Osborne

Roger Osborne has joined Pinnacle Financial Partners as a senior vice president and managing director of the newly formed PNFP Capital Markets Inc.

PNFP Capital Markets will partner with the firm’s financial advisors to offer corporate clients merger & acquisition advisory services, private debt, equity and mezzanine, interest rate derivative and other selected middle-market advisory services.

Most recently, Osborne was the executive vice president of CARIS Healthcare in Knoxville, where he served from July 2012 through September 2014.

His financial services and capital markets experience includes 22 years at SunTrust Bank, where roles included serving as Knoxville’s president, managing director and co-head of the Financial Institutions Group, and managing director and manager of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Capital Markets Origination Group.

Osborne is on the board of directors and finance committee for Covenant Health, is chairman of The Development Corporation of Knox County, serves on the board and executive committee of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and is a board member of Legacy Parks.

He has served on the boards of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, CARIS Healthcare, Great Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, University of Tennessee Medical Center and the YMCA of Greater Knoxville.

Osborne holds a degree in business and economics from Emory & Henry College and attended the Virginia School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia.

TSU alum earns NASA Director’s Commendation

A Tennessee State University alumnus and NASA engineer has been recognized for outstanding contribution to the agency.

Cobbs

Ron Cobbs, a 1989 TSU graduate with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and avionics chief engineer assigned to the International Space Station operations, recently received the NASA Johnson Space Center Director’s Commendation Award.

The award, the highest honor given by the NASA-JSC administrator, recognizes the center’s civil servants with “significant” contribution toward the mission and operations of the JSC.

Last year, Cobbs’ input was helpful in identifying the cause of a space suit malfunction during a spacewalk in July. Although Cobbs was not part of the official Extravehicular Mobility Unit (space suit) investigating team, he was asked to “look into” the situation because the problem “appeared to be electrical.”

Saying that he is “deeply honored” to receive the Administrator’s Award from NASA-JSC, Cobbs, who has been with NASA for nearly 30 years, credits his parents and his TSU preparation for his career success.

Shooting for the moon is what Cobbs has been doing since. As avionics chief engineer, his role is to ensure that engineers in the NASA Directorate adhere to the “right processes.” He also supports project managers during the design, development, test and evaluation of projects that require electronics and/or software for operational use.

Cobbs joined NASA at the Johnson Space Center immediately after graduating TSU. He has moved through the ranks from design engineer, systems engineer to now ISS avionics chief engineer.

FFC Mortgage hires Miller as regional vice president

FFC Mortgage Corporation, a New York based lender founded in 1987, has hired John Miller as regional vice-president for the newly acquired Tennessee division.

Miller

Miller’s Nashville-based team, dba Westgate Funding, is the newest branch of FFC Mortgage Corp. Miller will focus on growth and management of his current location, as well as recruiting branches and top-tier loan officers throughout the region.

Miller is the founder and former CEO of Malcap Mortgage, an Inc. 500 company from 2007 to 2011, which was sold to Reilly’s Home Lending Source in 2011.

New executive engagement director hired by BOHAN

BOHAN Advertising has hired Cristina Goodenough as executive engagement director, a new position, to lead the agency’s media planning and buying.

Goodenough

Goodenough previously was associate strategic director at PHD’s Chicago office for that agency’s Newell Rubbermaid, Sleep Number and Cricket Wireless accounts. She has developed plans for national brands such as Paper Mate, Bissell Home Solutions and Jennie-O Turkey.

She began her career at Starcom Worldwide in Chicago, working on Applebee’s and Sara Lee. She is a graduate of Indiana University.

Costa

Also, Kyla Costa has joined BOHAN Advertising as account executive in the agency’s retail practice area. She previously was marketing specialist for one of Procter & Gamble’s biggest brands, Gillette.

Her Gillette experience included event planning, brand expansion and sports-related initiatives. She led Gillette’s 2012 Olympic Games sponsorship activities in London, the largest Olympic involvement in the company’s history. She also was responsible for revamping Gillette’s brand visibility in Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL New England Patriots.

Costa has been active in United Way. This included an event with the New England Patriots, non-profit groups and Gillette employees that raised nearly $800,000.