Sandro Murtas / Synovus Bank
Sandro Murtas is the Global Trade Specialist for Synovus Bank. He assists commercial lenders with the 28 banks in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida in export lending through SBA and Ex Im Bank export products.
Before working with Synovus Bank, he was the Regional Manager of the Export Solutions Group for the Office of International Trade of the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Atlanta US Export Assistance Center covering Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Western/Central Tennnessee. Previously he covered Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana from the New Orleans USEAC. He is a Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) by the North America International Trade Educators (NASBITE) and a Certified International Credit Professional by the Finance, Credit International Business Association (FCIB).
Previously, he was the Director of the International Trade Center of the Puerto Rico Small Business & Technology Development Center. He has successfully assisted companies in securing export financing and in expanding internationally.
In addition, he chaired the International Trade Committee of the Puerto Rico Manufactures Association, a 1,200 member organization, from 2003 to 2011. As part of his leadership, he developed a trade program that took local and multinational companies to business trips to the Dominican Republic, Curacao, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, US Virgin Islands, and Panama generating new and increased exports for participating companies.
He has participated in many conferences and seminars as a speaker in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Italy. He has published in journals, newspapers and magazines. He is a graduate of Wichita State University where he received an Economics and International Business undergraduate degree and an MA in Business Economics.
Adrienne Sipe / Synovus Bank
Adrienne Sipe has been in SBA lending for more than 20 years. Her career started as an SBA underwriter in Pensacola, FL, after graduating with a degree in Finance from the University of West Florida. She moved to the Atlanta area in 1998 to continue her SBA career and eventually obtained her MBA from Kennesaw State University. After wearing all hats in the SBA world, she founded SBA Solutions, a consultancy providing specialized SBA capabilities to community banks and early-stage lenders that required in-house levels of SBA support. SBA Solutions’ services included origination, underwriting, processing and closing assistance, as well as guidance to banks on starting an SBA department and the policies and procedures needed to make it successful. Adrienne also led training workshops for bankers on everything they needed to know about SBA lending.
Adrienne served on the Georgia Lender’s Quality Circle Board of Directors for four years, including as Chairman of the Board. In 2006, she started Meridian Financial as a correspondent lender for SBA loans and investor properties. In 2012, she joined Bank of North Georgia, a division of Synovus, as SBA Product Specialist, and in 2014 was asked to lead Synovus’ SBA business across the company’s five-state footprint. Synovus’ loan volume increased 40 percent in the first year of her leadership and another 61 percent in 2015.
