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Synovus Announces 2017 Chairman’s Awards Winners

COLUMBUS, Ga., Feb. 8, 2017 — Synovus today announced the winners of its annual Chairman’s Awards. The James H. Blanchard Leadership Award, the James D. Yancey Customer Covenant Award, the William B. Turner Community Impact Award, and the Synovus Game Changer Award honor team members who best represent the company’s culture and its focus on leadership, customer satisfaction, serving others, and innovation.  Winners of the awards, which are collectively known as the Chairman’s Awards, are selected from nominations submitted by team members across Synovus’ five-state footprint.

“We are so proud of this year’s Chairman’s Awards winners and appreciate everything they do for our customers, our communities, and our company,” said Kessel Stelling, Chairman and CEO of Synovus. “Synovus is fortunate to have so many exceptional team members who lead by example and serve others each day.”

This year’s winners are:

James H. Blanchard Leadership Award — Kevin Gowen, Chief Information Security Officer, Synovus; Cory Wilson, Regional Retail Sales Manager, Synovus; and Katherine Dunlevie, Managing Director, Family Asset Management.  This award recognizes individuals who demonstrate the best use of leadership and interpersonal skills such as teamwork, communication, and coaching in various corporate, departmental, and community roles. It was named after retired Chairman and CEO James H. Blanchard, who set a high standard for leadership throughout his 36-year tenure at Synovus.

James D. Yancey Customer Covenant Award — Brett Worthington, Lead Consumer Banking Consultant, Synovus; Tammy Hopkins, Senior Director, Operations, Synovus; Janice Snyder, Relationship Manager, Family Asset Management (FAM); Stacy Schurter, Wealth Insurance Consultant, Synovus Securities; Tiffany Murray, Retail Market Manager, Founders Centre Branch, NBSC. Named in honor of the former Synovus Chairman who always put the needs of the customer first, Yancey was instrumental in the creation of the Customer Covenant, the company’s pledge to deliver exceptional internal and external customer service.

William B. Turner Community Impact Award — Cami Austin, Retail Market Manager, Synovus Bank of Florida. This award was named in honor of the former Chairman of Synovus’ Executive Committee for his deep commitment to serving individuals and the community. Turner has inspired others through his deep moral and spiritual convictions to make a difference in the lives of team members and their families.

Synovus Game Changer Award — Gloria Banks, Chief Compliance Officer, Synovus. This award recognizes high-performing team members for making a significant and positive impact on the company with forward-thinking and innovative ideas.

Synovus Financial Corp. is a financial services company based in Columbus, Georgia, with approximately $30 billion in assets. Synovus provides commercial and retail banking, investment, and mortgage services to customers through 28 locally-branded divisions, 248 branches, and 328 ATMs in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. Synovus Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Synovus, was recognized as one of America's Most Reputable Banks by American Banker and the Reputation Institute in 2016 and 2015, and was named “Best Regional Bank, Southeast” by MONEY Magazine for 2016-17.  Synovus is on the web at synovus.com, on Twitter @synovus, and on LinkedIn at http://linkedin.com/company/synovus.