First Horizon National, the US bank holding company, has appointed Ellen Taylor as its executive vice president and head of investor relations, effective June 2020.
Taylor joins First Horizon from Citizens Financial Group, where she has been head of IR for the last six years. While at Citizens, she built up the IR program and helped the bank pull off its 2014 IPO, which raised $3 bn.
Prior to that, Taylor held a string of senior IR roles including managing director and head of IR at BlackRock, director of IR at Wells Fargo and principal at McIver Taylor Group, an IR advisory firm.
She joins First Horizon at a key time for the bank as it works to complete a merger with IBERIABANK despite the economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. During an earnings call this month, First Horizon CEO and chairman Bryan Jordan said the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.
‘I am thrilled to join First Horizon at such a transformational time,’ says Taylor in a company statement. ‘I look forward to partnering with the leadership team to help communicate First Horizon’s strategic value proposition and drive enhanced value for the firm while working to deliver a best-in-class experience for the company’s key stakeholders.’
In her new role, Taylor will report to CFO William Losch. First Horizon’s IR lead for the last 11 years, Aarti Bowman, will now report to Taylor, the company statement adds.
‘As a well-respected, strategic leader with a deep understanding of investor strategy, outreach and communications, Ellen will be an invaluable resource to our investors, management team and the board as we work to ensure a seamless integration with IBERIABANK Corporation and create a leading southern financial services firm,’ comments Losch.
‘Given the investment community’s strong recognition of Ellen and Aarti’s efforts, I am confident that First Horizon will have an unparalleled investor relations platform as we enter this next phase of our history.’
