Dive Brief:

• Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington has named Brant Standridge president of both the holding company and the bank subsidiary, effective immediately, the regional lender announced Tuesday.
• The appointment “reflects an extensive succession planning process” conducted by the bank’s board, CEO Steve Steinour and third-party experts “over several years,” the lender said in a news release. 
• Standridge, who has been president of consumer and business banking since joining the bank in 2022, will oversee all of Huntington’s revenue-generating businesses and report to Steinour. Standridge will retain his current duties in his expanded role, a bank spokesperson said.

Dive Insight:

Before joining the $284 billion-asset lender four years ago, Standridge was chief retail community banking officer at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Truist, a role he’d held since the merger of Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based BB&T and Atlanta-based SunTrust was completed in 2019.  

Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at BB&T, where he was a member of the bank’s executive leadership team and held retail banking, regional president and other roles, according to his LinkedIn profile.  

At Huntington, Standridge established and continues to lead a growth council that brings together bank leaders to identify and chase long-term revenue growth opportunities, the bank said. He also led the integrations of Veritex and Cadence banks, two acquisitions of Texas-based lenders Huntington made over the past year as the lender seeks to expand its business in that state and the Southeast. 

“Brant is an exceptional leader with deep banking experience, strong operating discipline and a clear focus on delivering for customers and colleagues,” Steinour said. “Since joining Huntington, he has played an important role in advancing our growth agenda and strengthening alignment across our businesses. He has been a strong champion of our culture and has helped reinforce the values and purpose of Huntington. In this expanded role, he will be responsible for the continued revenue growth and performance of the bank.”

For his part, Steinour – who had held the president title himself until Tuesday’s announcement – plans to remain chairman and CEO “for several more years,” the bank said, staying “focused on company strategy and execution.”

Last week, USAA and Truist veteran Ameesh Vakharia was named Huntington’s chief marketing and digital products officer, a newly created role. He reports to Standridge.

Vakharia is tasked with leading Huntington's integrated marketing and digital products unit, weaving together brand, marketing and digital product management in an effort to strengthen the bank’s brand, further customer growth and better connect experiences across digital and physical channels, the bank said Sept. 2.