Columbus Bank and Trust, city’s largest bank, getting a new president

Columbus Bank and Trust, the city’s largest bank in terms of deposits, will soon have a new president.

Synovus Financial Corp., the bank’s parent company, said Thursday that Heath Schondelmayer will take the helm of CB&T on Jan. 1. He will succeed Billy Blanchard, who plans to join a Columbus private equity firm, Jordan-Blanchard Capital, in which his father is now involved.

Billy Blanchard’s father is retired Synovus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Blanchard.

The younger Blanchard has been president of Columbus Bank and Trust since October 2009. He also took the title of Synovus Regional CEO in January 2011. He started at CB&T in 1995.

D Copeland, chief community banking officer at Synovus, called the transition “bittersweet,” saying his loss will be felt, but the decision by Blanchard to work with his family is a “special opportunity” for him.

“Among many accomplishments at CB&T and Synovus, Billy has been especially effective at talent development,” Copeland said in a statement. “Under his leadership, CB&T has become a strong pipeline of emerging talent for Synovus, producing energetic and creative banking leaders such as Heath. We are very proud and excited for Heath to follow Billy as leader of our hometown market.”

Schondelmayer has been with Synovus nearly two decades, joining the company as a management trainee in 1997. He has worked in various areas, including branch banking, correspondent banking and credit-underwriting, the firm said. He currently is senior vice president and director of Private Wealth Management at Synovus and CB&T.

A native of Augusta, Ga., Schondelmayer graduated with a finance degree from the University of Georgia. He has an MBA from Columbus State University and also is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

Billy Blanchard will retain a connection to his former employer, keeping a seat as vice chairman on the CB&T advisory board. The local bank, with nearly $4.3 billion in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has just over 64 percent market share in the city. That compares to a market share of nearly 13 percent for Wells Fargo and just over 10 percent for SunTrust Bank.

Synovus, headquartered in downtown Columbus, is a regional bank with 28 locally branded divisions in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Columbus Bank and Trust, city’s largest bank, getting a new president."