How to Access Bank Financing

Listen to a panel of bank professionals discuss special funding opportunities for small, diverse-owned businesses.

• Bank of America Community Partner Engagement Activities

Eric W. Dietz, Regional President, Southeast Michigan, Huntington National Bank

Eric W. Dietz is president of Huntington’s Southeast Michigan region. 

Dietz joined Huntington in 2012 and previously served as the Private Bank regional director for Huntington’s Southeast and Mid-Michigan regions before being appointed regional president in June 2019. Dietz is a financial services veteran with more than 30 years of diverse experience, including 25 years in the commercial sector. 

Active in the community, Dietz serves on the board of the Metro Detroit Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and is a member of the executive committee. He is also a board member of Forgotten Harvest, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, and the Dr. Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic. 

Dietz earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Michigan State University. He lives in Troy with his wife and two children.

Mohamad Hammoud, Senior Vice President, Small Business Banking Manager, Bank of America

Mohamad (Moe) Hammoud is the regional performance manager supporting the North Central Regional Executive to drive revenue growth, deepening and acquiring client relationships, driving customer experience and operational execution for the defined sales initiatives nationally. 

Hammoud joined Bank of America in December 2014 as a small business client manager in Troy, Michigan. In 2017, he graduated from the Small Business Adviser Mastery Program, and in 2018, he was promoted to become the small business banker manager for the Michigan Market. In 2022, Hammoud was promoted as the small business regional performance manager for North Central Region. He currently serves as a co-chair of the LEAD Employee Network and previously served as co-chair for the East Division Executive Council and the Chair for the North Central Region Executive Council. In the community, Hammoud serves as a board member for the DEGC and is a member of the Wayne State University Alumni Council. 

Prior to working at Bank of America, Hammoud was a business banker at Citizens Bank and Comerica Bank. He joined the banking industry after operating a small business specializing in international trading. Hammoud earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting management from Wayne State University. 

Outside of work, Hammoud enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He and his wife have taken on the most important role in life: mentoring their son and daughter. His favorite hobbies include sports, cooking, biking, and writing. He currently resides with his family in Canton, MI.

Kenneth Kelly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, First Independent Bank

Kelly serves as chairman and chief executive officer of First Independence Corp. and First Independence Bank, a minority depository institution based in Detroit, Michigan. He is a respected leader in the banking community. In four years of his leadership, the corporation has doubled in book value. Kelly serves on the Board of Directors of the American Bankers Association, the voice of the nation’s $20.3 trillion banking industry. He was elected as a director of the Michigan Bankers Association in June 2021. He served as chairman of the National Bankers Association 2018-2020 representing minority banks. From 2018-2020, Kelly served on the Federal Reserve of Chicago Bank Seventh District Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC).  Kelly was also selected in 2018 to become a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman’s Advisory Committee on Community Banking which is charged with providing advice and recommendations to the FDIC on a broad range of community banking policy and regulatory matters. He has testified as an expert witness before the U.S. Congressional House Financial Services subcommittee and has provided input to the full committee of House Financial Services during its COVID19 listening session and provided guidance to the White House and Secretary of Treasury.

Kelly serves as the chairperson of the Auburn University Engineering Alumni Council. In this role, he works with a successful group of alumni including many chief executive officers to assist the dean of the college with research and development, fundraising, and academic achievement, where he is the first African American to hold this position. In 2019, the dedication of the new Brown Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center included the naming of the Kenneth Kelly Engineering Academic Excellence Program Reception Area. Kelly was Auburn University’s Commencement Speaker on April 30, 2021.

Prior to banking, Kelly enjoyed a 27-year career as an electric utility business leader in numerous roles within Southern Company. His last role entailed negotiating acquisitions of large renewable solar projects valued at $3.4 billion in partnership value. In 2018, Kelly was inducted as the 137^th Distinguished Auburn Engineer. In Feb. 2020, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. The NYSE honored Kelly through the ringing of the opening bell on Dec. 14, 2020, as chairman of Grow Michigan II. In May 2021, Crain’s Detroit named him a Notable Executive in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Kelly is the author of Prepared Before I Let Go, and owner of MyLegacyItems.com, a web-based application to manage your last will, healthcare directive, and power of attorney. In October 2021, the FDIC approved First Independence Bank to open a branch in Minneapolis as the only black-owned bank in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul after the death of George Floyd, the branch opens Feb. 22, 2022.

Kelly grew up in Eufaula, Alabama, received an electrical engineering degree from Auburn University and completed the executive MBA program at the University of Alabama.

Jason Tinsley, Michigan Market Manager, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Jason Tinsley is the Michigan market manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank. He manages more than 40 professionals who oversee more than seven billion dollars of client assets. Previously, he served on the Michigan team as a senior banker, working to provide wealth management solutions to ultra-high net worth individuals and families. Tinsley focused on solutions in investment management, financial and estate planning, private banking, and specialty asset management.

Prior to joining the Private Bank, Tinsley served as a district manager, overseeing the sales and operations for Chase branches across southeastern Michigan. He also served as an institutional client advisor for J.P. Morgan in the Foundations and Endowments Group and has experience in the brokerage business.

Tinsley has served on boards of several community organizations. He is currently vice chairman for the JPMC Michigan Market Leadership Team and is currently a board member for Beaumont Healthcare Foundation, Detroit Children’s Fund, TechTown Detroit, and the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. Tinsley is also a member of the Beaumont Health Finance Committee.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University and enjoys reading, running, golfing, and spending time with his family.

Paul Jones, Business Support Network Director, Invest Detroit

Jones is the business support network director at Invest Detroit. In his role, he works to advance the partnership’s mission to strengthen an inclusive small business support network of nonprofit business organizations in Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, and other Wayne County communities.