Kelly King

Kelly S. King (born September 12, 1948) is a retired American banking executive who served as Chairman and CEO of Truist Financial, formed through the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust Banks. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation from 2009 to 2019. Over a 49-year career with BB&T and Truist, King held numerous leadership roles and is credited with guiding BB&T through the 2008 financial crisis and orchestrating one of the largest bank mergers in American history.

Early life and education King was born on September 12, 1948, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He grew up in a family of modest means, working on his family's tobacco farm in Zebulon, east of Raleigh, during his childhood. During high school, he worked as a salesman selling clothing and vacuums.

King earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He subsequently attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, where his thesis on leadership later became known as the Truist Leadership Model.

Career

BB&T Corporation King joined BB&T's Management Development Program in 1972, beginning a career that would span nearly five decades. Over the course of his tenure at BB&T, he held a wide range of leadership positions, including manager of the Central and Metropolitan regions, Raleigh city executive, Charlotte business services manager, Statesville consumer lending manager, and banking manager for BB&T's branch network.

In January 2009, King was named President and CEO of BB&T Corporation and Chairman and CEO of Branch Banking and Trust Company, succeeding John Allison.

In January 2009, King was also named a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

King established the BB&T Leadership Institute, a program aimed at providing leadership development and consultation to corporate executives, business owners, and education leaders. In December 2019, King became Chairman and CEO of Truist Financial Corporation, with the company relocating its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina.

King retired as CEO of Truist in September 2021, with William Rogers Jr., the company's president and chief operating officer, succeeding him. Named one of BankInfoSecurity's "Top 10 Influencers in Banking InfoSec" (2015) Named "Power Players 2019" by the Triad Business Journal (2019) Inducted into the North Carolina Banking Hall of Fame (2021)