Southeast regional bank names new president for Florida

Greenville, South Carolina-based United Community Bank has named veteran banker Sharon Thompson head of Florida operations. 

Thompson will be based in Orlando and oversee the whole state, except for some of the Panhandle locations. The bank, with $23.7 billion in assets through Sept. 30, has one office each in Tampa, Sarasota and Naples. In an email, a spokesperson for the bank says “Florida is such an incredibly important part of United Community” and the bank's services in the state include commercial real estate, middle market lending, franchise and SBA lending. The bank posted 14% loan growth in the state last year, the spokesperson says, and plans to grow at least 7% this year. 

Formerly the East Atlanta President for the bank, Thompson steps into the Florida president role after her predecessor, Gideon Haymaker, announced his retirement last month, according to a statement.

“Sharon has been an instrumental leader as the East Atlanta Regional President, and we are excited to have her move into this important position in our Florida market,” United Community Bank President and Chief Banking Officer Rich Bradshaw says in the release. “She will bring an abundance of financial expertise to the role, and I am confident she will continue to do great things as the next Florida State President.”

Thompson joined United in 2019 as the President of the Central Atlanta Region. Prior to that she was a business banking manager for Wells Fargo, leading a team of bankers, credit analysts and business development officers. Her background also includes time spent in commercial banking and sales with BB&T, the release states. 

Since she joined United, Thompson has led the team to become one of the bank’s highest-producing locations. 

“I’m excited by United leadership’s belief in the Florida market and my ability to lead it,” said Thompson. “They already have a great team, with so many high performers and I look forward to being part of a team that every other great banker in Florida wants to join.”

United Community, according to its website, has 193 offices spread across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, along with a national SBA lending franchise and a national equipment lending subsidiary.