{"schema_version":"secwatch.filing_event.v1","accession":"0001649739-23-000067","form_type":"8-K","ticker":"BAFN","cik":"0001649739","company_name":"BayFirst Financial Corp.","filed_at":"2023-02-06T23:59:59+00:00","discovered_at":"2026-05-14T18:03:45.998467+00:00","generated_at":"2026-06-20T00:08:55.442132+00:00","sec_items":["5.02","9.01"],"event_type":"leadership","sentiment":"neutral","materiality_score":0.65,"calibrated_materiality_score":0.65,"confidence":"high","headline":"BayFirst Financial CEO Anthony Leo to retire at end of 2023; Thomas Zernick named successor","bullets":["Anthony N. Leo to retire as CEO effective Dec 31, 2023; will remain Director and serve as Special Counsel.","Thomas G. Zernick, current President, appointed CEO effective Jan 1, 2024, and joins Board immediately.","Zernick joined BayFirst in 2016, led CreditBench SBA lending division; served as President since Feb 2022.","Chairman notes BayFirst grew from $69M to nearly $1B in assets under Leo's leadership.","Succession follows board-led planning with independent management consultant."],"urls":{"canonical":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001649739-23-000067","json":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001649739-23-000067.json","markdown":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001649739-23-000067.md","text":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001649739-23-000067.txt","edgar_index":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1649739/000164973923000067/0001649739-23-000067-index.htm","edgar_primary_document":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1649739/000164973923000067/bafn-20230206.htm"},"model":{"generated_by":"deepseek-v4-flash:cloud@v2","generated_at":"2026-06-20T00:08:55.442132+00:00"},"review":{"review_status":"machine_generated","human_reviewed":false,"corrected":false,"correction_note":null,"correction_timestamp":null,"superseded_by":null,"related_filings":[]},"source_grounded_claims":[{"claim_id":"1cedb62518","claim":"Thomas G. Zernick was appointed as Chief Executive Officer at BayFirst Financial Corp..","evidence_excerpt":"The Board of Directors has appointed Thomas G. Zernick to succeed Leo as Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2024.","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.02","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1649739/000164973923000067/0001649739-23-000067-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Executive change","details":[{"label":"Action","value":"appointed"},{"label":"Role","value":"Chief Executive Officer"}],"fact_type":"executive_change"},{"claim_id":"26e6eb419e","claim":"Thomas G. Zernick was appointed as Director at BayFirst Financial Corp..","evidence_excerpt":"He was also appointed to serve as a Director of the Company, and is joining the Company's Board effective immediately.","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.02","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1649739/000164973923000067/0001649739-23-000067-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Executive change","details":[{"label":"Action","value":"appointed"},{"label":"Role","value":"Director"}],"fact_type":"executive_change"},{"claim_id":"37b4de985f","claim":"Anthony N. Leo departed as Chief Executive Officer at BayFirst Financial Corp..","evidence_excerpt":"On February 6, 2023, BayFirst Financial Corp. issued a press release announcing that Anthony N. Leo will retire as Chief Executive Officer at the end of 2023.","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.02","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1649739/000164973923000067/0001649739-23-000067-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Executive change","details":[{"label":"Action","value":"retire"},{"label":"Role","value":"Chief Executive Officer"}],"fact_type":"executive_change"},{"claim_id":"636bf1e6b7","claim":"Anthony N. Leo changed role as Special Counsel at BayFirst Financial Corp..","evidence_excerpt":"Leo will remain a Director of the Company and will also serve as Special Counsel for strategic matters.","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.02","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1649739/000164973923000067/0001649739-23-000067-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Executive change","details":[{"label":"Action","value":"serve"},{"label":"Role","value":"Special Counsel"}],"fact_type":"executive_change"}],"license":"Source filings: public domain (SEC EDGAR). Summaries (headline + bullets): CC-BY-4.0; attribute https://secwatch.observer"}