On the Move: Synovus announces 2016 Chairman's Awards recipients, Retired TSYS executive Ken Tye joins CSU's computer science school

Synovus announces 2016 Chairman's Awards recipients

Synovus Financial Corp. has selected the winners of its annual Chairman's Awards.

The James H. Blanchard Leadership Award, the James D. Yancey Customer Covenant Award, the William B. Turner Humanitarian Award, and the Synovus Game Changer Award honor team members who best represent the company's culture and its focus on leadership, customer satisfaction, serving others and innovation.

Collectively known as the Chairman's Awards, recipients are selected from nominations submitted by team members across the regional bank's five-state footprint.

"Synovus is fortunate to have so many talented and committed team members who lead by example and passionately serve others each day," Kessel Stelling, Synovus chairman and chief executive officer said in a statement.

This year's winners are:

James H. Blanchard Leadership Award -- Wendy Beacham, manager in Mortgage Production Operations at Synovus Mortgage Corp; Martha Miller, regional retail sales manager, Synovus; and Jason Ninas, group executive of Bank Operations at Synovus.

James D. Yancey Customer Covenant Award -- Christie Neuman, commercial support manager at Bank of North Georgia; Tonya Moorman, senior investment operations specialist at Synovus Trust.

William B. Turner Humanitarian Award -- Phil Bettendorf, Synovus regional retail sales manager.

Synovus Game Changer Award -- John Creech, group executive at Credit Risk.

Synovus, headquartered in Columbus, handles about $29 billion in assets through its 28 banks in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

Retired TSYS executive Ken Tye joins CSU's computer science school

Ken Tye, retired senior executive vice president and chief information officer at TSYS (Total System Services), has joined Columbus State University's Turner College of Business as executive in residence of its TSYS School of Computer Science.

"Cybersecurity is going to be the nation's greatest need going forward," Tye said in a statement.

He pointed out President Obama announced recently his intention to form the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. Obama's initial budget proposal also includes $19 billion for cybersecurity funding.

Tye will be part of the university's effort to attract a prominent academic or industry professional to lead the new TSYS Cybersecurity Center. The center, funded primarily through a gift from the global credit-card and payment processor, will provide scholarships, specialized training and career opportunities for students in the Turner College.

"TSYS has hired hundreds of CSU students already," Tye said. "We constantly need graduates familiar with state-of-the-art technology to meet a growing demand for employees who will protect our company, community and country."

CSU was designated a Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense Education last year by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The designation is awarded to quality programs that produce a growing number of professionals with expertise in cyber defense.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 7:44 PM with the headline "On the Move: Synovus announces 2016 Chairman's Awards recipients, Retired TSYS executive Ken Tye joins CSU's computer science school ."