FirstBank Names Tiffany Elkins Gardner Knoxville President
Gardner, a Knoxville native with more than 30 years of advisory banking experience, will lead the bank's operations in the market.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in People
FirstBank has named Tiffany Elkins Gardner market president for Knoxville, where she will oversee the bank's market operations and lead its relationship banking teams. Gardner holds the CTP designation and graduated with a finance degree from the University of Tennessee.
Why it matters
The appointment places a longtime Knoxville banker in charge of FirstBank's local operations and relationship teams in the city. Her background spans commercial and corporate banking leadership, including work with businesses with revenues of $25 million and above.
Gardner has more than 30 years of experience advising businesses, and her most recent team focused on companies with revenues of $25 million and above. The announcement does not address how these figures relate to FirstBank's Knoxville market size or growth targets.
The players
FirstBank
FirstBank is a regional bank headquartered in Tennessee that offers commercial and consumer banking services across multiple states.
Tiffany Elkins Gardner
Tiffany Elkins Gardner is a Knoxville banking executive who holds the CTP designation and is a University of Tennessee finance graduate.
The details
Gardner began her career with NationsBank in Nashville and later served as a relationship manager in North Carolina. She then was city executive for the Statesville and Hickory markets with RBC Centura Bank before returning to Knoxville in 2006, where she advanced into progressively responsible commercial and corporate banking leadership roles.
Timeline
Gardner began her career at NationsBank in Nashville before 2006.
Gardner returned to Knoxville in 2006.
FirstBank announced Gardner's appointment as Knoxville market president on November 7, 2026.
Market Landscape
Regional banks in Tennessee increasingly place market presidents with long local tenure in charge of metro operations to maintain relationships built over decades. Gardner's return to Knoxville in 2006 and her subsequent rise through commercial banking fit that pattern.
For Knoxville businesses that bank with FirstBank, the appointment signals who will oversee local relationship teams and commercial lending decisions. Clients may see continuity given Gardner's long ties to the city.
The takeaway
Local leadership changes at regional banks can affect how commercial clients access credit and advisory services. Business owners in Knoxville may want to confirm their relationship contacts after any executive transition.
Further reading
Explore more People coverage for other executive moves in the business sector.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Daily Times.
