# Georgia S. Derrico

> Georgia S. Derrico is an American bank founder and author. She founded Southern Financial Bank in 1986 and cofounded Southern National Bancorp and Sonabank, the predecessors of Primis. She served as Sonabank’s founding chairman and CEO, became executive chairman in 2017, and retired from that executive position in March 2020. Her later public work includes serving as treasurer of the Michael G. Santangelo Jr. Scholarship Fund and coauthoring For Love and Money with Rod Porter.

- **Role:** Treasurer at the Michael G. Santangelo Jr. Scholarship Fund; cofounder and former CEO of Sonabank, now Primis Bank
- **Organizations:** Southern Financial Bank, Southern Financial Bancorp, Chemical Bank, Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Sonabank, Primis Financial Corp. (successor name), Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center, Michael G. Santangelo Jr. Scholarship Fund
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate study in international affairs, Saint Mary’s College, Indiana, Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center, Columbia University
- **Known for:** Founded Southern Financial Bank and led it until its 2004 acquisition., Cofounded the bank that became Primis., Coestablished the Dr. George M. Santangelo Fellowship at the Bologna Center in 2004.

## Career timeline

- **1970** — Joined Chemical Bank; later held senior credit, administrative and corporate banking roles.
- **1986** — Founded Southern Financial Bank in Virginia.
- **1993** — Southern Financial went public.
- **2004** — Southern Financial was acquired by Provident in April; cofounded the Sonabank venture in July.
- **2005** — Sonabank commenced operations on April 14.
- **2017** — Became executive chairman following the June 23 Eastern Virginia Bankshares merger.
- **2020** — Retired from executive chairmanship in March.
- **2021** — Sonabank and Southern National adopted the Primis names on March 31, after her executive retirement.
- **2025** — Coauthored For Love and Money; presented a Hill School scholarship check in December.

## Achievements

- Founded Southern Financial Bank and led it until its 2004 acquisition.
- Cofounded the bank that became Primis.
- Coestablished the Dr. George M. Santangelo Fellowship at the Bologna Center in 2004.
- Coauthored the 2025 memoir For Love and Money.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — The scholarship fund’s event report identified Derrico as treasurer and described her presentation of a $7,500 check to the Hill School at its December 2025 event.
- **2025-09** — For Love and Money, credited to Georgia Derrico and Rod Porter, was published by Quaderer Media Group.

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/georgia-derrico
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23