Pinnacle Outpaces C&I Hiring Projections by Adding Significant Revenue Producers in 2Q 2018

New hires across the footprint advance firm wide organic growth strategy

Pinnacle Financial Partners’ longstanding hiring strategy continues to build momentum for growth across the firm’s franchise. The firm made significant commercial and industrial hires and is still running ahead of schedule in meeting its stated goal of hiring 65 C&I and private banking financial advisors in the Carolinas and Virginia. During the second quarter, the firm recruited 16 new revenue producers in these markets compared to 10 in the first quarter.

“Attracting and retaining the best bankers in our markets is the keystone of our organic growth strategy,” said M. Terry Turner, Pinnacle’s president and CEO. “That’s one of the main reasons why we put such an emphasis on creating a great internal culture and engaging workplace. In the Carolinas and Virginia, in particular, we said we wanted to bolt a strong C&I program onto an already robust CRE team. Our regional presidents did an outstanding job bringing new talent on board in the second quarter.”

In Tennessee, Pinnacle leaders have recruited several significant commercial bankers and private wealth advisors so far in 2018. Some of those include:

• Clay Hart, a new senior lending officer and member of the Pinnacle leadership team who was previously the Nashville president for Renasant Bank
• Tom Fox, a commercial financial advisor serving clients in the sports industry who spent much of his career with US Bank and most recently came from Wells Fargo
• Jamie Harrington, a commercial financial advisor from First National Bank of Middle Tennessee
• Scott Schroeffel, a financial consultant from SunTrust Investment Services who joined the Pinnacle Asset Management team in Knoxville
• Ken Farley, another financial consultant from SunTrust who joined Pinnacle Asset Management in Middle Tennessee
• David Bower, a financial consultant from SunTrust Investment Services who now serves Pinnacle Asset Management in Nashville
• Rachel Willoughby, a trust advisor who joins the Nashville team from Fifth Third Bank

In the Carolinas and Virginia, the plan for hiring 65 C&I advisors over five years advanced. With six new C&I advisors on board in the second quarter, among 16 revenue producers hired altogether, the total now stands at 19 C&I advisors hired since July 1, 2017. That is nearly 50 percent ahead of projections. Those hires include a new regional president on the South Carolina Coast, a veteran advisor to lead Pinnacle’s retirement program firm-wide and a former market leader who spent his entire career at Wells Fargo. Significant recruits in these markets include:

High Point-Greensboro, NC

• Justin Spradley is a financial advisor serving commercial clients. He comes to Pinnacle with more than 15 years of experience, including 10 at PNC Bank, where he most recently served as a commercial relationship manager for the Triad market.
• Joe Yochim is a financial advisor serving commercial clients who comes to Pinnacle from Wells Fargo Bank, where he served for 16 years in a variety of roles. Most recently, he served as a business relationship manager and project lead for the Carolinas store model implementation.
• John Ehmig will build Pinnacle’s retirement offering from a single market 401(k) and 403(b) product into a firm-wide program. He has 22 years of experience in the retirement sector and comes most recently from BB&T, where he was a vice president and institutional trust consultant.

Raleigh, NC

• Matthew Robinson is a commercial financial advisor most recently from First Tennessee Bank, where he was a senior vice president in the bank’s commercial client services area. Prior to that, he served as a market executive for North State Bank.
• Ben Singleton is a commercial insurance advisor with HPB Insurance Services, a Pinnacle subsidiary. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry, and prior to joining the firm was a business insurance consultant with Marsh & McLennan and a vice president at Senn Dunn insurance in Raleigh.
• Kelly Fox is a new mortgage advisor who has 24 years of mortgage services experience and comes to Pinnacle from Crescom Bank, where he was a mortgage loan officer. Previously he served as a mortgage loan officer for Bank of America Mortgage.

Charlotte, NC

• Judy Brantley is an SBA advisor with 35 years of financial services experience who comes to Pinnacle from Wells Fargo Bank, where she spent 28 years in a variety of credit roles. Most recently, she served as a senior loan-closing officer.
• Joydeep Patel is a new office leader serving small business and retail clients. He comes from PNC Bank, where he served 19 years in a variety of roles like private branch and business-banking manager.

Charleston, SC

• Mickey Renner is Pinnacle’s new regional president on the South Carolina Coast leading the teams in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head and all points in between. He has 27 years of experience in financial services and spent his entire career at Wachovia, now Wells Fargo. Since 2009, he has been Wells’ business banking executive for all of South Carolina. He served Wachovia as a business banker, business banking director, small business manager and retail sales manager in various markets in North Carolina.
• Jennifer Reagan is a new mortgage advisor who comes to Pinnacle from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, where she served 10 years as a mortgage consultant. Previously she was a mortgage advisor for First Rate Mortgage.
• Mike Westman is an office leader serving small business and retail clients with 12 years of financial services experience. He comes to Pinnacle from Regions Bank, where he most recently was a branch manager.

Greenville, SC

• Jay Terry III is an insurance advisor serving commercial clients. He began his insurance career in 2000 and comes to Pinnacle after six years with The Hartford, where he most recently served as a new business development representative in Greenville.
• Blake Whitaker is an office leader serving small business and retail clients. He has 25 years of financial services experience and comes to Pinnacle from Capital Bank, where he served as a branch manager and small business relationship manager. Prior roles included branch manager and small business lender with Regions Bank, middle market lender with Union Planters Bank and credit officer at SunTrust Bank.

Roanoke, VA

• Jonathan Richardson is a new commercial financial advisor who will help build Pinnacle’s C&I team in Virginia. Richardson spent his entire career at Wells Fargo and its predecessor He most recently led Wells Fargo’s 15-person middle market banking team with responsibility for all of western Virginia and West Virginia.
• Bill Stone is a financial advisor with a private wealth focus who has 13 years of financial services experience and most recently worked as a private wealth advisor for BB&T.
• Louis Soldano is a treasury management analyst who will help build Pinnacle’s commercial capabilities in Virginia. Before joining the firm, he was a treasury management sales officer at Union Bank and Trust.

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 earned a place on FORTUNE’s 2017 and 2018 lists of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the U.S., and American Banker recognized Pinnacle as the sixth-best bank to work for in 2017.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $22.9 billion in assets as of March 31, 2018. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 11 primarily urban markets in Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia.

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