Michael Kramer is the new president of FSG Bank.First Security Group Inc. has hired a 20-year banker from Ohio to lead Chattanooga’s biggest independent bank back to profitability.
Michael Kramer, who has spent the past decade helping turn around community banks, became the third CEO for FSG Bank this year on Tuesday when he took the top job at the $1.1 billion-asset lender. Kramer, 53, said he hopes to stay in Chattanooga and build FSG back to a strong community bank.
Name: Michael KramerJob: CEO of First Security GroupAge: 53Education: Graduate of Grove City College in Pennsylvania where he taught entrepreneurship as an adjunct professorCareer: Chief operating officer and chief technology officer at Evansville, Indiana-based Integra Bank Corp., from 1999 to 2004; president and CEO of Ohio Legacy Corp., for five years; and most recently managing director of Ridley Capital Group, a private equity banking firm.Personal: He and his wife, Meg, have been active on community boards, including the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Main Street Wooster, North Coast Young Life, Wooster Arts Jazz Festival and The BioHio Research and Development Center Board.
“I’d really like to settle here and build a long-term relationship with Chattanooga,” he said during an interview on his first day as FSG president. “I’m looking forward to being involved with the community and having my grandchildren visit and hopefully retiring here.”
Kramer succeeds Ralph E. “Gene” Coffman Jr., who was chairman and interim CEO since April when Roger Holley resigned as head FSG after helping establish the bank in 1999.