Senior director, marketing
Synovus converted all 26 of its separately branded community banks to its own name over the past two years — a major undertaking that allowed Jennifer Upshaw to shine.
Upshaw, who was director of retail banking when the planning started in 2016, had become senior director of marketing by the time the transition wrapped up last year, a reflection of her leadership on what Synovus describes as one of the most important initiatives in its130-year history.
"The process involved literally thousands of issues to address, problems to solve, and tasks to be carefully timed and coordinated," said Liz Wolverton, chief strategy and customer experience officer. But, despite those challenges, "the process was as close to flawless as any the company has ever implemented."
Upshaw attributes the success to her ability to develop relationships across all parts of the Columbus, Ga., company.
Her work earned her a spot as one of the 15 women on our inaugural
One of Upshaw's major tasks was managing the impact of the changes on employees and customers alike.
"Several of our local banks were more than 100 years old and all had deeply rooted, emotional ties with communities, customers and team members," she said. As a result, the banks all had "distinctive" but "not necessarily coordinated" operating procedures.
"The only way to get consensus — on both the benefits of the transition and the execution timeline — was to take the time to connect with our market leaders and team members," she said.
"While Jennifer would be the first to credit the full team for the brand conversion success, great teams are only as effective as the leaders they're willing to follow." — Liz Wolverton, chief strategy and customer experience officer
Ever since she joined Synovus fresh out of college in 2003, Upshaw has been asked frequently to play roles on large corporate initiatives. She often has been the most junior person in the room participating in otherwise highly senior efforts, Wolverton said.
But as much as Upshaw has contributed already, Wolverton said she believes the best is yet to come.
Nominating executive:
What she says: Getting permit approvals. Overseeing advertising agencies and printing companies. Enlisting employees to help reassure customers. These are just a few of the thousands of tasks that needed to be addressed and carefully coordinated as Synovus transitioned to one brand, according to Wolverton. "The stakes for our company were high," Wolverton wrote of initiative Upshaw led when nominating her for the
