Keith Garrett
Keith came to Knoxville around 14 years ago where he met his wife (of 12 years) Shelley. Around 11 years ago, Keith and Shelley moved to West Hills where they reside with their 10-year old son, Christian, and 1-year old German Shepherd, Sam. Keith has been in banking for 17 years, and came to Bank of America in March 2018. His primary responsibility is to analyze and underwrite credit opportunities for the commercial middle market and the business banking division. This consists of East Tennessee and Knox County businesses (current and prospective) ranging anywhere from $5 Million in revenues all the way up to the largest corporate clients in Knox County with annual revenues north of $1 Billion. The process consists of year over year financial performance analysis, as well as growth projections analysis. Keith is then tasked with packaging this analysis into a comprehensive profile about the company, which determines whether or not they are a viable candidate to partner with the bank. In addition, Keith spent just short of 10 years with Fifth Third Bank. He initially worked in the retail branches, but found his passion in business banking. Keith approached business banking results by seeking out Knox County business owners in order to connect and find a way to become a ‘value-add’ for the business. Throughout the process of working in business banking, Keith learned that networking and community service would become the backbone of success and growth in the role. Therefore, he found himself networking with business owners at various events on average of 3 days per week to learn more about their successes and struggles. He served on the West Knox Farragut Chamber of Commerce as an Ambassador for several years. He also volunteered as a project leader for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for several years. Keith also spent nearly four years with BNI of East TN (Business Networking International) in varying roles including Chapter President and Treasurer. Keith also spent several years as a volunteer at Faith Promise Church teaching general financial services and understanding to the public Keith’s formal education consists of an undergraduate degree from Berea College in Kentucky in 2002, and his MBA at Milligan College in 2011, receiving honors for graduating with a 4.0 GPA.