Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, July 10, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 170 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Ameris wants name Downtown Bank plans to move executives to Riverplace Tower, marquee building
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor Ameris Bank could soon join the Downtown Jacksonville landscape. Ameris Bank is negotiating to lease space at Riverplace Tower on the Downtown Southbank and to put its name on the top of two sides of the building, said President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Cheney. He said the goal is to complete the negotiations soon and move about 40 employees into the building by Jan. 1. Ameris Bank is the wholly owned banking subsidiary of
Ameris Bancorp, which is based in Moultrie, Ga. Cheney said the Moultriebased executive team will relocate to the tower, although the bank will continue to be based in Georgia, where it is chartered. He said five Ameris Bancorp executives will move to Jacksonville from Moultrie. Those relocating are Ameris Bancorp President and CEO Edward Hortman Jr.; Chief Financial Officer Dennis Zember Jr.; Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary Cindi Lewis; Chief Credit Officer Jon Edwards; and Commercial Banking Executive James LaHaise.
Ameris Bancorp announced the executives’ move in April to the Moultrie Observer newspaper. Jacksonville’s workforce availability was the key factor. Hortman said the decision was intended to position Ameris Bank to attract additional skilled experienced professionals in a wide range of areas, including executive functions, information technology and compliance. “This is the right decision at this stage in the bank’s growth,” he told the newspaper. “Our responsibility is to make the right decisions to give Ameris Bank the resources needed to compete and grow effectively.”
City will continue to fight blight
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Cheney
Bob &‘Biggs’ finally colleagues Photo by Kevin Hogencamp
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
The effort to eliminate blight in neighborhoods and along public rights-of-way will continue to be a focus of the new administration. In materials provided to members of Mayor Lenny Curry’s Blight Subcommittee that concluded its deliberations Thursday, the administration stated the council “wisely established” the ad hoc committee to study ways to combat blight in Duval County and “the Curry administration will continue this focus.” The issues brought up during the transition meetings were the same ones identified during the two years the ad hoc committee did its work, said former council member Denise Lee, who led the ad hoc committee. She is now Curry’s director of blight initiatives. That’s significant because the transition subcommittee was made up of people who were not involved in the council committee’s deliberations, she said. “It really validated what has already been accomplished,” Lee said. “It proved that we have a strong foundation and everyone is concerned about blight.” Recommendations from the transition subcommittee include encouraging residents in blighted neighborhoods to complement the city’s efforts. Lee said she plans to facilitate a series of “neighborhood summits.” “Our No. 1 priority will be to continue to organize neighborhoods,” she said. “If the people aren’t involved, it won’t work.” Lee said another recommendation will be to establish long-term goals and methods to measure results. The council committee brought city departments and independent authorities to the table to address myriad blight factors including littering and illegal dumping, foreclosed and abandoned residential properties, failing structures and crime and drug activity.
Hortman assured the paper the bank remains committed to its heritage in Moultrie. Ameris Bank has 607 employees in Georgia and is the fourth largest bank headquartered in the state. Moultrie will continue to be the company’s registered corporate headquarters. Cheney said the executives’ move to Jacksonville signals its strategy: Growth. “We’re committed to Jacksonville and we’re committed to building the company in Florida and in the Southeast,” Cheney said. He said about a third of the Ameris continued on Page A-2
After years of being friends, Bob Joel and Mary Knauer are co-workers at Salvus Wealth Management in Downtown.
Longtime friends join forces at wealth management firm By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer Jacksonville banker Mary “Biggs” Knauer had been hoping to get the call for years. It finally came last year. Her longtime friend and occasional collaborator, investment banker Bob Joel, wanted Knauer to work with him at Salvus Wealth Management, a firm he co-founded with a New Jersey certified public accountant. Joel and Knauer had crossed paths professionally for 15 years, frequently working with the same clients. Joel’s expertise is in investments; Knauer’s is in trusts. The two often discussed their respect for one another’s work and said they hoped to someday be on the same team. Joel and Knauer joined forces in March to establish the firm’s Jacksonville presence. Salvus’ local offices are on the seventh floor of the newly restored 12-story Greenleaf Tower Downtown at 208 N. Julia St.
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“When I introduce her as ‘Biggs,’ people think I’m kidding. And when someone says, ‘Mary,’ I’m looking around the room thinking, ‘Who are we talking to?’” Bob Joel, about his colleague Mary “Biggs” Knauer “It’s kind of a dream come true being in the same company and working for the same clients at the same time (with Joel),” Knauer says. “All Bob needed to do was call.” Being Downtown in a restored historic property is icing on the cake for the duo, Joel and Knauer said in an interview in their digs, which are still taking shape.
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“This space just seemed to fit our goal of being in the middle of Downtown,” Knauer said. “There’s a wonderful view of the park (Hemming) and the library, and all of the things that are going on down here really appealed to us.” Joel is a former principal at Arcus Capital Partners and partner at HighTower Advisors, and vice president of Timucuan Asset Management. Before joining Salvus Wealth Management as chief fiduciary officer, Knauer worked in the trust banking field for several Jacksonville banks. Joel says hiring Knauer was a substantial move by the independent, fee-based service firm, which exclusively serves highnet-worth clients. In addition to instantly bringing a cadre of clients to the firm, Knauer is a stickler for detail who has performed most of the legwork for the Salvus’ enormous regulatory compliance responsibilities as a registered Salvus continued on Page A-3
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