A chain reaction of promotions highlights the importance of expansion in Florida to the Alabama bank's bottom line.
By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published February 5, 2004
TAMPA - In a trickle-down of management promotions, AmSouth Bank on Wednesday named a new corporate chief financial officer, a new head of Florida banking, and a new executive in charge of the Tampa Bay area.
The shuffle was triggered by the retirement of chief financial officer Sloan D. Gibson, who is ending his banking career to pursue volunteer service. The Birmingham, Ala., bank named as its new CFO Beth Mooney, currently head of the bank's Tennessee/North Louisiana unit.
That set the stage for E.W. "Rusty" Stephenson Jr., 57, who oversees both the Florida and Mississippi banking operations out of Tampa, to relocate to Nashville and take over for Mooney. He will continue to be in charge of Mississippi operations as well.
Elevated to run the $6.7-billion Florida operation is Susan "Susie" Martinez, 48, the area executive in charge of the west coast of Florida. Her replacement will be Stan Kryder, 48, who spearheaded the bank's recent branch expansion throughout Florida.
The moves underscore the crucial role played by Florida and Tampa, in particular, for the Alabama bank. The Florida west coast operation, like the state headquarters, is based in Tampa. It is the largest of AmSouth's 13 regions, with $3.2-billion in deposits and nearly 1,000 employees.
When Stephenson came to Tampa to run state operations in 1993, AmSouth was a relatively minor player here. Within eight months, it acquired nine banks on its way to becoming the sixth-biggest bank in the state and fifth-largest in the Tampa Bay area.
"We've been growing the bank ever since then," Stephenson said. "We opened 31 branches last year in Florida alone."
The bank is in the midst of a three-year plan to double the pretax profits that Florida contributes to its bottom line. That mission calls for continued branch building along with strong growth in wealth management, commercial lending and small business. Unlike its initial spree, however, AmSouth is focused on internal growth with no major acquisitions planned, Stephenson said.
Looking ahead, he predicted that AmSouth will open about 30 branches a year throughout its six-state region with Florida accounting for two-thirds of the growth.
