Bank of North Georgia Promotes Local Resident

Bank of North Georgia, a division of Synovus Bank, recently announced that Allen Barker of North Fulton, Executive Vice President, has been promoted to Chief Community Banking Executive, and Frank Roedl, Executive Vice President, has been promoted to Chief Corporate Banking Executive. Additionally, John Bystrom is joining Bank of North Georgia as Director of Retail Banking.

As Chief Community Banking Executive, Allen Barker will oversee the Community Banking Division for Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta, which include four banking regions as well as the newly created Retail Banking Division that represent 43 branches in 16 metro Atlanta counties.

Barker has more than 20 years of retail and commercial banking experience that began with C&S National Bank.  He joined Bank of North Georgia in 1997 as Vice President and Commercial Lending Officer.  In 1999 he was promoted to Senior Vice President in Corporate Banking and became the Team Leader in 2003.  In 2005 he was named Regional Market President, and under his leadership his region grew to encompass managing the operations of 13 branches and 6 commercial lending teams in 6 counties.  Barker graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a 2002 graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.  He resides in Johns Creek with his wife, Joan, and their two children.

As Chief Corporate Banking Executive, Frank Roedl will have responsibility for managing the Atlanta Region’s specialty lines of business, including Commercial Real Estate, Private Banking, Financial Management Services, Corporate Banking, and Special Assets.

Roedl has over 35 years of investment and commercial banking experience.  He joined Bank of North Georgia in 1996 to create and build the Corporate Banking Department.  In April, 2008, he was named interim President and CEO of Citizens Bank and Trust of West Georgia to facilitate the consolidation into Bank of North Georgia.  In October, 2008, Roedl was asked to lead Bank of North Georgia’s Special Assets division. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois where he earned a degree in Finance. Roedl was presented with the Synovus James H. Blanchard Leadership Award in 2011. He resides in Marietta with his wife, Sherry. They have two adult daughters.

John Bystrom is joining Bank of North Georgia from Bank of Nashville, a division of Synovus Bank, as Senior Vice President and Director of Retail Banking. Bystrom will serve under Allen Barker’s leadership and will be responsible for managing the Atlanta Region’s retail branch network of 43 branches and all retail lending activities.  

Bystrom brings almost 30 years of banking experience to Bank of North Georgia and metro Atlanta.  He acquired an extensive background in managing retail and business banking divisions prior to joining Bank of Nashville in 2007 as a Business Banker.  He was promoted to Senior Vice President and Retail Executive in January 2009, where he led all of the retail banking sales, operations and strategic initiatives while managing their 10 branches, deposit operations department, marketing and customer service call center.  Bystrom received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1988 from the University of Phoenix, and later went on to graduate from the CBA Graduate School of Bank Management at The University of Virginia in 2000. He will be relocating to the Atlanta area in the coming weeks.

According to Rob Garcia, President and COO, “These are positive changes that will support our operating model to more efficiently manage our customers’ needs, allow us to expand our market opportunities, and compete more effectively in the communities we serve.  I am confident that this leadership team has the expertise and skills necessary to position us for long-term growth and success.”

Bank of North Georgia, a division of Synovus Bank, operates 38 branches in 15 metro Atlanta counties and is dedicated to the local community. This division offers diverse lines of business and personal financial services including Business Banking, Investment Services and Mortgage Lending. Bank of North Georgia's branches are conveniently located in Alpharetta (2), Atlanta (2), Bowdon, Bremen, Buford, Canton, Carrollton (3), Conyers (2), Covington (2), Cumming, Dacula, Douglasville (2), Dunwoody, Fayetteville, Hiram, Jasper, Johns Creek, Kennesaw, Marietta (2), McDonough, Norcross, Peachtree City, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Suwanee, Tallapoosa, Temple, Tucker, Villa Rica and Woodstock. For more information, visit www.bankofnorthgeorgia.com.