# Kellee McGahey

> Kellee McGahey is SouthState Bank's chief marketing officer, a communications executive whose career has crossed telecommunications, higher education, architecture and regional banking. She helped build Charleston Young Professionals, led marketing at First Federal, participated in the 357-name process that produced the South State Bank identity, and has guided communications as the institution expanded through a series of mergers and digital customer-experience initiatives.

- **Role:** Chief Marketing Officer at SouthState Bank
- **Organizations:** SouthState Bank, First Federal, Liollio Architecture, Lowcountry Graduate Center, One Communications, Charleston Young Professionals, Center for Women, The First Tee of Greater Charleston
- **Education:** B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, Public Relations, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, M.A. in Communication, College of Charleston
- **Known for:** Helped found Charleston Young Professionals and served as chair in 2007-2008., Received the Rising Star honor in the 2010 Influential Women in Business program of the Charleston Regional Business Journal., Co-led the initial naming brainstorm that generated 357 candidates for the South State Bank identity.

## Career timeline

- **2002-2004** — Worked as a marketing specialist at One Communications.
- **2004-2009** — Served as assistant director at the Lowcountry Graduate Center.
- **2006-2009** — Served on the founding steering committee of Charleston Young Professionals and chaired the group in 2007-2008.
- **2009-2010** — Worked as director of business development at Liollio Architecture.
- **2010** — Joined First Federal as senior vice president of marketing and received the Rising Star honor in the Charleston Regional Business Journal's Influential Women in Business program.
- **2013-2014** — Helped develop and introduce the South State Bank name after First Financial and SCBT combined.
- **2014-2025** — Led marketing and corporate communications at SouthState through expansion and multiple bank combinations.
- **2025-present** — Serves as chief marketing officer at SouthState Bank.

## Achievements

- Helped found Charleston Young Professionals and served as chair in 2007-2008.
- Received the Rising Star honor in the 2010 Influential Women in Business program of the Charleston Regional Business Journal.
- Co-led the initial naming brainstorm that generated 357 candidates for the South State Bank identity.
- Advanced from First Federal's senior vice president of marketing to SouthState Bank's chief marketing officer.
- Led or supported corporate communications through SouthState's combinations with Southeastern Bank Financial, CenterState, Atlantic Capital and Independent Financial.

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Began serving as chief marketing officer at SouthState Bank after more than a decade directing marketing and corporate communications.
- **2024-05** — Shared SouthState's announced agreement with Independent Financial, describing the planned combination as creating a regional bank with a presence across the Southeast, Texas and Colorado.
- **2024-11** — Highlighted a SouthState consumer-checking onboarding program using personalized email, SMS and landing-page experiences.

## Links

- Website: https://www.southstatebank.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleemcgahey

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kellee-mcgahey
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-14