Colony Bankcorp, the bank holding company for Colony Bank, named Leonard H. Bateman Jr. executive vice president and chief credit officer, effective June 1. Bateman will replace J. Stan Cook, who will be reducing his workload and responsibilities for medical reasons. Cook will be assuming a role in the credit department focused on the bank’s commercial real estate portfolio and will be responsible for credit oversight of construction lending, commercial real estate and real estate appraisals.
“It has been a privilege to work with Lenny over the past year to ensure a smooth transition, and I look forward to continuing my work with Colony in my new position,” Cook said. “I am sure Lenny will find working with our dedicated team of bankers and our customers to be as rewarding as it was for me.”
Bateman joined Colony Bank as senior vice president and senior credit officer through the merger of Colony Bank and Calumet Bank in May 2019. Bateman served as president and CEO of Calumet Bank from 2012 until the merger, having joined Calumet Bank as senior vice president – chief lending officer and one of the founding officers of Calumet Bank in 2007.
Bateman’s banking experience spans nearly 25 years in various positions of increasing responsibility with banks throughout Georgia, including serving as director of risk management – builders finance for RBC Centura, senior vice president and senior credit officer – community banking for Flag Bank and beginning his career as credit manager – factoring department at SunTrust Bank. Bateman is a past board member of the Community Bankers Association and the Community Bankers Committee of the Georgia Bankers Association.
“I’ve known Lenny professionally for well over a decade and l am excited to be able to promote him to this role. He has a strong credit background and his leadership experience brings a great deal to our executive management team. This past year has given the executive team time to work with Lenny and we know he will be a great fit on our team,” Heath Fountain, president and CEO of Colony Bankcorp, said. “We would also like to thank Stan for his many contributions to Colony since joining the company in 2012. Stan’s work on streamlining operations helped build the foundation for our future growth and we look forward to his continuing contributions to the bank in his new role.”
Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Fitzgerald, GA, Colony operates 33 locations throughout Georgia.
