2023 40 Under 40 Spotlight: John Everett, 2000

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Then: Chief financial officer, The Bank
Now: CEO, Legacy Bank & Trust Co.

John Everett, 53, has banking in his blood. However, banking wasn’t Everett’s first choice.

He initially studied accounting, thinking he’d follow in the footsteps of his older brother – Tom Everett of Elliott, Robinson & Co. LLP – rather than his father – Eugene Everett, a co-founder of The Bank, where John worked 1997-2004.

“I didn’t intend for it to be my career,” he says. “I started in a part-time role in college and fell in love with the relationship side of it. That’s so much of business.”

Everett’s worked at only three banks in his career, and the current one is where he says he’ll retire. Of late, he and the Legacy team have engineered a creative growth strategy through the federal Community Development Financial Institution fund, New Markets Tax Credit program and Housing and Urban Development loans.

“We’re always ready for something new,” he says.

What’s your best advice to young professionals?
Work hard. There are no short cuts to the top.  It is a long road, and hustle and determination will always win in the end.