SunTrust names Dallas-Fort Worth market president
Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc. is coming into the North Texas market, naming market presidents in the area as it plans an expansion here.
SunTrust Banks announced Aug. 9 that it is opening commercial banking representatives in Texas and Ohio, where the bank also plans an expansion.
Julia Harman, who most recently was a managing director in southwest corporate banking at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc., has been appointed Dallas-Fort Worth market president. Harman has more than 15 years of corporate and investment banking experience. She has held commercial and corporate banking positions with Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.
Joining SunTrust as Cleveland market president is Jim Geuther, and Ben Willingham joins SunTrust as Cincinnati market president.
Blum honored for article on estate planning
Trusts & Estates magazine has announced the winners of its 2017 Distinguished Author awards. Marvin E. Blum, an attorney and certified public accountant, has been named the winner of the Trusts & Estates 2017 Distinguished Author award in the Thought Leadership category.
Blum, founder of the Fort Worth-based The Blum Firm PC, will be honored at the WealthManagement.com 2017 Executive Forum and Industry Awards gala Oct. 11 at The Plaza hotel in New York City. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in the wealth management industry.
Commenting on the recognition, Blum said: “I am deeply honored to receive this Thought Leader Award, as it celebrates how estate planning is evolving. I still enjoy helping clients save taxes and protect their assets, but my passion is to design an inheritance that helps families succeed for generations to come. My goal is to help clients create and preserve a legacy.”
Blum was nominated for his article, Filling in the Gaps: Create a Red File to Cover Issues Beyond Traditional Estate Planning. The article suggests supplementing a traditional estate plan with a “Red File” – a centralized file of important information and documents, a clear expression of financial intentions, and guidance for care should one become incapacitated.
Blum’s firm has offices throughout Texas and has grown to be the largest group of estate planning attorneys in the state.
Northern Realty adds 5 new agents
Northern Realty Group has hired five new agents. David Jones, Julie Mathis, Lorraine Miller, Lindsey Rosenstein and Daniel Shelley are all members of the Greater Fort Worth, Texas and National associations of Realtors.
Jones is a residential Realtor who previously was vice president of operations and business development for a Texas-based petroleum supplier. He has more than 20 years of experience in sales and management. He holds a degree in business management from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Since 2002, Mathis has worked as a residential Realtor in the Fort Worth area. She is certified as a Historic House Specialist and Certified Urban Expert. Previously Mathis worked in the interior design industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of North Texas.
Miller, who was the 35th clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the first African-American to serve in that role, has been a practicing licensed commercial Realtor since 2012 and joins Northern Realty Group’s commercial division. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Texas and an executive MBA in international business management from Georgetown University, and she studied in the Senior Managers in Government program at Harvard University.
Rosenstein brings wide-ranging experience with a background in public health and marketing. She holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Iowa. Her husband, David, is also a Realtor at Northern Realty Group.
Shelley joins the company’s commercial team. His experience includes managing the dining services team aboard the Africa Mercy and investigating environmental quality concerns in Texas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental earth resources and a master’s degree in environmental science from Texas Christian University.
ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
PAVLOV has hired Catherine Harrington as interactive coordinator and Gunnar Wilbert as social media coordinator.
Harrington will be responsible for managing interactive projects, coordinating online marketing, and assisting with the interactive team’s overall efforts for clients including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Austin Integral Care and the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Wilbert will work on the public relations and social media team to execute and maintain strategic social media campaigns across various platforms in alignment with PAVLOV’s PR efforts. He will be responsible for the day-to-day social media presence of clients such as Riscky’s BBQ, Autobahn Fort Worth and ST9 Gas + Oil.
GOVERNMENT
Bryan Beck, P.E., – has been hired as director of public works for the city of Grapevine.
After his graduation from Texas A&M University, Beck joined the city of Fort Worth, where he worked for 20 years. In 2014, he was assigned to the Fort Worth City Manager’s Office as the city’s lead on regional transportation efforts. He also served as the city’s project lead with transportation partners on several high-profile projects.
HOSPITALITY
The James and Dorothy Doss Heritage and Culture Center in Weatherford has named Lorraine Crutcher as its new marketing and events manager. Crutcher brings 10 years of experience in marketing, event coordination, community activity planning and fundraising to the local history museum and event center.
REAL ESTATE
Angela Marsh has joined Red Team Real Estate, focused on assisting buyers and sellers in Fort Worth.
TECHNOLOGY
ECi Software Solutions has appointed Brian Bowerfind as president of its Distribution Division. The division consists of the DDMS, DDMSPLUS, Red Falcon, Britannia, TeamDesign software products and other solutions. Bowerfind joins ECi from NCR Corp., where he spent nine years leading its North American Direct Hospitality business.
Send newsmakers to Robert Francis at rfrancis@bizpress.net