Meet our team
Meet our team in Athens
Jody Patton
Division CEOA native of Tifton, Jody joined Synovus in Augusta in 2005 and has nearly three decades of banking experience, including commercial lending, new business development, sales management, recruiting, training, and team building. In 2015 he was honored as our Community Banking Employee of the Year and named him to the Chairman’s Circle of Excellence award for his commercial banking achievements. He served as Synovus’ Augusta market executive from January 2018 until July 2021, when he was appointed as Northeast Georgia CEO. Jody is a graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, where he was also a four-year letterman in basketball.
Work in our community
- Board Member, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta
- Board Member, CSRA Business Lending
- Board Member, American Heart Association’s Heart Ball
John Tebeau
Market ExecutiveJohn has been with Synovus since 1997. He started in the bank’s management associate program, then held positions as assistant manager and manager in retail banking. He joined commercial banking in 2000 and currently serves as Market Executive with responsibility for commercial and industrial customers.
Originally from Adel, Georgia, he first moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, from which he received a degree in finance. John decided to come to Synovus on advice from his father, a career banker, because of the company’s leadership values and family environment. John and his wife have two children. In his free time, he enjoys golf, hunting, fishing, and cooking.
Work in our community
- Treasurer, The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia
- President, National Football Foundation -Athens Chapter
- Member and Past Chair - Board of Directors, Boys and Girls Club of Athens
- Member, Gridiron Secret Society
Phillip Bettendorf
Senior VP, Regional Retail Sales Manager
Phil joined Athens First in 1994, a decade after starting his banking career. Over the years, his responsibilities have included branch operations, business banking, retail banking, strategic planning, and facilities and ATM management. In recognition of his professional and community achievements, he was recently named to the Chairman’s Circle of Excellence. Phil has also received Synovus’s William B. Turner Humanitarian of the Year Award, presented to individuals with a deep commitment to making a difference in the lives of team members and their families.
Work in our community
- Board Member, Athens Regional Foundation
- Board Member and Chairman, Athens Technical Foundation
- Board Member, Athens Area Community Foundation
- Board Member and President-Elect, Athens Symphony
- Board Member, Boy Scouts of Northeast Georgia
- Member and Past President, Athens Rotary Club
- Past Board Chair, Athens Area Chamber of Commerce
- Steering Committee Member, L.E.A.D. Athens and L.E.A.D. Athens Alumni Association (community leadership program)
- Past Board Member, Athens Downtown Development Authority
- Past Board Member, Economic Development Foundation of Athens-Clarke County
- Past Board Member, Industrial Development Authority of Athens-Clarke County