Kelly S. King is chairman and chief executive officer of Truist Financial Corporation. He began his career in 1972, joining the Management Development Program of Truist predecessor BB&T. His career at BB&T included leadership roles in commercial and retail banking, operations, insurance, corporate financial services, investment services, and capital markets. He served as chief operating officer of BB&T Corporation and Branch Banking and Trust Company from June 2004 to December 2008 and president of BB&T Corporation from 1996 to June 2004. He was named president and chief executive officer of BB&T Corporation and chairman and chief executive officer of Branch Banking & Trust Company in January 2009 and became chairman of BB&T in January 2010. In December 2019, he became chairman and chief executive officer of Truist Financial Corporation, created through the merger of equals between BB&T Corporation and SunTrust Banks Inc.

He served on the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve System from 2013 to 2016 and as its president in 2016. He also served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond from 2009 to 2012. He is currently a board member for BEST NC, The Clearing House, Foundation For the Carolinas, Charlotte Executive Leadership Council and the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), where he serves as chairman of BPI’s Nomination and Membership Committee. He is also a member of the National Leadership Advisory Council for High Point University.

King has served as chairman of the North Carolina Bankers Association board, chairman of the North Carolina Rural Economic Center, chairman of the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center and chairman of the Forsyth County United Way Tocqueville Leadership Society. He has also served as chairman of East Carolina University’s Board of Visitors and is the former chairman of the Board of the Piedmont Triad Partnership and a former vice-chairman of the American Bankers Council.

A native of North Carolina, King earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in business administration from East Carolina University. He is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.