An exceptional leader in the banking industry, Amanda Ellis Weaver has accrued more than 15 years of professional experience. Starting from humble beginnings, she commenced her career in finance as a teller while simultaneously enrolled in collegiate courses at Faulkner University and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Initially focusing her studies on psychology and philosophy, she attended college at night after completing work during the daytime until her senior year of undergraduate coursework. As her required psychology courses demanded a daytime role, Ms. Weaver switched her major to business, studies which were funded by her job at the time.
From that point forward, Ms. Weaver thrived in the fields of business and banking, finding her niche in a popular industry that escalated her to roles of increasing prominence. Impressively, after her college studies, she became the youngest individual where she was employed at the time to be promoted to the rank of bank officer and gained valuable expertise in private banking. As her career progressed, Ms. Weaver was promoted to executive-level positions, including serving as the vice president of private banking at ServisFirst Bank between 2010 and 2018. Subsequently, she excelled as the senior vice president of the National Bank of Commerce in Huntsville, Alabama, in 2018 before moving on to CenterState Bank in Huntsville as the senior vice president and private banking manager from 2018 to 2021. Since 2021, she has served as the senior vice president and private banking leader at Bank Independent in Huntsville.
Among her myriad of responsibilities, Ms. Weaver is especially proud of leading the private banking division at Bank Independent, and many of her tasks include continuous development for the division, as well as portfolio management, team training, mentoring and succession planning. In light of her outstanding feats, she was named among Exceptional Women in Business by Event Magazine and the Professional of the Year by the Madison Chamber of Commerce. She lives and works by the motto, “Successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not.”
Civically engaged in her community, Ms. Weaver has maintained memberships with numerous organizations. She is a board member of the Professional Executive Women’s Program at the University of North Alabama, a member of the board of trustees of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Women’s Economic Development Council. Furthermore, Ms. Weaver is a noted guild member of the Huntsville Museum of Art, a board member of the Huntsville Botanical Garden, and a member of the Huntsville chapter of the International Women’s Forum. Additionally, she has served on the professional advisory board of HudsonAlpha and is a Kappa Delta alumnus.
In accounting for her success, Ms. Weaver credits the influence and support of several mentors in her life. In this regard, she says that she would not be where she is if not for the encouragement of her mentors who saw her abilities and potential that she did not initially see in herself. As her career went on, Ms. Weaver heeded the advice of her mentors and grew into the best version of herself she could possibly be. Likewise, she is particularly proud of the employees whom she has mentored, serving as a guiding force for her employees and witnessing their own progression, accomplishments, and accolades. Ms. Weaver also notes that her greatest achievements will always be playing her part in the growth and succession of her partnerships, as many of her clients have accelerated their businesses due, in part, to her expertise and mentorship. Further, Ms. Weaver is incredibly proud of her children: Ian, Aidan, and Ellisyn.
In the coming years, Ms. Weaver aims to expand Bank Independent and establish departments of the bank in additional locations throughout Alabama. She would also like to promote the growth and expansion of her current division. Among her many guiding principles, she is especially fond of the mantra, “People may forget what you did for them, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” In her leisure time, she enjoys photography, reading, skiing, shopping, going to the beach and watching her children play sports.