Southern Bancorp Inc. has hired Robert Cern as CFO for Southern Bancorp Bank and its holding company, Southern Bancorp Inc. Cern comes to Southern with more than 30 years of accounting and executive management experience in the banking and financial services industry.

He earned a master of management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and a bachelor of arts from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, Minn.

Prior to joining Southern, Cern was the executive vice president and CFO for Cardinal Financial Corporation/Cardinal Bank, a $2.1-billion bank in McLean, Va. He also previously served in senior positions including senior vice president and controller for Riggs National Corporation/Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., and senior vice president and CFO for Permanent Bancorp Inc./Permanent Bank in Evansville, Ind.

Cern holds a certified public accountant license, and is affiliated with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants.