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AI brief of an SEC Form 8-K · Heritage Financial (HFWA)

Heritage Financial appoints Karen Saunders to board; director Deborah Gavin will not stand for re-election

Neutral Impact 2 of 5 leadership Written later

Heritage Financial named Karen Saunders, a former KPMG audit partner, to its board and the board of Heritage Bank, effective January 1, 2025. Director Deborah Gavin said she will not stand for re-election at the 2025 annual meeting, and the company said her decision was not due to any disagreement over operations, policies, or practices. The filing covers board changes and a deferred compensation participation agreement for CEO-level executive Matthew Ray, with no financial results reported.

Key points

  • Karen Saunders, age 60, joins the board and Heritage Bank board effective January 1, 2025, and will serve on the Audit and Finance and Risk and Technology Committees
  • Deborah J. Gavin informed the company on December 13, 2024, that she will not stand for re-election; her term expires at the 2025 Annual Meeting
  • The board determined Saunders is independent under Nasdaq listing standards
  • Matthew T. Ray's deferred compensation agreement vests 10% per year, becoming fully vested after ten anniversaries of the January 1, 2025 award date

The filing

CompanyHeritage Financial (HFWA)
Form8-K, current report
Filed with the SECDec 19, 2024, 3:00 PM ET
Accession number0001046025-24-000200

Items reported: 5.02 Director / Officer Change

Read the filing on SEC.gov ↗

Written by AI on Nov 8, 2026, 6:59 AM ET, from this filing only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on December 19, 2024.

Briefs are written by AI from the filing text and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the AI's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.