Middle Tennessee’s newest bank has recruited a team of local business leaders to oversee its growth.
Brentwood-based Sonata Financial Holdings, the holding company of Sonata Bank, has named former Nashville Soccer Club executive Will Alexander, Neal and Harwell Partner Trey Harwell and Nashville entrepreneur Turner Nashe, among others, to its board of directors, according to a news release.
In addition, Wendell Bontrager has been named president and chief lending officer of the bank, while also being named to the board. He joins Sonata from Wichita, Kansas-based Equity Bank, where he was president, according to the release.
Reliant Bank co-founders, Dan Dellinger and Farzin Ferdowsi, launched Sonata earlier this month, after raising more than $20 million in the bank's initial round of funding.
The lender has opened a Brentwood deposit and loan production office focused on serving small- to medium-sized businesses and also operates a branch in Sebree, Kentucky, with plans to open a full-service banking location in Brentwood this fall.
What makes Sonata unique are its plans for national expansion. Sonata has deals with 15 quick-service restaurant franchisees — with brands such as Arby’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC — across the U.S. to provide online banking services to their more than 100,000 employees. The company expects to launch its fintech platform in second quarter 2023.
“We are building our tech-stack from the ground up and are fortunate to have Wendell lead our efforts to bring the latest technology and digital-driven products and services to our customers while also providing them with the personal service they expect from a community bank,” Dellinger said in the release. “His experience and proven leadership will serve Sonata well as we move forward with the execution of our [quick service restaurant] strategy.”
The full list of Sonata board members includes:
- Farzin Ferdowsi, chairman
- Dan Dellinger, Sonata CEO
- Wendell Bontrager, Sonata president and chief lending officer
- Afshin Yazdian, Paysafe CEO
- Will Alexander, Hall Capital chief investment officer
- Kenneth Kline, JAKK Media managing director
- Trey Harwell and James Kelley, Neal & Harwell partners
- Martin Silverman, Silmar Company owner
- Shabnam Aminmadani, MRCO partner and vice president
- Tom Cook, World Wide Wings CEO
- Turner Nashe, ReCOVer Health co-founder
- Dave Brewer, former Middleby Corporation executive vice president and chief operating officer
