SimplyBank gets first female president, looks to open office in downtown Chattanooga

SimplyBank has named its first female president in its 132-year history.

One of the fastest-growing banks in East Tennessee, the institution started as the Hamilton Bank of Rhea County in 1890.

Directors at the Dayton, Tennessee-based bank this week promoted Cara Roberson, formerly chief financial officer for SimplyBank, to the role of the bank president. John Owen, the former bank president who will remain as chief executive officer, recommended the appointment of Roberson, saying she has proven her financial expertise and leadership in fostering an entrepreneurial attitude within the organization.

“Cara is among the most impressive executives I’ve worked with over more than 20 years of owning, running and growing businesses,” Owen said. “She is a top-notch professional and will be a top-notch president.”

Roberson will work with Owen to lead SimplyBank, which has 14 offices in Rhea, Meigs, Polk, Hamilton, Bradley, Knox and Roane counties in Tennessee and in Catoosa and Walker counties in Georgia.

SimplyBank directors also voted this week to add a loan production office in downtown Chattanooga. The new office on West Main Street is scheduled to open by March.

Roberson, a native of Pikeville, Tennessee, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and certified public accountant. She has served in various roles at SimplyBank since joining the organization as an auditor in 2012.

“I’ve had a connection to this bank nearly my entire life, as my mom was a teller here when I was young and I was a teller here during college,” Roberson said in a statement after she was elected president. “I’m proud of the historical success this bank has seen and of the transformation we’ve undergone in recent years in pursuit of the vision of bank directors and shareholders.”

The SimplyBank name was adopted last March at the same time that the former First Bank of Tennessee acquired Community National Bank in Dayton. First Bank of Tennessee previously bought People Bank of Polk County in 2004.

SimplyBank has added full-service branch offices in East Brainerd, Knoxville, Cleveland and Decatur, Tennessee, in the past couple of years as part of its strategy to double in size in five years.

Roberson said she looks forward to coupling the organization’s unique local identity with its innovative, self-starter and nonorthodox management approach to doing business.

“When George Calfee bought this bank in the 1980s, he introduced the differentiating qualities we live and lead by still today,” she said.

Calfee, who started the Calfee’s convenience store chain that became Favorite Markets, died in 1986 . The Calfee family has maintained ownership of the bank and Calfee’s widow, Bernice Calfee Sale, serves as chairman of the bank board.

With her promotion, Roberson becomes one of only eight female leaders who are either president or CEO among more than 130 banks chartered in Tennessee.

“Congratulations to Cara on her well-deserved appointment as the first female president of SimplyBank in its 132-year history,” said Colin Barrett, president of the Tennessee Bankers Association.

Following Roberson’s elevation to president, bank leaders also promoted Candace Colvard to succeed her in the role of chief financial officer.

Colvard holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is a certified public accountant. A Pikeville, Tennessee, native, Colvard joined SimplyBank as corporate controller in 2018 before being named directing financial officer less than two years later.

“Candace’s ability to synthesize information, see the big picture and work with us as nontraditional bankers has made our organization smarter, stronger and more efficient,” Roberson said. “Candace and I agree: After being exposed to this management style and fast-paced entrepreneurial environment, there is no way we could work anywhere else.”

– Compiled by Dave Flessner