Samantha McElhaney, SouthState Bank, Keith Costley, Keck & Wood, Inc., and Derek Griffin, Speartek (ProfitSense with Bill McDermott, Episode 35)
Host Bill McDermott was joined by three accomplished business leaders on this edition of ProfitSense. Banker Samantha McElhaney discussed what business owners need to be focused on now, what to look for in choosing an advisor, as well as how she uses her extensive network to assist her clients. Keith Costley shared how his engineering consulting firm develops and retains talent, how collaboration with clients has been so crucial to their success, and his firm’s succession planning process. Derek Griffin talked about how his firm helps gift and home decor firms, industrial products companies, distributors, and other B2B companies with website and e-commerce solutions for their marketing needs.
Bill closed the show with a commentary on the four components of getting a business ready to sell for its maximum value.
ProfitSense with Bill McDermott is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.
SouthState Bank
SouthState is one of the leading regional banks in the Southeast – serving more than one million customers via 275+ locations in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. They offer robust banking solutions, including consumer banking, mortgage, small business banking, commercial banking and wealth management.
SouthState bankers care about their customers and each other – and it shows. They are proud to have earned awards for their banking solutions, service, and workplace environment. For the past three years, they’ve been ranked on Forbes’ 100 Best Banks in America and have earned top workplace honors several years running. This is banking at its best. This is banking forward.
Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.
Samantha McElhaney, Commercial Relationship Advisor, SouthState Bank
Samantha McElhaney is a Commercial Relationship Advisor with SouthState Bank.
She is a single mom of twins at the University of Alabama and the University of South Carolina, respectively. She has been in financial services for 28 years this September and currently holds the position of Commercial Banking Advisor in Greater GA.
She loves Lighthouses because they provide hope in the darkness/storms of life and admits she is extremely hard on herself. She leads and participated in small groups at North Point Community Church and Woodstock City Church because her faith is extremely important to her personally and professionally.
And her favorite time of the year – college football season is about to start, so bring on Fall, food, and “fandemonium”.
Keck & Wood, Inc
Company website | Facebook | LinkedIn
Keith Costley, President & CEO, Keck & Wood, Inc.
Keith Costley is the President and CEO of Keck & Wood, Inc., a 65-person civil engineering firm headquartered in Duluth, GA. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a civil engineering degree in 1994 and has become licensed as a Professional Engineer in GA, SC, and NC.
He joined the firm as a Project Manager in their Rock Hill, SC office in 2000 and has steadily progressed his career by becoming the office leader in 2012 and then the President and CEO in 2017.
Speartek
Speartek is a technology company that builds online business solutions for product-based businesses that sell primarily in Business to Business environments. Yes, that online solution is a website but it is so much more than that because it enables the client to do business with their clients in a much more automated and efficient manner. Clients are typically manufacturers or product importers that well either wholesale to retailers or through a distribution channel. B2B selling is significantly more complex than selling to consumers and many of these client websites are integrated into accounting or ERP systems so that data is exchanged automatically, reducing the administrative costs and time in managing orders. With B2B as a primary focus for the past 20 years, the experience that Speartek delivers coupled with a platform built for B2B is an incredibly valuable combination.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram
Derek Griffin, President, Speartek
Derek Griffin has spent 22 years as the leader of Speartek, a niche B2B eCommerce solution provider. His background includes being a CPA in public accounting for 7 years as well as a CFO for a $20M manufacturing company. That financial experience and understanding of how a business needs to operate has been tremendously valuable in what Speartek delivers for its clients. Derek has lived in the Atlanta area since 1992, is married and has 2 children. Outside of work, his interests are mountain biking and hiking national parks (up to 30!), live music, and college sports.
About ProfitSense and Your Host, Bill McDermott
ProfitSense with Bill McDermott dives into the stories behind some of Atlanta’s successful businesses and business owners and the professionals that advise them. This show helps local business leaders get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. The show is presented by McDermott Financial Solutions. McDermott Financial helps business owners improve cash flow and profitability, find financing, break through barriers to expansion, and financially prepare to exit their business. The show archive can be found at profitsenseradio.com.
Bill McDermott is the Founder and CEO of McDermott Financial Solutions. When business owners want to increase their profitability, they don’t have the expertise to know where to start or what to do. Bill leverages his knowledge and relationships from 32 years as a banker to identify the hurdles getting in the way and create a plan to deliver profitability they never thought possible.
Bill currently serves as Treasurer for the Atlanta Executive Forum and has held previous positions as a board member for the Kennesaw State University Entrepreneurship Center and Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity and Treasurer for CEO NetWeavers. Bill is a graduate of Wake Forest University and he and his wife, Martha have called Atlanta home for over 40 years. Outside of work, Bill enjoys golf, traveling, and gardening.
Connect with Bill on LinkedIn and Twitter and follow McDermott Financial Solutions on LinkedIn.
