Pinnacle Financial Partners is the No. 1 Workplace in Knoxville

Pinnacle Financial Partners was named the No. 1 Top Workplace in Knoxville, as announced by the Knoxville News Sentinel and Energage at a ceremony Thursday night at The Mill & Mine. This is the 10^th year the firm has been on the list, nine at No. 1. This year the firm moved to the large company category in the Top Workplaces awards. Pinnacle’s regional president, Mike DiStefano won the Leadership Award, which honors leaders who exemplify the values and culture that drive workplace excellence.

“Our team members are the reason we’re receiving this honor,” said DiStefano. “They show up every day ready to support each other in giving our clients extraordinary service. Our team cherishes the environment we’ve created, where we trust our experienced professionals to use their strengths and talents to help the firm reach its goals. Making sure our actions align with our values helps us maintain a place where people look forward to coming to work. I am so proud of our team and all that we have accomplished together.”

The Top Workplaces list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by research partner Energage, LLC, a leading provider of technology-based employee engagement tools. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution and connection, among other benchmarks.

One question on the anonymous survey for the rankings was the prompt, “I love my job because…” with answers from Pinnacle associates including:

"Pinnacle has a great reputation, and everyone truly embraces the culture and horizontal team structure where every team member feels they have a voice and can contribute no matter what their title or role at Pinnacle."

"Pinnacle puts people first. This is not an environment that looks at their clients as a tick mark just to sell products to. We genuinely care about our clients and want to give them distinctive service and effective advice."

"I work with a great team. Everyone genuinely wants to help and give the best service to our clients. The culture makes me feel like I matter to the company. The culture encourages me to give the very best of me every day."

About Pinnacle Financial Partners

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (“Pinnacle”) is a $119.1 billion asset regional bank which provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services for commercial and consumer clients who want a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution.

Pinnacle has served East Tennessee since 2007 when the firm hired a team of local financial services professionals to start an office in Knoxville. Pinnacle now operates five offices in Knox County, one in Oak Ridge and one in Maryville. The firm is the No. 3 largest bank in the Knoxville MSA in terms of deposits.

The firm joined forces with Synovus Financial Corp. in 2026, bringing together more than 160 years of combined banking service. Pinnacle is the largest bank headquartered in Tennessee and the largest bank holding company headquartered in Georgia. The firm is No. 1 in deposit market share* in the Nashville MSA and No. 4 in the Atlanta MSA with offices in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland.

Pinnacle is an employer of choice for financial services professionals. The firm is No. 12 in the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026, its 10th consecutive appearance.  Pinnacle was also recognized by American Banker as No. 4 among America’s Best Banks to Work For in 2025, its 13th consecutive year on the list, and No. 1 among banks with more than $10 billion in assets. Learn more about Pinnacle at PNFP.com.