Columbus executive elected chairman of University System of Georgia Board of Regents

A local executive is the new leader of the University System of Georgia's governing body.

The 19-member Board of Regents has elected as its chairman Kessel Stelling, chairman and chief executive officer of Columbus-based Synovus Financial Corp. He is the Board of Regents' vice chairman and will begin his one-year term as chairman Jan. 1.

"In the eight years I've served on the Board of Regents, there have been significant positive changes within the University System of Georgia, and I understand we must continue to evolve in order to keep college affordable and ultimately grow our economy by graduating more Georgians," Stelling said in a news release. "I've been fortunate to learn from the excellent chairmen who have come before me, and I look forward to serving as chairman of this outstanding board."

Stelling is chairman of the Dean's Advisory Council for the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. He serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Financial Services Roundtable.

After earning a bachelor's degree in banking and finance from UGA, he completed the Graduate School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University. He and his wife, Carol, have two sons.

Synovus has approximately $28 billion in assets, providing commercial and retail banking, investment and mortgage services to customers in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

Stelling will succeed Neil Pruitt of Norcross, the CEO of PruittHealth Inc., as the Board of Regents' chairman. C. Thomas Hopkins, an orthopedic surgeon in Griffin, Ga., will replace Stelling as the board's vice chairman.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Columbus executive elected chairman of University System of Georgia Board of Regents ."