safe Harbor

Safe Harbor is among the first service providers to offer compliance, monitoring and validation services to financial institutions, providing traditional banking services to cannabis, hemp, CBD, and ancillary operators, making communities safer, driving growth in local economies, and fostering long-term partnerships. Safe Harbor, through its financial institution clients, implements high standards of accountability, transparency, monitoring, reporting and risk mitigation measures while meeting Bank Secrecy Act obligations in line with FinCEN guidance on cannabis-related businesses. Over the past decade, Safe Harbor has facilitated more than $25 billion in deposit transactions for businesses with operations spanning over 41 states and US territories with regulated cannabis markets.

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