Get to know some of United’s Black leaders this Black History Month

United recognizes that the diversity of its team supports the Company’s overall mission to provide excellence in service to its stakeholders. Its commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion fosters respect and a shared purpose that aligns with the Bank’s core values and community leadership. Since the Bank’s founding in 1839, its leading principles have helped United grow from a single-office bank to a premier regional banking company with a strong presence throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Today, the Company holds nearly $30 billion in assets and serves a consumer and commercial customer base that is diversified across lines of business as well as geography, with close to 250 offices located throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, as well as Washington, D.C.

United’s employees are its greatest asset – when team members thrive, so do customers and so does business. That’s why, this Black History Month, United is spotlighting some of its Black employees, their accomplishments, and the work they are doing to support their communities, bolstering the Bank’s commitment to ensuring that employees from entry-level to management are empowered to reach their full potential and make a difference, contributing to a culture that is entrepreneurial, efficient, relationship-based, and service oriented.

For Lamont Moore, the Mountain State will always be home. As a Charleston native, former city employee, and graduate of West Virginia State University’s School of Communications, joining United – the largest publicly traded company headquartered in West Virginia – just made sense.

Moore is an operations manager, AVP at United’s Loan Operations Center in Dunbar, WV. In this role, he manages an outstanding team of specialists, responsible for servicing all existing United Bank titles and ensuring liens are recorded. His daily duties include managing the loan operations file room, securing physical loan documents, and ensuring the release of all paid-in-full mortgage, HELOC, commercial, and installment loans.

Moore is no stranger to the banking business. He has two decades of experience in the financial services industry, spending the first 17 years of his career at BB&T Bank (now Truist) working his way through the ranks to a leadership role in collections and default management. He also did a stint in government work prior to joining United, serving as City Collector and Director of the Charleston City Collector’s Office. After spending time working for the city, Moore knew that if he were to return to the private sector, it would have to be with a company whose mission and values aligned with his own. It was United’s mission statement that drew him to the company. The Bank’s focus on providing excellence in service resonated with Moore, and their shared commitment to serving employees, customers, and communities told him that the Bank was where he wanted to be.

As part of his community commitment, Moore has dedicated his time outside of work to several volunteer initiatives. He has spent time volunteering at his local Boys & Girls Club, coaching youth basketball at the Charleston Family YMCA, and he was a Lighthouse project leader serving the Charleston Area Medical Center NICU. He also supports the Mountain Mission Project, serving as co-captain for the annual March of Dimes drive.

How would you describe your career journey to becoming a Black business leader?

Being a Black business leader has not been without its familiar challenges. However, enduring those challenges has stimulated constructive change, inspired ongoing personal and organizational growth, and has opened the door to new opportunities for myself and others. Nothing in life is easy but seeing where I came from, versus where I am today, has all made it worth it.

What advice do you have for young people of color?

My advice to other young people of color or anyone who feels like the minority – and what I wish someone told me when I was just starting out – is to always believe in yourself and have the courage to be yourself. When you don’t see others around who look like you, it’s easy to begin to feel “othered,” but instead you should feel special. You are still beautiful, you are still powerful, you are still intelligent, and you are worthy of being where you are. Keep working extra hard, keep learning, make sure the expectations that you have for yourself are always higher than any organization could set for you (if you are called on to go one mile, then go two), keep letting your inner light shine, and keep building bridges for progress for yourself and others coming up behind you. But through all of this, always be true to yourself.

Were there any Black leaders who inspired you to lead?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing leader. Generations later, and his words still ring true to this day. One quote from him has always stuck with me and helped influence my leadership style from early in my career:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

I always try to keep this in mind in my daily interactions, especially in dealing with my team and mentoring future generations.