KELLY S. KING BIO
Kelly S. King is the retired executive chairman for Truist, a role he transitioned to in September 2021 after serving as chairman and CEO since December 2019, following the closing of the merger of equals between BB&T Corporation and SunTrust Banks Inc. Prior to the merger of equals, King had served as chairman and chief executive officer of Truist predecessor BB&T Corporation since January 2010.

During his 50-year career with Truist and BB&T, King served in many leadership roles including 36 years as part of the executive leadership team. He was named president and chief executive officer of BB&T Corporation in January 2009, and chairman and chief executive officer of Branch Banking & Trust Company in January 2009; served as chief operating officer of BB&T Corporation and Branch Banking and Trust Company from June 2004 to December 2008; and was president of BB&T Corporation from 1996 to June 2004.

King held various roles at BB&T in commercial and retail banking, operations, insurance, corporate financial services, investment services and capital markets after completing the BB&T Management Development Program in 1972.

He is a past board member for the Foundation for The Carolinas and is currently a member of the High Point University National Leadership Advisory Council. Previously, he served on the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve System from 2013 to 2016 and as its president in 2016. He also served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond from 2009 to 2012.

King has served as chairman of the North Carolina Bankers Association board, chairman of the North Carolina Rural Economic Center, chairman of the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center and chairman of the Forsyth County United Way Tocqueville Leadership Society.

He has also served as chairman of East Carolina University’s Board of Visitors, the former chairman of the board of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, former vice- chairman of the American Bankers Council, and as a board member for The Clearing House, BEST NC, Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, and the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), where he served as chairman of BPI’s nomination and membership committee.

A native of North Carolina, King earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA from East Carolina University. He is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University where his thesis on leadership became known as the Truist Leadership Model.