Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Mon, February 28, 2011 
COLUMBUS, Ga.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV), the Columbus, Georgia-based financial services company, today announced that its Board of Directors has nominated Joseph J. Prochaska, former Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of MetLife, and Catherine A. Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of consulting firm The Santa Fe Group, to stand for election at the Companya™s 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, currently scheduled for April 27, 2011.
"Their impressive business and industry experience will further diversify our Board and provide additional expertise and oversight as we continue to execute our long-term strategy. Our priorities continue to be returning Synovus to profitability and pursuing growth opportunities throughout our footprint."
Synovus also announced that four incumbent directors a" Daniel P. Amos, Gardiner W. Garrard, Jr., Elizabeth C. Ogie and William B. Turner, Jr. a" will not stand for re-election at the Companya™s 2011 Annual Meeting.
aAssuming their election at our upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders, we look forward to welcoming Joe and Cathy to our Board,a said Richard E. Anthony, Chairman of the Synovus Board of Directors. aOn behalf of the Company and the entire Board, I would like to thank Dan, Gardiner, Elizabeth and Brad for their long-time service, important contributions and commitment to Synovus.a
aI deeply appreciate the service of our retiring directors and, at the same time, I am excited about working with Joe and Cathy,a said Kessel D. Stelling, President and CEO of Synovus. aTheir impressive business and industry experience will further diversify our Board and provide additional expertise and oversight as we continue to execute our long-term strategy. Our priorities continue to be returning Synovus to profitability and pursuing growth opportunities throughout our footprint.a
These changes will reduce the size of Synovusa™ Board and supplement its financial and risk expertise, consistent with best practices of corporate governance.
Mr. Prochaska, 60, served as Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of MetLife, Inc. from 2003 to 2009. From 1992 to 2003, Mr. Prochaska served in various executive leadership positions at Aon Corporation, including Senior Vice President and Controller, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Aon Group, Inc. and President of Aona™s Financial Services Group. Mr. Prochaska currently serves on the boards of directors of Baird & Warner, Inc. and Xylogenics, Inc. and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Corporate Directors and Financial Executive Institute.
Ms. Allen, 64, is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Santa Fe Group, a consulting group specializing in management for strategic industry and institutional projects to financial institutions and other critical infrastructure groups. Ms. Allen was the founding CEO of BITS, a division of the Financial Service Roundtable and consortium that worked closely with the nations largest financial institutions on a variety of strategic issues. Prior to that, Ms. Allen held various senior executive positions at Citigroup in the retail, bankcard and technology divisions. She currently serves as a member of the New Mexico State Investment Council and she serves on the boards of directors of the Stewart Information Services Corporation, El Paso Electric Company and the Advisory Board of Citibank Global Transaction Services. Previously, Ms. Allen has served on the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection (FSSCC) and the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC).
About Synovus
Synovus is a financial services company with more than $30 billion in assets based in Columbus, Georgia. Synovus' bank divisions provide commercial and retail banking, investment and mortgage services to customers in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. See Synovus on the web at [ www.synovus.com ].
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and certain of our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain statements that constitute aforward-looking statementsa within the meaning of, and subject to the protections of, Section27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through Synovusa™ use of words such as abelieves,a aanticipates,a aexpects,a amay,a awill,a aassumes,a ashould,a apredicts,a acould,a ashould,a awould,a aintends,a atargets,a aestimates,a aprojects,a aplans,a apotentiala and other similar words and expressions of the future or otherwise regarding the outlook for Synovusa™ future business and financial performance and/or the performance of the commercial banking industry and economy in general. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding our return to profitability and pursuing growth opportunities throughout our footprint and the assumptions underlying our expectations. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Synovus to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the information known to, and current beliefs and expectations of, Synovusa™ management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements in this report. Many of these factors are beyond Synovusa™ ability to control or predict.
These forward-looking statements are based upon information presently known to Synovusa™ management and are inherently subjective, uncertain and subject to change due to any number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the risks and other factors set forth in Synovusa™ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2009, under the captions aCautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statementsa and aRisk Factorsa and in Synovusa™ quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date that they are made. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as otherwise may be required by law.
