- Key insight: Regions Financial is moving Kate Danella into a different C-suite role and promoting John Jordan to succeed her as head of consumer banking.
- What's at stake: The leadership shuffle is taking place as Regions speeds up the timeline for renovating its branch network amid increasing competition across the Southeast.
- Forward look: Danella and Jordan begin their new roles on Sept. 1. Danella is succeeding Chief Administrative Officer David Keenan, who will retire in early 2027.
UPDATE: This story includes additional information about Regions' branch strategy and competition in the Southeast.
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Regions Financial , the Alabama-based regional bank, is reconfiguring its senior leadership team, shifting the head of consumer banking into a different C-suite role and promoting another executive who's been focusing on the company's branch strategy. The moves come as the bank is angling to ward off competitors in the Southeast's increasingly competitive market.
Kate Danella, who has led Regions' consumer banking business since 2022, will become the chief administrative officer on Sept. 1, the Birmingham, Alabama-based bank said Tuesday. Danella, who is 47, will succeed David Keenan, who plans to retire on Jan. 4, 2027.
With Danella assuming a new role, Regions named John Jordan as its next head of consumer banking. Jordan joined Regions as head of retail banking in 2024, following more than 20 years at Bank of America, and has been working on accelerating branch-banking growth across Regions' 15-state footprint, the bank said.
Regions announced in March that it would speed up its timeline for updating the branch network, as part of an effort to capture more market share in the Southeast, where several large and regional banks, including Truist Financial and JPMorganChase, are expanding organically or through mergers and acquisitions.
"This succession of leadership reflects Regions' broader leadership `development strategy, which has been guided and supported for years by Keenan as part of his focus on teamwork, workplace engagement and effective business operations," the bank said in a press release.
The $161 billion-asset bank implemented an executive-level succession plan earlier this year when its former controller, Anil Chadha, took over for David Turner as chief financial officer. Chadha had worked closely over the years with Turner, who retired at the end of March.
The latest changes are "a natural progression," and one that's also playing out at other banks, as executives begin to think about retirement, said Kevin Heal, an analyst at Argus Research.
"This is a situation very common in the regional banking world as longtime leaders reach retirement age," Heal told American Banker.
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In her new role, Danella — who was named American Banker's No. 9th Most Powerful Woman in Banking in 2025 — will oversee areas such as strategic planning, digital banking, community and market engagement and core platform modernization and transformation, the bank said. She will also be in charge of corporate marketing, communications and customer advocacy.
Danella will keep reporting to Regions CEO John Turner, who called her "a natural fit" for the new job, given her banking experience and her commitment to customers and innovation.
"Her leadership is guided by a spirit of continuous improvement, always fostering strong alignment among business groups and making investments that position Regions Bank to expand its reach and elevate its service," John Turner, 64, said in a press release.
Keenan, 59, will move into an advisory leadership role starting Sept. 1. He was promoted to chief administrative officer in 2020, after spending a decade as the bank's human resources head.
In the release, Keenan said "the timing is right" for his departure, adding that "the bank has excellent talent ready to step up to their next level of leadership."
Keenan, a former captain in the U.S. Army, was the head of human resources at AmSouth Bank when it was acquired by Regions in 2006.
Regions, one of the largest U.S. regional banks headquartered in the Southeast, has been trying to fend off increasing competition in its home markets. Out-of-state competitors such as Huntington Bancshares and Fifth Third Bancorp, both based in Ohio, have swooped into the area, largely by way of acquisitions.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Truist, announced plans to open 100 branches and renovate 300 existing locations in high-growth markets, mostly in the Southeast. JPMorganChase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, said it would triple its branch network in Regions' home state of Alabama as it continues to build out a larger physical footprint.
To counter some of the pressure, Regions has said it will open 135 to 150 branches in cities such as Atlanta, Miami and Nashville over the next five years. At the same time, it plans to close or consolidate about the same number of existing branches in areas where the population has shifted and there are opportunities to combine offices.
Regions' executive leadership team currently has 10 members, including Keenan. The bank does not have a mandatory retirement age for executives, a company spokesperson told American Banker.
Regions also announced Tuesday that Angela Santone, who is the bank's chief people officer, will begin reporting directly to CEO John Turner. Santone, who had been reporting to Keenan, joined the bank in 2025 after stints at Turner Broadcasting System and AT&T.
