Mark Krawczyk has over forty years of management experience in banking, corporate and municipal finance, treasury operations, and human resources. Mark is the principal and owner of his own firm, CZYK & Associates. Through his company, Mark provides a unique insight into the workings of treasury operations, change management strategies, ACH applications, and financial/ treasury management strategies to clients and audiences around the country. Through numerous writings, lectures, seminars and speaking engagements, Mark brings a unique, insightful and, many times, humorous perspective to a number of issues facing corporate America today. He is actively sought as an entertaining and informative conference keynote speaker.

Mark received both his undergraduate degree and MBA in Finance from Oklahoma State University. He currently serves as the Director of Finance for the City of Hermiston, Oregon. He is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), has twice served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), and has served as a faculty member for the Graduate School of Banking at LSU for over 20 years.

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Dr. Steve Lacewell is the Alumni Association Distinguished Professor of Finance and Director of the Center for Banking and Finance at Murray State University. Steve previously worked as a National Bank Examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and he served as an executive officer and commercial lender for two banks.  Dr. Lacewell was the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Professor Award and the 2012 Max Carmen Outstanding Teacher Award, the two highest awards that can be bestowed by a faculty member at Murray State University.  Steve created the Area in Finance with a Commercial Bank Management option at Murray State in the spring of 2016. It contains up to 21 course hours of bank-specific classes including compliance, lending, counter-threat finance, intro to banking, and advanced bank management.

He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Tennessee at Martin, his MBA with a concentration in Finance from Murray State University, and a M.S. in Finance and a Ph.D. in Finance with minors in Economics and Statistics from Mississippi State University. Steve teaches the first year course in Asset-Liability Management at the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.

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John Land retired in 2020 after a 33-year career with the FDIC’s Division of Risk Management Supervision.  His most recent position was Senior Case Manager in the FDIC’s Dallas Regional Office.  His career included five years at the FDIC headquarters in Washington, DC.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from LSU and an MBA from Baylor University. He completed the Graduate School of Banking at LSU in 1998, and he serves as an instructor for the third-year BankSim program.

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Angie Lewis joined Citizens First Bank, a division of Synovus, in 2000 as Vice President/Private Banking and was responsible for leading the bank’s growth in the area of wealth management. In 2006, she was named Executive Vice President and was promoted to President/CEO in 2008. In 2012, she was named CEO of Synovus’ Northwest Georgia division. In 2017, Angie moved into a corporate role with Synovus as Group Executive, Community Banking. She transitioned to Group Executive, Enterprise Risk in May 2018.

Angie is a graduate of Berry College and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. She is a C.P.A. and worked in public accounting prior to her career in banking. She is also a Certified Enterprise Risk Professional as designated by the American Bankers Association.  She is very involved in community service activities and has served as President of the Rome Junior Service League, Chair of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority.  Angie currently serves on the Berry College Board of Trustees.

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Geof Longstaff serves as a Director of One Florida Bank in Orlando Florida and performs Expert Witness services on banking and lending matters throughout the United States. Geof been a banker since 1972, serving the banking industry in Florida for over 46 years. He served as President & CEO of 4 different banks in Florida ranging from South Florida to Orlando, culminating in the formation of First Mercantile National Bank in Orlando, Florida. Geof founded Mercantile Capital Corporation, a national lender specializing in the SBA 504 program, in 2003. This company was acquired by Old Florida Bank in 2010, and subsequently by merger with Iberia Bank, where he served as Chairman & CEO through 2018.  Geof retired from Mercantile in early 2019.

Anthony McGill has enjoyed a diverse and varied career in financial services. He most recently served as executive vice president of U.S. Bank’s Consumer Lending Division where he led the growth of several lines of business including Indirect Lending, Direct Lending, Consumer Loan and Lease Operations, Retail Collections and Asset Re-Marketing. Assets under management totaled $67 billion during his tenure. Other responsibilities during his 19-year career with U.S. Bank included 4.5 years leading a mortgage line of business with $15 billion in loans outstanding, and 12 years as Chief Financial Officer of Consumer Lending. Prior to U.S. Bank, Anthony served as a banking consultant with Deloitte & Touche, and as an analyst with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. Additionally, he was a member of the Consumer Bankers Association’s Home Equity Committee from 2007-2013.

Since 2014, Anthony now focuses his time serving as an independent consultant working with state and regional banking schools to educate future bank leaders.  He has been on the bank management simulation faculty of Pacific Coast Banking School since 2003 and, since 2016, serves as Director of the Bank Management Simulation Program.  Since 2017 he has provided operational and curricular support for the Bank Management Simulation Program at the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.  In 2021, he began serving as Co-Coordinator of the Bank Management Simulation Program.  He is lead instructor for the Ohio Bankers League’s Bank Management School, serving in that capacity since 2016.  Additionally, he is lead instructor with the Pennsylvania Bankers Association’s Advanced School of Banking, serving in that capacity beginning in 2020.

Anthony holds two undergraduate degrees from Illinois State University, an MBA in Finance from DePaul University and is a 2002 graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School.

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Buddy Mortimer serves as President & CEO of the Bank of Kilmichael, a $180 million community bank headquartered in Kilmichael, Mississippi. After completing his BBA in Banking and Finance at Mississippi State University, Buddy began his career as a commercial loan officer for First National Bank in Dallas, Texas. He returned to Mississippi as a commercial loan officer with Deposit Guaranty National Bank, and he was soon promoted to Senior Vice President and responsible for a $50 million loan portfolio of large commercial accounts in Mississippi and Louisiana.

In 1991 Buddy and two investors purchased CAE Plastics, Inc., an injection molding and assembly company, through a leveraged buyout. Although the company had $3 million in annual sales when it was purchased, CAE Plastics had grown to $10 million in annual sales by the time the company was sold to an Atlanta-based investment banking firm in 1998. Buddy then returned to his banking roots, taking on the leadership of the Bank of Kilmichael.

Buddy has served on the executive committee of the Mississippi Bankers Association, he is a member of the Mississippi State University Department of Finance & Economics Advisory Board, and he is also a member of the Montgomery County Development Foundation.

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John Oxford is the Director of Marketing & Public Relations and a Senior Vice President for Renasant Corporation in Tupelo, Mississippi — the parent company of Renasant Bank, with assets of approximately $12.9 billion, 2,500 employees and more than 190 locations in the Southeastern United States.

John will tell you that he didn’t choose marketing, it chose him. At age 17, John found his first job as a taste tester and commercial viewer for Nabisco. Taste-testing snacks and watching commercials may seem like a sweet gig, but a young man can only eat so many Nutter Butters and Oreos. John decided to put his professional career in the ad world on hold, opting for college instead. Prior to joining Renasant, Oxford served in the administration of President George W. Bush as a Legislative Assistant and Public Affairs Aide to the Executive Office of the President. Oxford is also a former commercial spokesperson for Cellular South (now C Spire Wireless), the largest privately owned mobile phone network in the U.S.

John earned his BA in communication and a minor in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, and he earned his MA in Government from Johns Hopkins University. He holds the Certified Financial Marketing Professional designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers at Northwestern University

John was named Top 40 under 40 in Mississippi in 2007 by the Mississippi Business Journal, and he is co-chair of the ABA’s Marketing Conference Board. John often lectures at marketing, banking and business conferences, He is an instructor at the Mississippi Banker Association’s School of Banking at Ole Miss as well as at the American Bankers Association’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU in 2020 where he teaches the freshman required course on Bank Marketing.

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Dr. Tom Payne is Dean of the College of Business and Professor of Finance at Tennessee Tech University. As dean, Tom serves as the senior academic and administrative officer, provides leadership and vision, and sets strategic, operational, and financial direction for the college.

Tom holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Arkansas. Prior to joining Tennessee Tech, Tom served as the University of Tennessee at Martin Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking and as chair of the Department of Accounting, Finance, Economics and Political Science. Tom’s professional experience also includes positions at Texas Instruments, Rockwell International, UT Chattanooga and the University of Arkansas.

Tom served as a visiting professor at the University of Orléans (France), partnered with the Financial Services Volunteer Corporation to assist the Savings Bank of Albania during its privatization, and hosted a management program for Russian bank executives. He serves on the faculty of banking schools throughout the Southeastern United States and received the Eugene Spragens President’s Award for teaching excellence from the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Tom has published dozens journal articles, provided hundreds of presentations, and worked in partnership with academic, government, and private organizations supporting education and economic development.

Tom serves on the Executive Committee of the Putnam County Chamber Board of Directors and as Vice Chair of the Workforce Development and Education Division. He served as chair of the Martin Tennessee Industrial Board and as a member of the Weakley County Economic Development Board. He is founder of the UT Martin Regional Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (REED) Center and the Mid-South School for Advanced Agricultural Lending. He served on the WestStar Leadership Program Board of Trustees and as a past president of the Southwestern Finance Association. A Paul Harris Fellow, Tom is a member of the Cookeville Rotary Club and a past president of the Martin Rotary Club.

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Timothy Peterson is the founder of and portfolio manager for Cane Island Alternative Advisors, which manages a global macro investment strategy. Timothy is an expert on cryptocurrency investment and valuation. His prior experience includes serving as CFO for a Houston-based financial firm where he had responsibility for co-managing an option-hedged equity strategy, and as Partner for an accounting firm where he provided consulting to the world’s largest asset management firms.

Timothy is the author of numerous published papers on investments and digital assets, including the very popular “Metcalfe’s Law as a Model for Bitcoin’s Value,” (Alternative Investment Analyst Review, 2Q 2018), as well as a book “Performance Measurement for Alternative Investments” (Risk Books: 2015), and has spoken at conferences around the world.

He is a dual graduate of the University of Colorado with a Master of Science Degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Timothy serves as Adjunct Instructor of Finance at the University of St. Thomas where he teaches “Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Network Economics.”  He works from an office in the Houston, Texas area.

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Tony L. Reitzel is a Senior Vice President, Geographic Credit Manager for Truist in Greensboro, North Carolina. He previously held the positions of Business Services Officer, City Executive, Regional Credit Officer, and Reginal Loan Administrator at BB&T. Prior to joining BB&T, Tony was a Controller for Heavy Equipment Company, Commercial Lender & City Executive for First Citizens Bank. He also was a Private Banker, Retail Group Manager, Retail Branch Manager, and Retail & Mortgage Loan Officer at Wachovia Bank.

Tony holds a BA in Business Administration with a minor in Psychology Lenoir-Rhyne College. He received his MBA from Pfeiffer University, and he graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at LSU in 2011. He has served on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU since 2012.

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Robert Reynolds is a Senior Partner at Reynolds, Reynolds & Little, LLC with offices in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Huntsville, Alabama. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1979, and he has argued before the Alabama and United States District Court, Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama, Northern District of Florida, Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and the United States Supreme Court.

Robert holds a bachelors degree from Auburn University, and he received his MPA and Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama. He is Board Certified in Consumer and Business Bankruptcy, and he previously served as Vice President of Development for the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), ABI Director, Past Chair of the ABI Southeast Workshop Advisory Board, and Past Chair for Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section for the Alabama State Bar.

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Ronny Roberts is Managing Director of ProBank Austin’s (formerly Professional Bank Services, Inc.) Nashville, Tennessee office. Ronny serves on the Board of Directors and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Prior to joining the company in 1990, Ronny was a senior vice president for a regional bank holding company for eight years, where he managed the audit and loan examination division and was assistant director for credit policy and loan administration. He was also extensively involved with the acquisition of 17 banks for the holding company. From 1970 to 1982 he served as a national bank examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). His duties with the OCC included examination of many of the large regional and problem banks in the Southeast, instructor at various training sessions, regional recruiter at nine universities, and assignments in both the Regional and Washington offices. Ronny has also served as a community banker.

With ProBank Austin, Ronny provides consulting services in loan review, internal auditing (including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance), quality analysis, loan administration, director and loan officer training, regulatory assistance, strategic planning, capital planning, quality control reviews for secondary market mortgage lending, and litigation support, including expert witness testimony. Ronny is a graduate of both the University of Tennessee and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and the American Association of Bank Directors (AABD), and he has served on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU since 1992.

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Steve Robichaux is President of Capital City Consultants. As an active consultant Steve specializes in Conflict Resolution, Team Building, Motivating and empowering your employees. Steve has worked with companies such as Schlumberger, EMC, Albemarle, CLECO, and Turner Industries

Steve holds an MBA and Undergraduate Degree in Psychology from LSU, and he has been professionally affiliated with LSU Continuing Education for over 25 years. He served as an instructor in the LSU Executive Education Program for fifteen years, and he has taught on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU for over 20 years.

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George Schloegel is retired President & CEO of Hancock Bank. He joined the Bank in 1956, working after school during his high school years. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University in New Orleans, now the University of New Orleans.

George served as the President of the Mississippi Bankers Association from 1997–1998, and was on the Board of Directors of Mississippi Power Company. He was the founder of the Harrison County Strategic Planning Commission, known as Coast 21, and served as Chairman of Mississippi’s Workforce Investment Board. He served as Mayor of Gulfport from 2009-2013.

George is a faculty member of the Mississippi School of Banking at the University of Mississippi and is a faculty member, Trustee, and Past President of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

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Bill Stallings is a 40-year veteran of the financial services industry with a diverse background of business, commercial, corporate and middle markets lending, public finance, commercial real estate lending, and commercial credit administration.

Bill is currently Market President for Blue Ridge Bank, N.A.  Duties include all commercial lending and business development activities for the bank within the footprint of Triad North Carolina Region.

He is a 1999 graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU and has served on the school’s Board of Trustees and a member of the faculty since 2012.

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Kristen J. Stogniew, Esq., CFE,  is a shareholder in the Financial Institutions Advisory Group of Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund. She has more than 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor to community banks on legal, operational and compliance concerns. Kristen leads a team of dedicated Saltmarsh professionals who provide internal audits, compliance reviews and other consulting services that help clients operate safely, soundly and in compliance with regulatory requirements. Her primary areas of review include BSA, Loan and Deposit Compliance, Marketing and Retail Delivery (including Social Media), Trust, Governance and ACH. Kristen also provides one-on-one mentoring and customized training at the staff and director level, and facilitates a number of user groups (such as AML monitoring systems, loan origination systems, fraud/AML, and CMOs).

Kristen earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of South Florida, and she holds a J.D. from the Stetson University College of Law. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a member of the Florida Bar Association. Kristen speaks regularly at state and local industry, compliance, and BSA/AML associations, and she serves as a Course Coordinator at GSBLSU for elective courses in BSA/AML and special topics.

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James Stringer had been in banking for over 45 years before his retirement at the end of 2019.  He most recently worked in Jackson, Mississippi, at BancorpSouth as an Executive Vice President and Regional Loan Administrator for the Corporate Banking Group as well as the Gulf Coast Division.  He began his career at Deposit Guaranty National Bank in Jackson in 1974.  He worked there for more than 27 years in various credit related functions including Small Business Lender, Credit Department Manager, Loan Review Manager, and Area Credit Officer.  His time there included mergers with First American National Bank in Nashville and AmSouth Bank in Birmingham.

James has been a speaker and instructor on numerous credit related topics for various local banking and accounting groups in addition to the Risk Management Association, Jackson State University, Mississippi College, and Mississippi State University.  He has been part of the GBS LSU staff as an instructor of Loan Portfolio Management and as a case leader on Problem Loan Workouts.  He has been lead instructor for Loan Officer Orientation at BancorpSouth headquarters in Tupelo, Mississippi.

James is a 1974 graduate of Mississippi State University and a 1987 graduate of GBS at LSU.  He is a long time resident of Clinton, Mississippi where he is very involved in many civic, school, and church activities.

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Chad Tagtow is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Citizens Bank and Trust in Polk County, Florida.  His areas of responsibility include technology, risk management, and operations.  Prior to joining Citizens Bank and Trust, Chad worked for Raytheon NCS on multiple government projects in the areas of: Information assurance architectural design, risk management, security testing and evaluation, and security certification and accreditation. He began his career in the information security field developing and implementing network security policy for Boeing Aerospace at Kennedy Space Center in the late 1990’s.

Chad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida. He graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at LSU in 2009. He is an (ISC)² Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) since 2002. He teaches the Risk Management and Cybersecurity course at the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.

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Jim Thomas is an attorney, author, speaker, trainer, and one of the most acclaimed and respected negotiators in the United States. Jim has specialized in negotiation for most of his 40-year law practice in Washington, DC. His clients have included the largest 20 financial institutions in the United States as well as most of the Fortune 500.

Jim’s book, Negotiate to Win, is a HarperCollins international bestseller and is available in 18 languages. He’s the author of scores of articles about negotiating and is a frequent guest on cable news. He’s a member of the faculty at the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Jim is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles and The Georgetown University Law Center.

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Katherine D. Tohanczyn, Esquire is an associate attorney at Starfield & Smith, P.C. in its Fort Washington office.  She concentrates her practice on representing financial institutions nationwide, including national banks, community banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders in commercial lending
and government guaranteed lending. As a closing attorney for commercial lenders, Katherine prepares and reviews loan files for SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA and conventional commercial loans, confers with loan processors and in-house counsel, and drafts, analyzes and negotiates loan and finance documents.
She also assists lenders with SBA and USDA eligibility and structure concerns, loan modifications and loan work outs. Additionally, Katherine investigates state and federal regulatory issues to aid in the representation of commercial lenders before the US Small Business Administration on a variety of policy and SBA guaranty related items.

Katherine was selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers- Pennsylvania Rising Stars for 2019 and 2020 in the area of banking. Katherine has also been published in a number of academic journals including, the Villanova Law Review, The Moorad Sports Law Journal, and the Philadelphia Lawyer.

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Tod Trulove serves as the assistant commissioner of the bank division for the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions.

Tod began his career with the Department of Financial Institutions in 1990 as a bank examiner.  In 1999 he took on the duties of special examiner concentrating on conducting examinations of trust companies and bank trust departments. He was promoted to regional supervisor in 2001, where he managed a team of bank examination personnel.  Tod later assumed the role of Chief Administrator of the bank division in 2003 before being promoted to his present position in 2004.  As assistant commissioner, Tod is responsible for leadership of the bank division and supervision of state-chartered banks and trust companies.  In addition to indirectly supervising the examination function he also oversees the division’s large bank, applications, trust, and training sections.  He is responsible for the division’s budget and operations and the formulation and implementation of policy.

A native of Columbia, Tennessee, Tod holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Tod is an alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University, where he has served as a Bank SIM instructor since 2013.  Tod is a member of the Conference of Bank Supervisors (CSBS) Education Foundation Board of Trustees and he holds a Certified Examination Management designation from the Foundation.

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Jeff Turner is an Executive Vice President and People Department Director for First Florida Integrity Bank (FFIB) in Naples, Florida. Prior to joining FFIB in 2012, Jeff served in various leadership and management human resources positions with Capital Bank, TIB Bank, Fifth Third Bank, and First National Bank of Florida. Before beginning his career in banking, Jeff served in corporate roles with IBM, Allstate Insurance Company, and Pepsi Co Frito-Lay. Jeff earned the Senior Professional in Human Resources designation in 2013. Jeff earned his bachelor degrees in Economics and Business Management from North Carolina State University.

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Tom Walker is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group of Jones Walker.  He focuses on commercial and regulatory matters in the financial services industry, with a depth of experience representing financial institutions.  Prior to joining the firm, Tom served as executive vice president and director of a community bank in Forest, Mississippi.  His experience as general counsel chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and chief investments officer in the financial services sector enhances his ability to provide legal services to his clients.

Tom previously served as chairman of the Attorneys Committee of the Mississippi Bankers Association during the 2017-2018 fiscal year, and he currently serves as a member of that committee.  He has also served as treasurer and member of the Executive Council of the Mississippi Young Bankers.  Tom was on the board of governors for the Mississippi Society of CPAs and served as its Secretary.  He has also been a member of the Long Range Planning Committee and Banking Committee for the Mississippi Society of CPAs.  Tom has been an active certified public accountant in Mississippi since 2001.  He is also a 2014 graduate from the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.

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Dr. Matthew Whitledge is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Finance at Mississippi State University. He earned his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University where he developed a research focus of community banking, bank funding, and banking regulation.  His research has been published in high-quality academic journals including the Journal of Banking and Finance and the Journal of Financial Stability.

Since 2020, he has served as the faculty advisor to the student team from Mississippi State in the annual, nationwide Community Bank Case Study Competition sponsored by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. In 2020 a team of five Mississippi State students won the competition, and were able to present their findings at the annual Community Banking in the 21^st Century Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The same conference chose him as an emerging scholar in 2015 and he has had research presented at the conference as well.

In addition to serving as the faculty advisor for the case study team, he currently teaches introductory courses and a senior-level capstone course while trying to incorporate real-life examples from his prior experience during his time as a licensed financial advisor at a community bank.  Immediately prior to joining the Mississippi State faculty, he taught introductory finance and banking courses at Coastal Carolina University.

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