SunTrust Banks Inc. Chairman and CEO William H. Rogers Jr. will speak at the spring Knoxville Economics Forum Friday, March 31. The event is being sponsored by the Department of Economics in UT’s Haslam College of Business.
Rogers, who helped SunTrust launch the onUp Movement to help build financial confidence across the country, will speak on “Leading with Purpose.” He will address how businesses and communities can build their own financial confidence.
The program will be at Club LeConte, atop the First Tennessee Building, 800 South Gay Street. Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by the program at 8 a.m. Reservations are being accepted now and must be made online.
“The Knoxville Economics Forum is a great opportunity for members of the university and business community to be exposed to leading business people and policymakers,” said Matt Murray, professor of economics and associate director of UT’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research. “This event will allow attendees to learn more about banking and economic conditions.”
Rogers began his career in 1980 when he joined the commercial banking division of SunTrust. Before being named president in 2008 and chief operating officer in 2010, he held several senior positions in corporate and commercial banking, corporate finance, retail banking, and mortgage. He was appointed president and CEO in June 2011 and became chairman and CEO in January 2012.
Since taking the CEO post, Rogers has led a significant transformation of the company, building upon its client-first culture and increasing focus on operating returns and efficiency. Under his leadership, SunTrust has improved its adjusted tangible efficiency ratio from 72 percent to below 63 percent, and more than doubled the return on average tangible common equity.
Rogers is currently chair of trustees for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta and chair of Achieve Atlanta. He is a member of the Atlanta Committee for Progress and serves on the board of Operation HOPE. In addition, Rogers volunteers on the Georgia State Robinson College of Business board of advisors and the Woodruff Arts Center board of trustees. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
A native of North Carolina, Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Georgia State University.
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CONTACT:
Lydia McCoy (865-974-6086, lmccoy5@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)