Brightlane Founder Presented Lifetime Achievement Award by TAG FinTech
Brightlane Partners Co-Founder T. Stephen Johnson was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted into the Technology Association of Georgia FinTech Hall of Fame at the 2017 TAG FinTech GA Symposium, becoming the first inductee to be recognized posthumously. Chris Johnson, Managing Director of Brightlane Partners, accepted the award on his behalf.
Steve was one of the leaders in changing the landscape of the financial services industry in the U.S. for over three decades. In 1987, he founded T. Stephen Johnson & Associates, a bank consulting firm specializing in mergers & acquisitions, regulatory consulting, strategic consulting, services for the underbanked, bank formations, and capital raising. This company was the predecessor to Brightlane Partners.
Mr. Johnson’s other credits included the incubation of the first debit card with Directo, Inc., the first internet-only bank with NetBank, Inc., and the first remote deposit capture product with The UPS Store. Steve also created and managed the $100M asset Southeast Bank Fund in the late ‘90’s, the $25M asset Morgan Keegan Select Fund in the early 2000’s, and the $38M asset North American Bank Fund in 2006.
Mr. Johnson was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business and the school’s athletic board. He served on the Carter Center Board, the State Board of Human Resources, and the Stone Mountain Park Board (20 years). He was Mayor of Decatur, Georgia at age 27. He served as a Director of Proficio Bank, NetBank, Inc. (NTBK)., Florida Bank, N.A, (FLBK), Avenue Bank, Bank of Atlanta and 7 other FDIC insured financial institutions. He recently served on the Board of Directors of DLH (DLHC) until he resigned in January 2016 due to health reasons. Mr. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.
Steve joins fellow inductees Jimmy Blanchard (Synovus), Pete Kight (CheckFree), Paul Garcia (Global Payments), Pamela Joseph (US Bancorp), Phil Tomlinson (TSYS), and Brooks Smith (InComm) in the Hall of Fame.
About TAG FinTech
TAG FinTech was founded in 2010 to address the specific needs of companies, individuals and investors serving the financial industry both domestically and abroad. Financial technology or FinTech encompasses products, solutions, services and information providers, which drive decisions, process payments and facilitate transactions for financial institutions. Georgia FinTech company revenues are more than $34 billion annually, which places the state third in the nation behind New York and California. Together, the banking, insurance and capital markets consistently spend more on technology than any other industry. For more information about TAG FinTech, see www.tagonline.org/chapters-and-societies/fintech.
About Brightlane Partners LLC
Brightlane Partners LLC is a boutique, family-owned consulting and advisory firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in working with community banks and financial service businesses to design and achieve strategic objectives. Its owners have developed over 150 startup banks, advised on over 100 bank transactions, and helped raise over $1.5 billion in bank capital.
Communications Contact:
Chris Johnson, 770-653-5136
Brightlane Partners LLC