Hancock Holding names Conrad VP

   Financial services firm Hancock Holding Co. has appointed Deborah Conrad to vice president.
   Conrad, who spent most of her 35 years in international banking with the U.S. Export-Import Bank, will provide Hancock’s Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank financial guidance for businesses looking to access federal export finance assistance.
   She joined Whitney and Hancock from U.S. Bank in Los Angeles, where she served as vice president and manager of the bank’s Ex-Im Working Capital Guarantee Program. She also worked with BB&T and the U.S. Small Business Administration in Baltimore and Bank of America in Phoenix and Boston.
   Hancock and its banks operate in five southeastern states that encircle the Gulf of Mexico. Based in Houston, Conrad will serve clients throughout the Gulf Coast region.
   “As technology advances, businesses are competing in an economy that is more global than ever before,” said Carl Chaney, Hancock’s president and chief executive officer. “Export finance is becoming more important to businesses and industries in the Gulf Coast region every day.”