NASHVILLE, Tenn. —The Titans supported their long-time partnership with Pinnacle Financial Partners by hosting the first day of a three-day orientation for new associates at Nissan Stadium on Friday, March 24. The orientation focuses on the firm's mission, vision and values. 

Pinnacle Financial Partners recently earned a place on Fortune Magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. This marks the eighth national workplace award in the firm's history. The ranking is based on employee ratings of workplace culture, including the level of trust they feel toward leaders, the pride they take in their jobs and the camaraderie they experience with co-workers.

One of the reasons Pinnacle made the list is because of the programs they put together for new associates.

The orientation is conducted by Pinnacle's President and CEO Terry Turner and other senior leaders. It focuses on building teamwork and providing a clear sense of the Pinnacle culture, which ensures the associates all share the same goal. The interactive orientation culminates with a half day of team building exercises, including "going over the wall," which is taken literally: teammates help each other scale a 12-foot, flat-surfaced wall. The exercises focus on two of their most important values – partnership and results – to have associates work together to accomplish extraordinary things.

"We formed this company in the year 2000, and one of the great things about it is you get to start with a clean sheet of paper and build a company like you want it," said Turner. "We had 34 associates when we started and we all dreamed the dream of what we wanted to build, and our vision was to build the best financial services firm and the best place to work in Nashville.  It wasn't one or the other, it was both."

Pinnacle has previously won national workplace honors from Fortune on the Best Medium-sized Workplaces list (three times), as well as from American Banker (four times). The firm has also won more than a dozen local workplace awards, including 10 from the Nashville Business Journal before retiring from the program in 2014. This is the first year the firm has been eligible for Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list, which evaluates firms with at least 1,000 employees.

"We are a value based company," said Hugh Queener, Pinnacle's chief administrative officer.  "All the decisions we make are based on those values, and one of those values is partnership.  This orientation, particularly today, is about the partnership aspect and developing a good cohesive team." 

"It's wonderful for us to host Pinnacle's new hires down on the field here at Nissan Stadium," said Ralph Ockenfels, vice-president, Marketing and Broadcasting & Digital Rights, Tennessee Titans. "It's such a unique environment and they are having fun!  They are thrilled to tour the locker room and see their name on a locker and come out on the field where the team will play this fall.  It's such a great platform to host their new hires, and it's such a great partnership with our friends at Pinnacle."

"It's been really been one of the best partnerships we've been able to develop here at Pinnacle, and over time it's continued to evolve," said Queener.  "A lot of times, everything starts out great and everyone is excited, but this one has remained that way.  It's always been an extremely high level of partnership, and we really love he relationship."

Pinnacle associates say "going over the wall" is one of their favorite Pinnacle memories. New associates leave these experiences with a personal sense of ownership in the firm's mission, vision and success.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners
Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. The American Banker recognized Pinnacle as the sixth best bank to work for in the country in 2016.

The firm began operations in a single downtown Nashville location in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $11.2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2016. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in the state's four largest markets, Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, as well as several surrounding counties. Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the NASDAQ Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.