CAMDEN – John C. Witherspoon, president and chief executive officer of UnitedKingfield Bank, a subsidiary of Camden National Corp., has resigned, effective immediately.

Witherspoon was president and CEO of Kingfield Bank at the time it was acquired by Camden National in 1999 and remained in that capacity after the merger of United Bank and Kingfield Bank in February 2000.

“After 25 years of banking and nearly 20 as president, it is time for a new direction,” said Witherspoon. “While I will miss our valued customers and the employees who make UnitedKingfield Bank a premier financial institution, I look forward to pursuing other community interests to enhance the economic vitality of the Western Maine region.”

Robert W. Daigle, president and CEO of Camden National Corp., said the search for a successor would begin shortly and that the subsidiary’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, Jeff Smith, and its vice president and senior loan officer, Tim Nightingale, would oversee the day-to-day activities at UnitedKingfield Bank in the interim.

Camden National Corp., headquartered in Camden and listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol CAC, is the holding company for Camden National Bank, UnitedKingfield Bank, and Acadia Trust, N.A.