DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH) has appointed Toby Pennycuff, former head of information technology at Essex Property Trust, as its new chief information officer. The Texas-based financial services holding company has brought the industry veteran on board to provide strategic vision and leadership in the development and implementation of information technology solutions that provide business value and effective management of technology risks. In this newly created position, Pennycuff will report directly to Hilltop Holdings Chief Administrative Officer Darren Parmenter and will work closely with IT leaders across the company’s subsidiaries as he oversees day-to-day IT functions to support the operations needs of Hilltop’s four business units: banking, mortgage origination, financial advisory, and insurance.

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Toby Pennycuff, Chief Information Officer. (Photo: Business Wire)

Over the course of his 40-year career, Pennycuff has held increasingly senior information technology positions in the banking, travel, retail, and professional service industries including vice president and chief technology officer at EDS (acquired by Hewlett Packard in 2008), senior vice president and chief technology officer at JC Penney, principal and chief technology officer at PennMann Technology, and most recently chief information officer for Essex Property Trust, Inc.

"We are very pleased to have Toby join our team,” said Darren Parmenter. "Toby's significant experience in information technology combined with his diverse industry background is a great fit for our company and will help keep Hilltop at the forefront of the best technology practices."

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Pennycuff has served on the IBM Power Systems Board of Advisors, the University of Texas at Dallas Jindal School of Business IT Industry Advisory Board, and the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Information Management Advisory Council.

About Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings is a Dallas-based financial holding company. Its primary line of business is to provide business and consumer banking services from offices located throughout Texas through PlainsCapital Bank. PlainsCapital Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary, PrimeLending, provides residential mortgage lending throughout the United States. Hilltop Holdings’ broker-dealer subsidiaries, Hilltop Securities Inc. and Hilltop Securities Independent Network Inc., provide a full complement of securities brokerage, institutional and investment banking services in addition to clearing services and retail financial advisory. Through Hilltop Holdings’ other wholly owned subsidiary, National Lloyds Corporation, it provides property and casualty insurance through two insurance companies, National Lloyds Insurance Company and American Summit Insurance Company. At March 31, 2017, Hilltop employed approximately 5,400 people and operated approximately 460 locations in 44 states. Hilltop Holdings' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTH." Find more information at Hilltop-Holdings.com, PlainsCapital.com, PrimeLending.com, Nationallloydsinsurance.com and Hilltopsecurities.com.

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