Finance/Insurance: THOMAS RANSOM

Although he has a name straight out of a James Bond movie, Ransom opted to go into the sedate field of banking. He’s spent more than two decades in the industry, first at BB&T, where he served as greater Washington, D.C., market president, and then at Truist, the mega bank founded by the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust Bank.

In September, Truist named Ransom president for the Virginia region, following the retirements of David Camden and Dan O’Neill, the bank’s regional presidents for the Virginia-West and Virginia-East regions, respectively. Ransom and his family moved from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Richmond for the promotion.

Ransom earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Hampden-Sydney College. He also completed a public policy international affairs fellowship at Princeton University. After completing BB&T’s management development program, Ransom earned an MBA from the University of Baltimore.

Previously, Ransom directed the development and deployment of Truist’s enterprise sales and client experience strategies, as well as leading the design of Truist’s partnership, scholarship and engagement strategies with historically Black colleges and universities.