Brian D. Schmitt
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With more than 30 years in strategic leadership positions that resulted in growth in multiple digits for several banking and financial services firms, Brian was named President, CEO and a Director of SouthCrest Financial Group Inc. and SouthCrest Bank NA in August, 2016. Brian is a well-known, respected and experienced banker with a proven history of start-up, growth, consolidation and sale of financial institutions. Brian was formerly Executive Vice President, Atlanta Market CEO and Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at HeritageBank of the South in Norcross, Georgia.
Prior to that, Brian was President and CEO-Georgia of The PrivateBank and Trust Company in Atlanta, where, after the sale of Piedmont Bank of Georgia to Private Bancorp, he retained the position of Chairman and CEO for The PrivateBank and Trust. He was responsible for all aspects of this $350 million banking division.
From 2001 to 2006, Brian was founding President/CEO of Piedmont Bank of Georgia, in Atlanta, where he boldly established an entity to organize the new bank charter just days after the terror attacks of 9/11. He assembled a group that raised $13.5 million of capital and opened the bank in October 2001. Brian grew the bank to $250 million in assets and completed a sale to Private Bancorp in December of 2006 for $47 million. Earlier, Brian was Executive Vice President of Premier Bank in Greater Atlanta, where he managed the real estate and SBA Lending divisions of the $2 billion bank holding company.