GREENVILLE, SC – United Community Bank has promoted Jack Keener to State President for North Georgia and Tennessee. Keener, who has over 25 years of professional banking experience, joined United in 2005 and has steadily led efforts in in several counties in the North Georgia area during that time. He will now lead 28 offices throughout North Georgia and nine offices in Tennessee.

Jack Keener; image submitted

“Jack earned this position due to his enthusiastic vision for our company and strong ties to the community in our legacy markets,” said Rich Bradshaw, President, Commercial & Community Banking. “We look forward to seeing the positive impact of his leadership throughout our North Georgia and Tennessee markets.”

“We take considerable pride in our company’s emphasis on local decision-making, and Jack’s new role will continue to support this strategy and allow us to best serve our banking customers,” added Lynn Harton, CEO of United Community Banks, Inc.

This role is part of a new structure put in place by the bank to further strengthen its local bank operations. Upon joining United in 2005, Keener assisted with the bank’s expansion from one branch to five in Gainesville and Hall County. He also helped strengthen the United presence in Northeast Georgia, and in 2011 he assumed responsibility of Habersham and Jackson County markets. He later expanded his role into other neighboring counties.

“It is my pleasure to take on this additional responsibility in such an important geographic area for our company,” said Keener. “United Community Bank is full of outstanding bankers, and I am genuinely excited to serve our customers and communities alongside this talented team.”

Keener holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Georgia State University. He is very active in his community and serves on the board of the NEGA Medical Center and is the Vice Chairman of the Hall County Hospital Authority. Previously, he served as a Director on the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce Board, Chair of United Way Hall County and Chair of the United Way Hall County Advisory Council. Keener lives in Gainesville with his wife Caroline and son Griffin.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCBI) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia with $12.4 billion in assets. The company’s banking subsidiary, United Community Bank, is one of the southeast region’s largest full-service banks, operating 150 offices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee at the end of the most recent quarter. The bank specializes in personalized community banking services for individuals, small businesses and corporations. Services include a full range of consumer and commercial banking products including mortgage, advisory, and treasury management. Respected national research firms consistently recognize United Community Bank for outstanding customer service. For the last five years, J.D. Power has ranked United Community Bank first in customer satisfaction in the Southeast. In 2018, for the fifth consecutive year, Forbes magazine included United on its list of the 100 Best Banks in America. Additional information about the company and the bank’s full range of products and services can be found at www.ucbi.com.