Seven Nashville leaders have joined the board of directors of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp:

• Alberto R. Gonzales, who served as Attorney General of the United States during the George W. Bush administration, to the role of Legal Counsel;
• Dr. Alex Jahangir, an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who chaired the Nashville COVID-19 Taskforce;
• Doug Kreulen, President and CEO, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority;
• Howard Nuchow, Co-Head of CAA Sports;
• Marc Sternagel, Area General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Nashville;
• Claire Whitfield Tucker, recently retired President and CEO Emerita of CapStar Financial Holdings and CapStar Bank in Nashville;
• Ben Weprin, CEO and founder of Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners with a portfolio that includes brands such as Graduate Hotels, Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts and Outpost Residential.

Banking executive Kevin Lavender, who is head of Commercial Banking at Fifth Third Bank, will serve a second year as chairman of the board of directors. The NCVC Board represents sectors from both within and outside the hospitality industry to guide the organization during continued growth in both visitation and hotel supply.

“This is an outstanding group of community and business leaders with expertise in the hospitality, finance, health, sports and legal fields, and their guidance will be instrumental as Nashville tourism continues to expand,” Lavender says. “The hospitality industry is a crucial economic engine that provides vital tax revenue, jobs and economic activity, and its long-term success is important for Nashville and Tennessee.”

Garrett joins Stites & Harbison

Attorney Elizabeth A. Garrett has joined the Nashville office of Stites & Harbison as a partner in the Family Law practice.

Garrett’s practice focuses on domestic and family law, including both litigation and mediation. Before joining the firm, Garrett was a sole practitioner in Nashville representing clients in divorce law for 20 years. She earned her J.D. from the Nashville School of Law and her B.A. from Indiana University. She is also named to the Super Lawyers list of Mid-South Super Lawyers (2020-22).

Outside of the firm, Garrett is an active co-founding member of Booked Not Bound – A Juvenile Justice Literacy Initiative (2018-present). The group conducts a monthly book club for youth detained in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center.

Tennessee Pharmacists Association adds three to staff

The Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA), the only professional association representing pharmacists in all practice areas across the state, announced the hire of Emerald Johnson as manager of Events & Administrative Affairs, Danielle McCoy, MPH as project manager and Brent Snyder as manager of Communications & Digital Engagement.

In her role as manager of Events & Administrative Affairs, Johnson will serve as the primary coordinator for all member events and programs. She will be responsible for leading the execution of events and member programs, overseeing day-to-day internal operations and administrative duties of the association and assisting the executive director.

As Project Manager, McCoy will ensure all key grant-funded projects of TPA and its foundation align with overall goals and objectives while maintaining the association’s mission and vision. She is responsible for planning and designating project resources, preparing budgets, monitoring all project progress from start to finish and communicating with stakeholders on project updates and timelines.

As manager of Communications & Digital Engagement, Snyder will lead design, development and dissemination of TPA news, including event promotion, program updates and engagement opportunities, to members and stakeholders. He will be responsible for leading the internal and external communications strategy for both TPA and its foundation, as well as implementing a digital engagement strategy.

Ford named JW Marriott exec chef

JW Marriott Nashville, Nashville’s first true luxury hotel brand, has announced John Ford’s promotion to executive chef of the hotel’s culinary operation from his previous role as executive sous chef.

Ford joined the JW Marriott Nashville team in April 2018 as its executive sous chef.

In 2008, Ford received a Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management following his 2006 Associate of Science in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in Miami.

Following his degree, Ford served as sous chef of banquets and senior sous chef of banquets at the Turnberry-owned iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Additionally, he has served as executive sous chef for Chef Michael Mina’s Stripsteak in Miami and Chef de Cuisine at The Ritz Carlton in Sarasota.

“We are thrilled to promote Chef Ford to executive chef at JW Marriott, a role he is deserving of from his years of culinary service bringing our guests nourishing, wholesome and flavorful food and beverage options,” says JW Marriott Nashville general manager Fabrizio Calvo.

Ford will oversee the hotel’s culinary program including event catering, in-room dining, Stompin’ Grounds Restaurant and Cumberland Bar alongside Chef Simon Bowker, vice president of culinary.

Barza joins Bradley for corporate, securities

Joshua E. Barza has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings’s Nashville office as a senior attorney in the Corporate & Securities Practice Group.

Before joining the firm, Barza served as director of business operations for a biotechnology research startup where he regularly oversaw corporate governance and legal matters. He also has experience representing private equity firms and other private investment firms in corporate and capital market transactions and has provided strategic counsel on private company mergers, equity and asset acquisitions, joint ventures, and investments in domestic and international transactions.

Barza is a graduate of Harvard Law School and earned his B.S. from Bucknell University. He is licensed to practice in Tennessee, New York and Massachusetts.

Decode Health adds health care vets to board

Decode Health, a rapidly growing health care AI company that enables a partner ecosystem to innovate and solve data challenges involving disease risk, announced that two health care industry veterans will expand their current advisory roles within the company.

Don Hardison will join the board of directors as chairman. Franklin R. Cockerill, III, M.D., will serve as Decode Health’s chief medical officer and also join the board of directors.

Hardison and Cockerill are executives with extensive health care industry experience scaling successful startups and serving in leadership roles at emerging private, public, and Fortune 500 companies.

Hardison was most recently President, CEO, and Board Member of Biotheranostics, Inc., a company developing molecular tests to guide cancer treatment. He previously was President, CEO, and Director of Good Start Genetics and EXACT Sciences Corp.

From 2016 to 2022, Hardison was a member of the board of directors of IQuity, Inc., a genomics company founded by the Decode Health leadership team to advance molecular diagnostics for autoimmune diseases. IQuity and Decode recently combined operations and now operate as Decode Health.

Dr. Cockerill is currently a founding partner of Trusted Health Advisors, a health care consulting and innovation group, and an adjunct professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center. Before founding Trusted Health Advisors, he served as CEO, chief medical officer, and director of the Board of Analyte Health, a telehealth company, based in Chicago.

Before Analyte Health, Dr. Cockerill held several senior academic leadership roles, including service as chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and president and CEO of Mayo Medical Laboratories. Dr. Cockerill is board certified in internal medicine, infectious disease, and clinical microbiology.

Hunt to lead CapStar Bank biz dev

CapStar Bank has announced the hiring of R. Chuck Hunt as senior vice president, correspondent banking relationship manager, where he will lead business development and customer service initiatives in new markets throughout the region.

The bank currently serves a broad range of financial institutions across Tennessee and is poised to expand the correspondent banking division to further deliver its best-in-class experience.

“Correspondent banking has been a key funding component for CapStar since 2011,” says Mike Hill, CapStar’s East Tennessee market president. “Chuck’s stellar reputation, energy and extensive experience will be complimentary to our existing Tennessee-based strategy as he expands our service footprint into Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.”

Before joining CapStar, Hunt worked as senior vice president of business development for First Horizon Bank’s Correspondent Services division since 2014, where he served financial institutions in the Gulf States, Arkansas, and Texas.

Hunt earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Alabama and is a graduate of the LSU School of Banking.

Thomas to head Labor & Workforce

Deniece Thomas has been appointed commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, effective September 30. Thomas succeeds Jeff McCord following his departure to lead Northeast State Community College.

Thomas previously served as deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and held key responsibilities, including leadership of the Workforce Services, Adult Education and WIRED divisions. Thomas has served the department since 2007.

Thomas earned her master’s degree at Lipscomb University and bachelor’s degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.