RALEIGH, NC – R. Gregory Pierce, Senior Vice President - Operations Officer for Paragon Commercial Bank, has won a prestigious 40 Under 40 Leadership Award from the Triangle Business Journal publication.

Pierce, a native of Rocky Mount, was honored at an awards gala in Raleigh recently as one of the top 40 business leaders under 40 years of age. The award honors those who have attained significant leadership roles in their organizations, achieved significant career milestones in the past year and have had substantial involvement in community service.

A volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and regular donor to the American Red Cross, Pierce has been with the bank since it opened in 1999 and has helped lead it through much success and growth. The bank currently has more than $475 million in assets.

He is responsible for overall bank operations which, in 2005, included the installation of an extensive video conferencing system. Pierce also coordinated the opening of a new Richmond branch of the bank and is helping coordinate the Raleigh office’s move to a new 35,000-square foot headquarters. Paragon is the first business-only bank in both North Carolina and Virginia.

“While this award focused on the past year, Greg was honored because of a lifetime of service and dedication to his employers, church, family, friends and neighbors,” said Clifton Barnes, who nominated Pierce for the honor. “He was also honored because of his future promise as a leader in the community.”

Barnes, a writer, editor and Web developer in Cary, was Pierce’s boss when he was a sports editor and Pierce was a high school sports writer. “It’s nice to see Greg honored for his accomplishments,” Barnes said. “He has quietly, unassumingly excelled for years but he’s not been one to toot his own horn.”

Pierce graduated Magna Cum Laude from Barton College in Wilson in 1990. After college, he went on a mission trip to Costa Rica to help the poor and to share his faith. He worked with Centura Bank in Rocky Mount, Weaverville and Asheville for nearly nine years. He was active in community service at each stop. He served as a vice president at Triangle Bank in Raleigh for a year prior to joining Paragon Commercial Bank in late 1999.

Pierce and his wife, Suzanne, have two sons – Drew, 8, and Tyler, 3. They live in Holly Springs and are active members of Midway Baptist Church in Raleigh, where Pierce is a trustee and is active in the outreach program. Peggy and Jessie Carver of Rocky Mount are Pierce’s mother and stepfather.

Triangle Business Journal is the leading provider of local business news for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina. The publication will publish an in-depth special section on the 40 Under 40 Leadership Awards in its May 12 edition that will feature an interview with Pierce

---

Written By: nbdhost
Date Posted: 6/30/2006
Number of Views: 754

---