Lee Jones has been named vice president and branch manager at the Nashville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, announced Dennis Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Fed. Jones will replace Mel Purcell, senior vice president and branch manager of the Nashville Branch, who is retiring on April 1 after 39 years at the Bank. The Atlanta Fed is in the process of identifying an individual to lead the Birmingham Branch, which Jones currently manages. Jones served as assistant branch manager in the Nashville Branch from 1992 to 2002.
In his new position, Jones will oversee the day-to-day operations and administrative and support functions of the Nashville Branch and continue responsibility for the District's law enforcement function.
Jones joined the Bank in 1980 as a senior planning analyst in the planning department, and in 1984 he was promoted to director of pricing administration. In 1987, he became assistant vice president in the Jacksonville Branch. He was named assistant vice president and assistant branch manager at the Nashville Branch in 1992 and became vice president in January 1999. In 2002, he became vice president and branch manager of the Atlanta Fed's Birmingham Branch. In 2005, he also assumed responsibility for the Atlanta office's law enforcement operations and the District’s law enforcement function office.
Jones earned a bachelor of science degree in mass communications and a master of arts degree in economics from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. Jones completed the Advanced Management Program at Emory University in Atlanta and has participated in executive leadership programs at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.
Purcell joined the Bank in 1969 and served in various positions in the Atlanta Fed's operations before being promoted in 1976 to assistant vice president in the Bank's Birmingham Branch. In 1982, he became assistant branch manager for the branch, and in 1987 he relocated to the Atlanta office to assume the position of assistant product manager for the Federal Reserve System’s electronic funds transfer system. He was promoted to vice president and branch manager of the Nashville Branch in 1989 and to senior vice president and branch manager in 1999.
During his career, Purcell also served on various System task forces and project teams. Purcell is active in the Nashville community as a board member of the United Way. He also served as a board member of the American Institute of Banking and as a Kiwanis Club board member and officer.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia and sections of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government.