Prominent Local Bank Executive Joins Pinnacle as Senior Lending Officer

Clay Hart is based at the firm’s downtown Nashville office

Pinnacle Financial Partners has hired a new executive vice president and senior lending officer to help lead the firm’s client advisory group in Middle Tennessee. Clay Hart joined Pinnacle today at the firm’s Symphony Place office in downtown Nashville.

Hart was previously the president of Nashville business banking and retail at Renasant Bank, where he worked for nearly 11 years. Prior to that, he served as a banking officer at Capital Bank and Trust until it was acquired by Renasant.

“Clay is an experienced banker with an excellent track record and a long career ahead of him,” said Rob McCabe, Pinnacle’s chairman. “He is dedicated to serving clients and making it easy for them to do business. He is an outstanding addition to our team, and I know he will continue as a key leader for this market in the years to come.”

Hart comes to Pinnacle to focus on commercial and middle market clients. He joins other recent hires in Nashville like Rick Seadler, previously the Tennessee market president for Commerce Bank; Lane Rhodes, previously a vice president for SBA lending at Regions Bank; and The Oakley Group, a six-person investment services team that previously worked at SunTrust Investment Services.

“Pinnacle is the leading financial services provider in the Southeast,” Hart said. “The firm’s ability to understand the client’s financial needs and then deliver is unmatched in the marketplace. Like Pinnacle, I am a Nashville native, so it’s an honor to join this team in our headquarters to build on our homegrown legacy.”

Hart earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Tennessee and his master’s degree at Southern Methodist University’s Graduate School of Banking. He serves on the board of directors for the Nashville Sports Council and the Family Center, as well as the Nashville board for the University of Tennessee Alumni Association. He previously served on boards for Renewal House, Prevent Blindness Tennessee and Friends of the Arts at Belmont.

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 $22.2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2017. 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.