SUPPLIERDIVERSITY
Banker Luke Yancy Aids Suppliers
A Helping
Hand
BY SAM ALI
When Luke Yancy III agreed to sign on as president and CEO of the Mid- South Minority Business Council in Memphis, Tenn., the career banker
thought he would stay on for about two years—tops—
to help the struggling economic-development agency
get back on its feet.
That was 10 years ago, and today, Yancy, 61, remains as
passionate and committed to his job and the potential the
agency has to make a difference in the lives of minority-and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) as the
day he signed on.
“I felt like … the glorious career I had in banking was
preparation for this,” says Yancy, who left banking after a
successful 30-year career, where he served as president of
West Region at AmSouth Bank and, prior to its acquisi-
tion by AmSouth in 1999, First American Bank. “I thought
my banking career was really the highlight of my life, but
I realized after I got here that my banking career was the
training ground to do what I’m doing now.”
The Mid-South Minority Business
Council, which encompasses a five-
county area including parts of Arkansas,
Mississippi and Tennessee, was launched 35
years ago to address what Yancy describes
as the “dismal” lack of minority participa-
tion in the business community. While
progress has been made during this time,
Yancy is the first to say that much work still
needs to be done.
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