The 2025 Elevate Banking Forum

David Salyers was one of the original two marketing executives at Chick-fil-A. He spent 37 years in the Chick-fil-A Marketing Department and most recently served as a Vice President. Having worked at Chick-fil-A for most of his career, he saw the principles of servant leadership and compassion play out in the growth of more than 2,300 Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country. David is now using his expertise and passion to spark the growth of individuals, teams, and organizations. He serves as a board member for numerous organizations and has helped launch several startups and nonprofits. Notably, David is a Founding Partner of Roam, a shared workspace that is on a mission to Make Work Matter.

Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D., is an internationally acclaimed economist and public speaker specializing in making the arcana and minutia of economics fun, relevant, and educational. He earned a B.A. in economics with first-class honors from McGill University in Montreal, as well as a Master's and Ph.D. in public administration from Syracuse University. Eisenberg, a former Senior Economist with the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C., is the creator of the multifamily stock index (the first nationally recognized index to track the total return of public firms principally involved in the ownership and management of apartments), the author of more than eighty-five articles, and is a regular consultant to several large real estate professional associations, hedge funds, and investment advisory groups. He has spoken to thousands of business groups and associations, usually as a keynote speaker.

As a work culture expert and humorist, Scott has circled the globe educating and motivating thousands of audiences from senior leader retreats to all-staff meetings. Scott Christopher’s unforgettable messages and off-the-cuff humor illustrate firsthand how levity, humor and becoming a ‘people person’ enrich lives both at work and at home. Scott Christopher is co-author of the best-selling book, The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up, and VP of Speaking/Training at The Culture Works. He is a contributing author of A Carrot A Day, The Daily Carrot Principle and a feature columnist for Human Capital magazine. In his part-time acting career speaker Scott Christopher has appeared on The Disney Channel, CBS, Fox Kids, Lifetime, The WB and in over 20 films. He was a morning radio personality in Salt Lake City and Monterey, California and has hosted several television shows.

Chris has 30+ years of banking experience, is an active bank investor, small business owner, frequent speaker, co-author of The Successful Lender’s Field Guide, and frequent blogger. Before SouthState Bank, Chris was President/CEO of PCBB Capital Markets, sat on the executive committees of Pacific Coast Bankers’ Bank; helped found FinancialOxygen, a banking technology company; and held operating positions at the Bank of America Corporation, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Chris holds a degree in economics from the University of California, is a sworn law enforcement officer and a flight medical officer.

Nathan Stovall is the director of the financial institutions research team for S&P Global Market Intelligence, which is responsible for data-driven news and research focused on banks and insurers. Nathan has 20 years of experience covering the financial institutions sector, with a focus on U.S. banks. He is the author of the banking blog, Street Talk, and host of the podcast by the same name. His in-depth analysis of the banking industry, including a focus on community banks, can be found on SPGMI's Research & Analysis feature, which includes historical and forward-looking performance figures. Nathan holds a Bachelor of Arts degrees from Washington & Lee University, where he majored in business journalism.

Mark Kanaly is co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Corporate Area, which includes its Corporate & Securities, Finance, Financial Services, Health Care, and Real Estate groups. Previously, Mark served as chair of the firm’s Partners Committee and chair of the firm’s Financial Services & Products Group. He represents corporate clients, with a focus on players in the financial services arena. Mark assists these companies with mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, public and private capital raising transactions, corporate governance, and a host of related regulatory matters. Throughout the economic cycle, Mark has worked on some of the most innovative and recognized transactions in the country. Additionally, he regularly counsels boards of directors regarding strategic planning, regulatory entanglements, and internal corporate governance matters. Mark is a nationally recognized speaker on various corporate topics, and his comments are regularly covered in the business press. Mark is listed as a leading attorney for Banking & Finance: Regulatory in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He is also recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®, for his work in Banking & Finance, Corporate, and Securities/Capital Markets Law, as well as being listed as Atlanta “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in Financial Services Regulation Law for 2025.

Lon has been studying and practically applying management and leadership since college. In 2010, he began to study behavioral economics. Over time, that expanded to all behavioral science, including the neurology and physiology that are inevitably linked. He did this through executive coaching, executive group facilitation, and corporate training, and as Executive in Residence at Clayton State University’s College of Business. In 2016, Lon became Culture Curator for Heritage Bank and, subsequently, Chief People Officer for Heritage Southeast Bank (a $1.7 billion bank in metro Atlanta). In 2020, Lon founded Engaged Banker eXperience to deliver a unique set of evidence-based data, tools, and ways of thinking, molded to community banking and designed to help bankers thrive.