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M. Terry Turner had been with a big, regional bank for 17 years and had been quite successful. But as mergers and acquisitions swallowed up the regional banks, he found himself at a crossroads. He could either accept one of the multiple offers he had from large, established banks, or he could take a risk and start a financial firm from the ground up. He opted for the latter, and with that, Pinnacle Financial Partners was formed in 2000.
While few companies are able to create a workplace that people actually want to be a part of and, at the same time, is exceeding expectations in every key metric — growth, client satisfaction and financial performance — Turner has been able to do just that as a result of his vision, focus and discipline.
The president and CEO initially worked with his first two American colleagues, Rob McCabe and Hugh Queener, and recruited 12 prominent local business leaders to become founding investors. They secured a million-dollar line of credit during the start-up period prior to obtaining the necessary approvals for their banking and holding company chargers from the OCC, FDIC and the Federal Reserve. Most of the founding investors joined the new board, and Turner began recruiting an experienced management team from among banking colleagues. Just a few months later, Pinnacle raised several million dollars in its first initial public offering. After just eight months of all of this, the first branch opened for business in October 2000.
Since then, the business has continued to grow, and Turner has poured his heart, soul and resources into making sure that Pinnacle isn’t just a great bank now but that it will continue to be one for many years to come.
How to reach: Pinnacle Financial Partners, (800) 264-3613 or www.pnfp.com
