Jeff Austin III, chairman of Jacksonville-based Austin Bank, has announced promotions of three executives within the organization.
Jason Petersen has been named chief credit officer. A current member of the executive committee and a senior executive vice president, Petersen will move from the role of chief lending officer to chief credit officer following the retirement of Mike Gunnels on June 30. Petersen will now oversee the central loan department, credit analysts, loan operations, special assets, underwriting and HMDA. He has spent his entire 37-year banking career with Austin Bank, starting as a bookkeeper while in college. He has served on the bank’s executive committee since 2018. Petersen is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University. He also completed the SW Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, the Texas Bankers Association Management Development program, a Senior Lending Officer program and the Banking on the Leaders of Tomorrow program. He is a past president of the Hallsville ISD board of trustees, a former board member of the Harrison County Appraisal District and past board member of Junior Achievement.
Jeff King has been promoted to senior executive vice president and chief lending officer. He currently serves as executive vice president and regional president for Smith County. In his new role, he will oversee the bank’s regional presidents and loan production. King began his banking career in 1994 at Bancorp South in Mississippi, where he worked in operations, internal audit, loan review, lending and as a branch manager. He joined Austin Bank in 2001 as a commercial lender and location president for the Tyler Med Center and West Loop offices until 2006. He returned to the Austin Bank family in 2009 as a commercial lender at First State Bank’s Noonday office, later becoming the location president in Frankston. King is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, SW Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University and the Texas Bankers Association Management Development Program.
Greg Adcock was elected executive vice president and regional president for Smith County. He joined the Austin Bank team in 2019 as a senior vice president and market president for the Tyler area. Adcock has more than 25 years of banking and professional experience. He will continue to office at the bank’s Tyler Cumberland Park location. He earned a BBA degree in finance from Texas Tech University, an MBA degree from Texas A&M University and holds a diploma from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed the Texas Bankers Association Management Development Program. Active on the boards of many civic and professional organizations, Adcock currently serves as president of the board of trustees for All Saints Episcopal School and as a board member for the Tyler Economic Development Corp., Smith County United Way and the East Texas State Fair. In addition, he serves as a capstone advisor for the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and is a member of Leadership Tyler.
Established in 1900, Austin Bank has 40 Texas locations within 28 cities and 14 counties. Austin Bank is locally owned and operated by the Austin family, which is celebrating 116 years of service in the Texas banking industry.
