Bryan Jordan, CEO of First Horizon National Corp., has been elected to succeed Mike Rose as chairman of the bank holding company’s board as of Jan. 1.
Scott M. Niswonger, chair and founder of Landair Transport, also has been elected to the First Horizon board. Memphis-based First Horizon is the parent of First Tennessee Bank.
Rose, 69, will retire from the First Horizon board in April, just after he reaches the board’s mandatory retirement age of 70. Rose has served as a director since 1984 and as chairman since January 2007. Jordan called Rose “a thoughtful guiding force.”
The 49-year-old Jordan, who was recruited to the bank by Rose, joined First Horizon as chief financial officer in May 2007 and was named CEO less than a year and a half later.
Meanwhile, Niswonger also is chairman emeritus and former CEO of Forward Air Inc. After completing his aviation studies at Purdue University, he moved to Greeneville, Tenn., as a corporate pilot for The Magnavox Co. He began his first transportation company in 1973. He is president and founder of the Niswonger Foundation, an educational operating foundation, and a member of the executive council for the Niswonger Children’s Hospital, an affiliate of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
— Randy McClain
