Former banking and investment executive and life-long coin collector Larry Shepherd has been named the new executive director of the American Numismatic Association, President Barry Stuppler announced today.
Shepherd, whose appointment was announced during opening ceremonies of the Phoenix National Money Show at 9:45 a.m., is an ANA Life Member (#5036) and owner and president of Simco Numismatics in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to founding Simco in 1989, he spent 17 years in the banking and investment community, including 14 years in executive management.
“We are very pleased that Larry has accepted our offer to become the next executive director of the ANA,” Stuppler said. “He brings with him extraordinary business experience, and has had an exemplary record of success throughout his career. He is well-respected in the numismatic community with a well-earned reputation for integrity. We look forward to his leadership at this critical time in the ANA’s history.”
Stuppler, who chaired the Executive Director Search Committee, said Shepherd was their unanimous choice.
“Larry stood out among an extremely well-qualified pool of 37 applicants,” Stuppler said. “We had a number of extraordinary candidates, and we’re obviously very pleased with the results of this search.”
Shepherd said he will begin traveling to ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs within a couple of weeks to have meetings with staff, and he expects to begin full time duties by mid-to-late spring.
“The ANA is an organization that is vital to the numismatic community, but it’s also an organization that has issues and needs help,” Shepherd said. “It will take hard work, creative management and fresh ideas to get the ANA back on the right track, and I’m motivated by those challenges.
”Shepherd also said that after 18 years as an independent business owner, he had a strong desire to return to management with a large, complex organization. “This fills a void,” he said. “I enjoy strategic planning, setting long-term goals and being innovative and creative. This new position gives me a chance to do something I’ve always wanted to do in the hobby I love and enjoy.”
As owner and president of Simco, Shepherd catered to collectors interested in building high-quality collections. He has customers in all 50 states, and frequented coin shows throughout the country.
Prior to founding Simco in 1989, he was co-CEO, director and managing director of Irwin Union Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Irwin Financial Corp., for five years. He also served as executive vice president of Irwin Union Bank and Trust. He became vice president of National City Bank in Dayton, Ohio, when he was 25.
Shepherd, who has been an ANA member for about 25 years, began collecting coins at the age of 10, when he purchased a Whitman album for 35 cents and began collecting circulated Mercury dimes – separated from change by a neighborhood grocer. He later began frequenting a local coin shop, where he began collecting uncirculated coins.
Years later, Shepherd became interested on commemorative series. In 1991, he became the first living collector to have a commemorative series pedigreed by PCGS.
Shepherd said he often thinks of all the help and mentoring he received from other collectors and dealers as he was growing up in the hobby, and says that always inspired him to be a collectors’ dealer.
“I’m very customer-driven,” Shepherd said. “I’ll work very hard to inject a greater cultural sense in the ANA that our first priority is to serve the entire numismatic community. “I feel a debt to the numismatic community. It’s given me a lot and, now, I can give something back.”
Shepherd will replace Acting Executive Director Ken Hallenbeck, who replaced Chris Cipoletti in October. A search committee consisting of Stuppler, ANA Vice President Patti Finner, Governor Clifford Mishler and General Counsel A. Ronald Sirna, began looking for a new executive director in December. The committee selected semi-finalists and conducted initial interviews in February. Finalists were interviewed on Wednesday.
“I want to thank everyone who took the time to apply for the executive director position,” Stuppler said. “We had a great pool of candidates, and we’re obviously very pleased with the results. I believe the ANA will prosper under Larry Shepherd’s leadership.”
About the American Numismatic Association
The American Numismatic Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and encouraging people to study and collect money and related items. The ANA helps its 32,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of programs including its education and outreach programs, museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.
# # #
