Sue W. Cole, who has more than 30 years experience in the financial services industry, is the chairwoman of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's Board of Directors.
Cole was elected to the post in October 2006. She succeeded Dr. Robert Timmins, retired chief executive officer of Durham-based Organon Teknika (now bioMerieux), who was board chairman from 2002 to 2006, and earlier from 1992 to 1998.
She is also a principal of Granville Capital in Greensboro responsible for client service and development.
Career Path
Prior to joining Granville Capital in July 2006, Cole was the Regional CEO, Mid-Atlantic Region, of United States Trust Company, N.A., where she was responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth, and leadership of the five offices in North Carolina, Philadelphia and Washington.
Cole joined North Carolina Trust Company in 1987, the predecessor to U.S. Trust Company of North Carolina, as an executive vice president. She was then promoted to president in 1997, then chief executive officer for North Carolina in 2001 and regional CEO for the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2003.
Previously, she was a senior vice president at NCNB, where she was responsible for corporate banking services in the Greensboro area and managed the retail branch system.
Community Affairs
Cole has been active in community affairs throughout North Carolina. Besides serving as chairwoman of the Biotechnology Center's board of directors, Cole is also a director and chairwoman emeritus for the North Carolina Chamber. She is also a member of the Board of Governors for the Center for Creative Leadership and a director for the Community Foundation of Greensboro and the Moses Cone Wesley Long Community Health Foundation.
She co-chairs the University of North Carolina of Greensboro's Bryan School of Business and Economics capital campaign. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors of Martin Marietta Materials.
Cole also served as chairwoman of the Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce, UNC-Greensboro Bryan School of Business and Economics Advisory Board, Guilford College board of visitors, president of the Greensboro Center City Corp., and as a trustee of UNC-Greensboro. She also served on the executive committee of the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research in Raleigh.
Personal Information
Cole attended UNC-Greensboro where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1972 and her Master of Business Administration in Finance in 1977. She lives in Greensboro with her husband, Gordon. They have two daughters and one grandson.