Pinnacle Financial Partners Grows Team With Addition of Two Veteran Financial Services Professionals

Pinnacle Financial Partners has expanded its team in South Central and Western Kentucky with the hiring of veteran financial professional Eric Walker. He joins the firm as market executive and financial advisor, bringing 33 years of financial services experience to the role. Also joining the firm is Jerry Searcy, who is a credit advisor with 18 years of experience.

“Pinnacle’s reputation as a great place to work continues to attract talented and highly experienced people in the markets we serve,” said Rick Seadler, Pinnacle’s regional president for South Central Kentucky. “These associates add decades of combined experience to our team that will help us deliver on our promise of distinctive service and effective advice. Bringing them on board furthers that commitment and represents the latest in a series of significant, long-term investments in our people, our culture and the Bowling Green market.”

Walker comes to Pinnacle from U.S. Bank, where he served as a business banking team leader and vice president of commercial lending. Prior roles include managing consultant at BKD, LLP and senior accountant at KPMG, LLP. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Western Kentucky University and an MBA in finance/economics from Middle Tennessee State University.

Searcy also joins the firm from U.S. Bank, where he served as a credit manager, credit analyst manager/credit approver and senior credit analyst. Prior roles include accounting manager and more at Camping World, Inc. He also served as a senior accountant and staff accountant at Ernst & Young. Searcy earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and mathematics from Western Kentucky University.

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. The firm is the No. 1 bank in the Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA, according to 2022 deposit data from the FDIC, is listed by Forbes among the top 25 banks in the nation and earned a spot on the 2022 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S., its sixth consecutive appearance. American Banker recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For nine years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $11 billion in assets in 2021.

Pinnacle began working in Kentucky in 2017, serving clients from Nashville, TN. The firm officially launched its first locally based teams and offices in the state in 2022 by recruiting high-performing teams of bankers to bring Pinnacle into Bowling Green, Louisville and the surrounding areas.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN, in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $40.1 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 15 primarily urban markets across the Southeast.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.