Brian Hunt named president of Southern Champion Tray and more Chattanooga-area career moves

Contributed Photo by Southern Champion Tray/ Brian Hunt

Brian Hunt becomes the first nonfamily member to be president of Southern Champion Tray

Southern Champion Tray has named Brian Hunt as president, according to an announcement by the Chattanooga-based manufacturer of paperboard packaging products, according to a news release from the company.

Hunt succeeds John Zeiser, who has served as president since 1993 and recently celebrated 40 years with the company. Zeiser will become chairman of the board and his brother, Bruce Zeiser, will serve as vice chairman.

Hunt, who has served as chief operations manager for Southern Champion Tray for the past five years, is the first nonfamily president of Southern Champion Tray and will be responsible for the overall strategic direction of the 850-employee company. Southern Champion has operations in Chattanooga, Mansfield, Texas, and Fairfield, Ohio, and has a 300,000-square-foot expansion underway in Chattanooga.

"I am grateful for the confidence the Zeiser family has placed in me to lead the company," Hunt said in a news release about his appointment. "I am blessed to work each day with an incredibly servant-hearted team and am inspired by their dedication and drive to succeed. I'm humbled to be given this opportunity and look forward to continuing our 95-year history of serving the customers who place their trust in us for their packaging needs."

A graduate of Auburn University, Hunt joined Southern Champion Tray in 1999 after working as a plant manager for over nine years with Sonoco.

Chattanooga State names Bennett vice president for student affairs

Chattanooga State Community College recently named Amanda Bennett as vice president for student affairs, effective July 1.

"Dr. Bennett has served admirably as interim vice president for student affairs since January 2021 and has done an outstanding job," Chattanooga State President Rebecca Ashford said in a news release. "We conducted a national search, and Dr. Bennett's experience and accomplishments made her the top choice for this important position. I look forward to her continued leadership at Chattanooga State."

Contributed Photo by Chattanooga State/ Amanda Bennett

Bennett has held a number of positions since first arriving at Chattanooga State in 2006. Her past experience includes serving as academic adviser, engineering technology specialist, Tennessee Consortium for International Studies program director, honors and leadership education director, and student affairs interim vice president, before being selected as permanent vice president.

Bennett holds a doctorate in educational leadership from East Tennessee State University, a Master of Education in college student affairs administration and a bachelor's degree in sociology, both from the University of Georgia.

Ziebold joins FirstBank as development officer

Lauren Ziebold has joined FirstBank as business development officer/relationship manager in the Chattanooga market. Ziebold will be responsible for helping to grow the bank's market share by actively pursuing new opportunities and building community relationships.

Contributed Photo by FirstBank/ Lauren Ziebold

"Lauren's experience within the financial industry, as well as her local ties, make her an ideal addition to FirstBank's team," Jim McKenzie, FirstBank's Chattanooga market president, said in a news release. "She has a passion to give back and be an active part of the city's success, so I know she will thrive within our community-focused approach to banking."

Ziebold brings with her six years of financial experience. Prior to joining FirstBank, Ziebold was a loan consultant at LoanDepot and also spent five years at Chartway Federal Credit Union in Virginia Beach as a talent acquisition specialist and home loan adviser.

"Having been born and raised in Chattanooga, I am passionate about ensuring this community continues to flourish," Ziebold said. "FirstBank's emphasis on local decision-making will allow me to create more opportunities for local clients to reach their financial goals."

Ziebold is a graduate of the University of Alabama.

United Country Real Estate franchise opens in Soddy-Daisy

Local real estate professional Brandon Olinger announced in a news release the opening of his new United Country Real Estate franchise in Soddy-Daisy.

The new franchise, United Country Real Estate - Southeast Land Solutions, will provide full real estate services in Hamilton and surrounding counties in Tennessee.

Olinger and his team specialize in land, farmland, hunting properties, retirement properties and country homes for sale.

United Country - Southeast Land Solutions offers a unique website strategy of local office and agent websites, plus hundreds of national, state and regional top-rated, exclusive property-type websites.

Erlanger promotes Duffy, Winks to hospital executive positions

Erlanger announced the promotion of Katie Duffy to vice president of operations for Erlanger Health System and Tyler Winks to chief executive officer of Erlanger East and North hospitals.

Duffy previously served as system senior director of pharmacy for Erlanger. She has been part of the Erlanger team for more than 15 years and has more than 15 years of clinical experience and more than 10 years of operational leadership experience, both within and outside of the pharmacy.

Duffy earned a bachelor's degree in English from Mercer University, a doctorate in pharmacy from Mercer's College of Pharmacy and a master's in business administration from Mercer's Stetson-Hatcher School of Business. She completed her post-graduate year residency at Erlanger, where her project in antimicrobial stewardship led to the program that is still in place today.

Winks joined Erlanger in July 2021 as vice president of operations. He has more than 11 years of clinical and hospital operations leadership experience. He began his career in the medical field as an MRI technologist and quickly advanced into a leadership position, in which he assumed responsibility for both administrative and clinical operations of medical imaging and other ancillary and support services at multiple hospitals in Kentucky.

Winks also previously served as senior director of hospital operations and rehabilitation services at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. In this executive role, he was responsible for the daily operations of the main campus and health plex in Lorton, Virginia. In addition, he was the senior leader of the rehabilitation service line and the wound and hyperbaric program.

Winks earned a bachelor's degree in imaging sciences from Morehead State University and a master's degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Public Education Foundation names White to head research

Public Education Foundation has promoted Keith White to vice president of research and effectiveness, according to a news release.

Since joining Public Education Foundation 10 years ago, White has worked to advance the organization's use of data to enable the foundation to better serve students in Hamilton County public schools and to evaluate the impact of the Public Education Foundation's programs such as Camp College, Step Up Chattanooga and Project Inspire.

"PEF is delighted to recognize Keith's extraordinary work with this promotion," Public Education Foundation President Dan Challener said in the same release. "His thoughtful, rigorous research and evaluation have improved all of PEF's programs.

- Compiled by Brandi Dixon

Information about new hires, promotions and business awards should be sent to onthemove@timesfreepress.com.