Pinnacle Financial Partners Recruits 4 Veteran Financial Professionals in Birmingham

Four of Birmingham’s top financial professionals have joined Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq/NGS: PNFP) to serve clients in Birmingham and the surrounding region. Mark Imig, former regional manager for corporate banking at First Horizon, will lead the team as Pinnacle’s regional president in Birmingham. He is joined by Pat Sullivan and Chris Bledsoe, both experienced financial advisors serving commercial clients, and credit advisor Rayna Hawthorne.

“This is a seasoned and well-rounded team who are perfect to bring Pinnacle’s brand of service and advice to Birmingham,” Imig said. “Our business community is well established, strong and growing and needs a bank like Pinnacle that focuses on personal relationships. We chose to work here because the culture gives us freedom to make decisions locally, just like at a small community bank. But we also have the tools and lending capabilities of a $35 billion firm. That’s an incredible combination that’s missing from our market, and this city is going to love it.”

Imig has 25 years of experience in commercial and real estate lending, with 23 of those at Wells Fargo, which is the third largest bank in Birmingham by FDIC deposit data. He led Wells’ commercial banking team covering Alabama and the surrounding region for ten years working for Sam Belk, who is now a senior lending officer at Pinnacle. He oversaw the lending and credit teams, as well as treasury services and business support. Imig left Wells in 2019 to join IBERIABANK just a short time before it merged with First Horizon.

“I’ve worked with everyone on this team, and it’s a thrill to get back together,” Belk said. “We’re focusing on commercial banking right now and expect to add personal banking and treasury management associates in the very near future. We’ll continue to recruit more of Birmingham’s top bankers with the full force of Pinnacle’s award-winning workplace culture behind us.”

Read more from Pinnacle President and CEO Terry Turner on how the firm’s growth is made possible by superior service and workplace culture.

“We had a great partnership with Sam in the past, so the opportunity to reunite with him at Pinnacle was too good to pass up,” Imig said. “Pinnacle’s CEO Terry Turner and Chairman Rob McCabe have built this firm into one of the premier banking brands in the country. Pinnacle provides a unique client and employee experience. Because of their focus on people and doing what’s right, Pinnacle is nationally recognized for client service and is one of the most successful and fastest growing banks in the country. Everywhere they’ve laid down roots, they’ve been successful, and the same will be true in the new markets we serve.”