Coleman Movers & Shakers – Benjamin Brown, Skip Canavan, and Ellen Hammer

June 29, 2023

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Coleman Movers & Shakers – Benjamin Brown, Skip Canavan, and Ellen Hammer

Benjamin Brown Joins the Economic Development Corporation of Jefferson County as Director of Small Business Development

“I’m really excited about this,” Litton says of recruiting Brown to her team. “We’ve visited a lot of people over the last few weeks – not only businesses but county and municipal officials – and have gotten great receptions.”

As an SBA lending officer, he will act as a go-between, facilitating those federally backed loans between banks and business owners. Brown says he’s had a lifetime of experience with small business, as his late father, Mel, owned Brown Plumbing for more than 40 years.

Brown says he is also enthused. “I know Jefferson County and I want to put it in the best possible light. I’m looking forward to this challenge.”

First Bank Welcomes Skip Canavan to its SBA Team

Joe Diggs, Senior SBA Sales Leader, says of Canavan joining the team, “Skip is a tried and true SBA officer. He’s been working in the field a long time and really knows the details and nuances of government guaranteed lending better than many. He is a great asset to the SBA team and the organization and I’m looking forward to having him working with us.”

Alan “Skip” Canavan, Jr., a 20+ year banking veteran, has joined the First Bank SBA team focusing on businesses throughout the U.S. He brings years of SBA and government guaranteed lending experience, and most recently served as an SBA Development Officer with HomeTrust Bank. Skip will work with small businesses to help access capital for acquisition, growth, and other needs through SBA guaranteed lending. His focus is on loans that help with owner-occupied real estate purchase and refinances, business acquisition, business and franchise start up, equipment purchasing, debt refinance, and working capital, to name a few.

When asked about the switch to the First Bank SBA team, Skip responds, “There is so much ability to help my customers within First Bank, the offerings and opportunities are much more prevalent and available. I am looking forward to helping more and more businesses get the capital they need to succeed. I have lived in many areas of the country and have witnessed how businesses work and what their needs are but also know each business is different and want to ensure each owner/operator is getting the help they need.”

Ellen Hammer is CapStar Bank’s New Commercial Relationship Manager

“A leader in the local financial industry since opening in 2008, CapStar continues to focus on the tremendous opportunity in the Nashville area as the city and the middle Tennessee region’s dynamic pace of economic expansion continues to accelerate,” says Chip Higgins, CapStar’s Middle Tennessee Market President. “We are strategically hiring top talent to complement our strong team of bankers, and I could not be more excited to have Ellen join us. I am confident she will bring tremendous energy and will be a key addition to help expand CapStar’s highly responsive and flexible business model in Nashville.”

With more than a decade of financial services experience in the Nashville market, Ellen joins CapStar having most recently served as Business Banking Officer for Legends Bank since 2021. Prior, she was Director of Business Development and Marketing for the Nashville/Tennessee Region of ServisFirst Bank, and served six years in the insurance industry at Martin & Zerfoss, Inc. as Commercial Lines Marketing Manager. Additionally, she was a Financial Services Specialist for Regions Financial Corporation, where she was a top loan producer in the Nashville region and served as head of the “Regions at Work” and “Regions in School” programs for Middle Tennessee.

Ellen is a Nashville native and is passionate about serving her community. Among other civic involvement, she has served as a board member for RenewED, and was named one of Nashville’s “30 Under 30” by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kentucky and is an alumna of The Harpeth Hall School in Nashville.