OREANDA-NEWS. BB&T Capital Markets today announced it has named tenured bankers Bruce Kelleher and Jake Savage to key leadership roles. Kelleher will serve as head of Equity Investment Banking and Savage as head of the firm's newly formed Capital Markets Advisory Group. Both will report to John B. Jung Jr., head of BB&T Capital Markets.

Kelleher, who has 23 years of investment banking experience, will lead BB&T Capital Markets' rapidly growing middle market advisory business, which includes six core industry groups: Commercial & Industrial, Logistics & Transportation, Food & Agribusiness, Automotive Aftermarket, Retail & Consumer and Real Estate.

Savage, with more than 30 years of corporate finance and corporate banking experience, will lead a cross-functional team of highly experienced bankers and professionals charged with developing capital markets solutions to best serve the needs of BB&T's growing client base.

"We are fortunate to have a wealth of talent in our organization, and I am pleased Bruce and Jake have assumed these key roles as we continue to grow our capital markets business," Jung said.

Kelleher originally joined BB&T Capital Markets in 2004 and in 2008 assumed responsibility for managing its private equity relationships. In his new role Kelleher will not only lead the Equity Investment Banking Group but also continue his duties as Head of the firm's Financial Sponsors Group.

"I am thrilled to be working with such a talented group of investment bankers across each of our industry groups," Kelleher said. "This team has achieved record results during the past several years, and with the influx of new talent into our organization in 2015, we are poised to continue this positive momentum as we enter a new phase of growth."

Savage joined BB&T Capital Markets in 1988 and most recently served as co-head of Equity Investment Banking and head of the Financial Services Group.

"The formation of the Capital Markets Advisory Group is an exciting endeavor and is a direct response to the growth experienced in BB&T's corporate lending business. As our corporate loan portfolio has grown, we have seen a greater need for proactive, integrated client advisory services," Savage said. "Accordingly, we have selected this team based on their industry knowledge and capital markets product experience. Our goal is to better integrate all key functional areas of our platform to most effectively serve our clients."

"We will continue to evolve our organization to be the best provider of capital markets solutions," Jung said. "Our goal is to look beyond each transaction and think holistically about the best solutions for our clients. We are committed to our clients now and in the future, and putting the right leadership in place is crucial to meeting that goal."