Martin said, "I respect and admire Mayor Haslam very much, and have been impressed by what his administration is accomplishing. I consider it an honor to join the team and work toward making Knoxville the best city it can be."

Martin will begin his new role at the City on Sept. 18, and work with Chris Kinney, the Senior Director of Finance and Accountability, for a smooth transition. Kinney announced his earlier this week he was returning to the private sector at the end of September.

Martin, 59, retired in June as chief operating officer for First Tennessee Financial Services with responsibility for all Tennessee regional bank markets, merchant services processing, Hickory Venture Capital, Synaxis Group, and the commercial, corporate and middle market divisions of the bank.

Mayor Haslam & Larry Martin

With First Tennessee's merger with Valley Bank in 1991, he was named CEO and chairman of the Knoxville bank.

In 1997, Martin was given statewide responsibility for all First Tennessee financial centers outside of Memphis. In 2001, he became President of Business Financial Services assuming responsibility for the corporation's business strategy as well as overseeing the bank's four east regional markets. In 2004, he was promoted to COO for First Tennessee Financial Services.

His contributions to the community have been numerous. He currently serves as chairman of the Covenant Health System and the Family Investment Foundation, and is vice chair of the East Tennessee Foundation. He is also involved with the United Way of Greater Knoxville, Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement, the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation and the Great Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is past chairman of the Greater Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Knoxville, and he headed Knoxville's 1995 United Way campaign.