Augusta resident Jody Patton will soon head back to his college town of Athens following this week’s appointment as Synovus Bank’s Northeast Georgia Division CEO. However, that doesn’t mean he won’t still be involved in Augusta’s banking community.
“I’m not leaving Augusta,” Patton said. “I’ll still be heavily involved here, as I’m still responsible for Augusta, as well as Athens, Oconee County and Loganville, and up into Lithonia and Hartwell, Ga.”
Patton said that while his title will be altered, his role will not change drastically.
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“I’ll be doing much of the same work but on a regional level. I’ll be involved with growth initiatives and strategic planning,” he said.
On that strategic side, banks in Augusta and nationwide have had to innovate in the past year in order to better serve customers. Queensborough Bank, for example, recently rolled out new Interactive Teller Machines to improve its automated banking systems.
“You have to be on that cutting edge of technology,” said Patton. “Synovus is pooling a lot of money into technology and making the banking experience as easy and customer-friendly as possible.”
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Patton said developing banking technology started even before the pandemic, and it will continue.
“We will be upgrading our mobile banking,” Patton said. “We’ll do whatever we can do to make the experience online more user-friendly to consumers.”
In terms of challenges going forward, Patton said, “We have to stay in tune with customer behaviors and what they like so we can stay ahead of the curve. That obviously takes money and resources, but being in tune and providing the best experience for them is important.”
Patton has worked in Augusta since 1994 and said his main focus has been in commercial lending and banking ever since.
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“Jody is an exceptional banker, with a wealth of knowledge of industries and economic development opportunities in Northeast Georgia,” said Wayne Akins, Synovus Bank’s chief community banking officer. “We are confident this transition will enable us to continue our people-first approach to serving clients and businesses in the Northeast Georgia Division.”
Patton grew up in Tifton, Ga., and earned his finance degree from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. His wife is from Athens, so it will be a home-coming for her, he said.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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