Pinnacle Financial Partners Adds Greg Winkler as a Local Leader for Commercial Banking

Pinnacle Financial Partners is deepening its leadership team and adding significant middle market commercial experience to its roster with veteran banker Greg Winkler joining the firm’s team in Raleigh.

Winkler comes with nearly 30 years of experience in business and commercial banking. He most recently served as business banking manager and previously was the market president for Wells Fargo, where he spent nearly his entire career. While there, he recruited and managed a team of dozens of commercial bankers.

“We’re positioning our firm for the future here in the Triangle, and Greg is an integral part of that,” said Mark Carlton, Pinnacle’s regional president for Eastern North Carolina. “Greg’s leadership experience and proven success in recruiting strong teams of commercial bankers is exactly what we’re looking for. We’ve already accomplished a lot in our community, and we’re only just getting started.”

In addition to serving his clients at Wells, Winkler specialized in helping integrate acquired banks and leading change management efforts to improve production and performance in key markets. Specifically, he helped lead two successful integrations for Wells in California before coming to Raleigh in 2011 to help integrate Wachovia. Much of his success in that work was centered on recruiting, coaching and retaining top talent and helping drive market expansions, even during times of change.

“I’ve always been a transition manager, and I’ve never seen anything like the immense opportunity Pinnacle has in Raleigh right now,” Winkler said. “This firm has built an all-star team of like-minded people and given us the freedom to concentrate solely on serving our clients. Pinnacle’s focus on businesses, business owners and their personal needs positions us well to grow along with the rest of the Triangle. Given the transition happening with some of North Carolina’s biggest banks and the powerful model Pinnacle brings to the table, the coming months and years are a once in a lifetime moment.”

Winkler earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and master’s from Taylor University. He is also licensed as a CPA in North Carolina. He is an executive committee member and past board chair of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, serves on the executive committee for the North Carolina Chamber and is the current board chair for United Way of the Greater Triangle. He also serves on the boards of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, the Wake Technical College Foundation and the Triangle Family Services Advisory Board.  

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. Pinnacle earned a spot on FORTUNE’s 2019 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For^® in the U.S., its third consecutive appearance. American Banker recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For seven years in a row.

Pinnacle entered the North Carolina market in 2017 when it acquired BNC Bancorp, known locally as Bank of North Carolina. Pinnacle continues BNC’s practice of offering community bank service with the resources and sophistication of a larger firm.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $26.5 billion in assets as of June 30, 2019. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 11 primarily urban markets in Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.