Here’s a look at promotions, hirings, movers and newsmakers in the Memphis area business scene:
The chairman of the BankTennessee board of directors announced Wright Cox was elected by the board to serve as president and chief executive officer. Cox assumed this new leadership role Jan. 1. With BankTennessee since 1992, Cox has been promoted to leadership roles throughout his 40-year banking career. He serves as a board member for the bank and its holding company. Prior to this promotion, he was the bank’s community president for Collierville. He is a graduate of the Rhodes College Executive Leadership Program, the Louisiana State University School of Banking and Texas Christian University. Cox fills the role of Jim Rout who retired Dec. 31.
The Memphis City Council approved the appointment of Belinda Anderson to the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority Board of Commissioners. Anderson, who was nominated by City of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, began her new seven-year term Jan. 1. Anderson has extensive experience in the airline industry, beginning as a flight attendant for Republic Airlines and later managing the airline’s Memphis Worldclub, later known as Delta Skyclub. She served for seven years on the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission, which maintains oversight of funding and regulatory-related issues for the state’s commercial and general aviation airports. An active community volunteer, Anderson currently serves as an executive board member for both the Levitt Shell and Leadership Memphis.
Comcast last month announced the promotion of Sara Jo Walker to senior director of Public Relations for Comcast’s South Region, which operates throughout South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Based in Nashville, Walker has been at Comcast since 2011. With more than 14 years of industry experience in both the public and private sector, she has supported a wide range of functions including media relations, legislative affairs, community outreach, communications and social media. Prior to her role at Comcast, Walker was the director of Communications for the Tennessee Department of Revenue and a liaison to the Tennessee Film Commission. She is a graduate of the Mass Communications Department at Middle Tennessee State University.
Blight Authority of Memphis, a Tennessee Local Land Bank committed to reducing the occurrence of blight and introducing sustainable solutions to the affected neighborhoods, named Brandi Jones as its field operations and real estate program manager. She will manage the property maintenance and stabilization of all vacant structures and vacant lot inventory controlled by BAM while planning, coordinating and overseeing the property maintenance operations; facilitating property acquisitions and disposition and activities; and organizing, scheduling, recruiting and assigning contractors. She has worked for the Shelby County government since September 2020. Previous to government employment, she was a program coordinator for the Comprehensive High Impact Prevention HIV Education and Awareness grant at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, where she promoted education and awareness.
Lang Wiseman, former deputy governor and chief counsel to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, has joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder in the firm’s Advocacy Department. He’ll practice from the firm’s offices in Memphis and in Nashville, where he resides. Wiseman’s practice is expected to focus extensively on his background and experience as a litigator in areas that include business, financial services and construction. A graduate of the Harvard Law School, Wiseman is a member of the American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar associations. He received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Alana Healthcare of Nashville hired Spencer Banks to the role of territory sales manager for West Tennessee. He is a longtime physician relations professional in the Memphis area. Banks is passionate about the continuation of care Alana Healthcare programs provide chronically ill patients.
Commercial Bank and Trust added new members to its team of bankers and lenders with the addition of commercial lender Karin Jones; senior credit analyst Kelli Kelly; and senior credit analyst Julia Gooch. Jones joins CBTC as a graduate of Mississippi State University and Vanderbilt Commercial Banking School. She began her banking industry career in 1989 with First American Bank in Nashville as a member of its management training program before relocating to Memphis after four years as manager of a retail bank. Prior to her current position, Jones worked at Landmark Bank, now Simmons Bank. Kelly has an undergraduate degree in management and finance from the University of Mississippi, which precedes 17 years of banking and 16 years in credit analysis at Trust One Bank and Landmark Community Bank. Gooch has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis as well as completion of the RMA Lending Academy. She began in the banking field in 2006 with Trust One Bank.
The Adams and Reese law firm has a new Partner in Charge with the appointment of J. Bennett “Ben” Fox Jr. at its Memphis office by Managing Partner Gif Thornton. The firm now has a Partner in Charge in each of its 15 offices throughout the southern United States and Washington, D.C. Fox advises clients in litigation involving commercial disputes, employment issues, personal injury and property damage claims and employment matters. He received his juris doctor Loyola University in New Orleans.
— Compiled by Daniel Ginsburg
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https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/2022/02/17/memphis-business-news-promotions-hirings-achievers-and-company-news/6791136001/
