Catching up with… Kay Ford

Kay Ford retired as president and CEO of SunTrust Bank, Savannah, after 41 years. She then served as chief banking officer for BankSouth for seven years and retired from that position in 2021. She has also served the community in positions ranging from chair of the Savannah Technical College Foundation Board to 2016 campaign chair for the United Way of the Coastal Empire (UWCE). In 2023, she was named Woman of the Year by the UWCE. These are edited highlights from an interview.

Photo credit: Eric Sun

How did you come to a career in banking in Savannah?

Savannah is my home. I was born and raised here. My major was in special education. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that was not my calling. I think I was just too rigid. So I went into banking. In all my 50 years in banking, there’s never been a day that I said, ‘I don’t want to go today.’ I enjoy helping people. It’s really all about relationships, whatever you do.

You worked your way up from bank teller to president and CEO. What was most helpful during your career?

One would definitely be the people who helped me along the way. You can’t be surrounded by yes-people if you want to get better. You have to have people who will be truthful with you. I always found folks that would be truthful and provide me with good solid advice and leadership skills.

The second is that I just truly like people, and I enjoy meeting new people. That sounds corny, but there are so many people I’ve met in my life that I would never have [had] that opportunity to meet if I had not been in those positions in banking. Being innovative, thinking outside the box, trying to find ways to make [things] work for people. I’m always looking for ways to find that great relationship, that right connection to folks that makes it work.

Communities have so many needs. What drives your involvement in Savannah?

Outside of banking, my passion has always been education. I was on the school board. I was on the board of [the now closed] St. Mary’s Home for Children, a Catholic orphanage here. This is my community. I’ve grown up here. I find the things that I’m the most passionate about. That’s where I give my time.

Tell us about your work with SEDA. What are your goals as chair?

We have a lot of challenges ahead of us and opportunities, with all that’s coming as related to Hyundai and other economic development. My goal is just to help the team as much as I can because they are going [in] 120 different directions at the speed of a locomotive. Recognizing the challenges that come in our community when you bring in these new opportunities – as it relates to housing, as it relates to workforce, as it relates to schools, as it relates to healthcare – there are so many different facets as you go out and recruit these new opportunities to Savannah to help us thrive and grow, that you have to think about all of the ancillary things that it touches, and the growth that it touches in all of those areas.

Congratulations on being named 2023 Woman of the Year. Tell us about that recognition.

I have been involved with United Way for 50 years. Women Who Rule is what the Woman of the Year is all about. It’s about helping other women with transportation needs. It’s all about empowering women to be able to do more, to help them go to job interviews, to get to doctor’s appointments with their children, to get to doctor’s appointments for themselves. Why would I not agree to do that and help others? Because there were so many along the way that helped me.

What do you hope for in Savannah?

The biggest hope I have is that we can continue to grow and thrive. I’d like to see our community be less divided. I think as our workforce grows, hopefully we can continue to close that divide. And have wages that are sustainable for people, so they don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck in our community.