Bryant Bank is proud to announce the promotion of John “Max” Maxwell Karrh, Jr., a lifelong relationship builder and twenty-year Bryant Bank veteran, to Tuscaloosa County President. In this role, Max will provide leadership and vision for Bryant Bank’s Tuscaloosa market, guiding the bankers and teams who serve the families and businesses that call this community home.
“Max was part of founding this bank, and watching him grow into the Tuscaloosa County President role is something that we’re all very proud of,” says Claude Edwards, Bank President. “He brings a level of genuine care for people that you simply cannot teach, and Tuscaloosa feels that in everything he does.”
Max Karrh is, in every sense of the word, a Bryant Banker. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Alabama in 1997 and later graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at LSU in 2013. He spent eight years in commercial banking in Tuscaloosa before helping to found Bryant Bank in June 2005, where he has served as a Senior Vice President and Commercial Banker ever since. In 2018, Max was part of the inaugural class of the Alabama Bankers Association’s Bank Executive Leadership Program.
What has defined Max’s career is the way he shows up for people. He has spent two decades turning banking into something personal, deepening connections with customers, energizing colleagues, and making even a difficult conversation feel like a step in the right direction.
That same spirit has shaped his presence in the Tuscaloosa community. Max currently serves as Board Chair of both the YMCA of Tuscaloosa and The Children’s Center of Tuscaloosa, and as a board member of Hospice of West Alabama and the DCH Foundation. He is a past Board Chair of the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission and a past board member and treasurer of Arts N Autism, among many other civic contributions. In 2016, he was recognized with a United Way West Alabama Young Leaders Award. He is a graduate of Leadership Tuscaloosa, Class of 2009.
“Tuscaloosa is where I was made, professionally and personally, and Bryant Bank has been a huge part of that story,” says Max Karrh, Tuscaloosa County President. “I am so grateful to step into this role in the community I love, alongside colleagues who feel more like family. None of this happens without the people around me, and that includes my biggest supporters at home, my wife Christa and our two daughters, Caroline and Mary Max.”
Tuscaloosa has been Max Karrh’s professional home for his entire career, and Bryant Bank has been at the center of that for the last twenty years. As Tuscaloosa County President, he steps into this new chapter with the relationships, the reputation, and the genuine love for this community that the role demands. Bryant Bank is proud to celebrate this well-earned promotion.
