8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 10, 2022

FIRST WESTERN FINANCIAL, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Colorado	001-38595	37-1442266
(State or other jurisdiction of	(Commission	(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)	File Number)	Identification No.)
1900 16th Street, Suite 1200
Denver, Colorado		80202
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 303.531.8100

Former name or former address, if changed since last report: Not Applicable

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

☒	Emerging growth company
☒	If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, no par value	MYFW	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

(c) Appointment of Certain Officers

On February 10, 2022, First Western Financial, Inc. (the “Company”) announced the appointment of Julie A. Courkamp, age 42, to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Ms. Courkamp will continue serving in her previous roles as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Company. Ms. Courkamp also serves on the Board of Directors of the Company and First Western Trust Bank.

Ms. Courkamp has served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Company and First Western Trust Bank since 2013 and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since 2021. She joined the Company in 2006 as its Controller and was promoted to Director of Finance and Accounting in 2010. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Courkamp held positions with PwC in Denver researching issues related to SEC reporting, and coordinating and supervising audits and interim quarterly reviews of public and private companies. Ms. Courkamp holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Ms. Courkamp is not related to any member of the Board of Directors or any executive officer of the Company, and is not a party to any transactions which would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press Release dated February 10, 2022
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded in the Inline XBRL document)

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

	FIRST WESTERN FINANCIAL, INC.
Date: February 11, 2022	By: /s/ Scott C. Wylie
	Scott C. Wylie
	Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

First Western Financial, Inc. Announces Julie A. Courkamp Appointed

Chief Operating Officer of First Western Financial, Inc.

DENVER, CO, February 10, 2022 – First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYFW), a financial services holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado (“First Western” or the “Company”), today announced the appointment of Julie A. Courkamp to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Courkamp will continue serving in her previous roles as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of First Western. Ms. Courkamp also serves on the Board of Directors of First Western Financial, Inc. and First Western Trust Bank.

In her role as Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Courkamp will have responsibility for overseeing the Company’s operations across the bank, mortgage, trust and investment management businesses, as well as the finance, accounting, human resources, legal/governance, risk management, and compliance departments.

Scott C. Wylie, Chairman and CEO of First Western, said, “Julie’s appointment to Chief Operating Officer reflects the increasing responsibilities that she has taken on since joining First Western in 2006 and the important role she has played in managing the growth of our company. Julie has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities while overseeing our finance department, operations, risk management, and technology functions. Creating the position of Chief Operating Officer will enable us to better leverage Julie’s institutional knowledge and managerial skills, while providing her with the opportunity to make an even larger impact on the future growth and success of the First Western franchise.”

About Julie A. Courkamp

Ms. Courkamp has served as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company and First Western Trust Bank since 2013 and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since 2021. She joined the Company in 2006 as its Controller and was promoted to Director of Finance and Accounting in 2010. As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Courkamp manages the Finance, Accounting, Risk, Compliance, and Operations teams, including the deposit, loan, trust, investment and mortgage support teams at First Western. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Courkamp held positions with PwC in Denver researching issues related to SEC reporting, and coordinating and supervising audits and interim quarterly reviews of public and private companies.

Ms. Courkamp earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

About First Western Financial, Inc.

First Western is a financial services holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with operations in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and California. First Western and its subsidiaries provide a fully integrated suite of wealth management services on a private trust bank platform, which includes a comprehensive selection of deposit, loan, trust, wealth planning and investment management products and services. First Western’s

common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MYFW.” For more information, please visit www.myfw.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release regarding our expectations and beliefs about our future financial performance and financial condition, as well as trends in our business and markets are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “opportunity,” “could,” or “may.” The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current information and on assumptions that we make about future events and circumstances that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond our control. As a result of those risks and uncertainties, our actual financial results in the future could differ, possibly materially, from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and could cause us to make changes to our future plans. Those risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects; integration risks in connection with acquisitions; the risk of geographic concentration in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and California; the risk of changes in the economy affecting real estate values and liquidity; the risk in our ability to continue to originate residential real estate loans and sell such loans; risks specific to commercial loans and borrowers; the risk of claims and litigation pertaining to our fiduciary responsibilities; the risk of competition for investment managers and professionals; the risk of fluctuation in the value of our investment securities; the risk of changes in interest rates; and the risk of the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and the risk in our ability to maintain a strong core deposit base or other low-cost funding sources. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties to which our business and future financial performance are subject is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 12, 2021 (“Form 10-K”), and other documents we file with the SEC from time to time. We urge readers of this news release to review the “Risk Factors” section our Form 10-K and any updates to those risk factors set forth in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and our other filings with the SEC. Also, our actual financial results in the future may differ from those currently expected due to additional risks and uncertainties of which we are not currently aware or which we do not currently view as, but in the future may become, material to our business or operating results. Due to these and other possible uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak only as of today’s date, or to make predictions based solely on historical financial performance. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:Financial Profiles, Inc.
Tony Rossi
310-622-8221

MYFW@finprofiles.comIR@myfw.com

XML

Document and Entity Information	Feb. 10, 2022
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Feb. 10, 2022
Entity File Number	001-38595
Entity Registrant Name	FIRST WESTERN FINANCIAL, INC.
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	CO
Entity Tax Identification Number	37-1442266
Entity Address, Address Line One	1900 16th Street
Entity Address, Adress Line Two	Suite 1200
Entity Address, City or Town	Denver
Entity Address, State or Province	CO
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	80202
City Area Code	303
Local Phone Number	531.8100
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, no par value
Trading Symbol	MYFW
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company	true
Entity Ex Transition Period	true
Entity Central Index Key	0001327607
Amendment Flag	false