Our leadership

Chan Patel

CEO, Chairman of Board

Chan Patel is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of SBT, as well as an owner and/or partner in several hotel operations throughout Texas. Born in India, he became a U.S. citizen in 1965 and has been an active owner and operator of hotels since 1976. He is the founding Chairman of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and an active member of multiple religious and community associations and organizations.

Chan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Bombay University, a Master’s of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and a Master’s of Science Degree in Management Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Sushil Patel

President, Director

Sushil is the President at State Bank of Texas, a family-owned bank. He joined the bank in 2004 and has served on the Board of Directors since 2000. SBT has consistently ranked as one of the top-performing community banks in the country year after year. Sushil has been instrumental in the growth of the bank from a $100 million asset bank in 2004 to a $2 billion asset bank which specializes in loans to the hospitality industry. SBT is the largest Indian community bank in the nation.

Sushil also serves as a Principal of CBP Holdings, the Patel family office, which develops and operates hotels and other real estate in New York City and the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. Through the bank and CBP Holdings, Sushil oversees $3.0 billion in assets in which the family office holds a majority ownership stake. Prior to joining State Bank of Texas, Sushil worked as Senior Analyst at Bank of America Securities in the Global Corporate & Investment Bank.

He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business. In addition to Las Colinas Association, Sushil currently serves as a board member for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (CDIAC), Baylor Irving Hospital, and Irving Hospital Authority. Sushil is also a current Board of Trustee for the Surti Leuva Patidar Samaj of DFW, a community organization of over 1,000 “Patel” families in the DFW Metroplex. Sushil has previously served on the Planning and Zoning Commission for the City of Irving including the role of Chairman and recently served on the Citizen’s Bond Task Force.

Rajan Patel

Chief Lending Officer, EVP, Director

Rajan Patel is SBT’s Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer.  Rajan oversees and manages roughly $2BN in loans across 30 states. In addition to his banking duties, Rajan along with his brother have a large real estate portfolio ranging from hotels to office and retail developments.  Their real estate assets are located all over Texas, Manhattan, DUMBO, and Long Island City.  Rajan has been married to his wife Reena for 14 years and have two daughters together, Sydney and Sienna.  Rajan also served on the Executive Committee of SLPS in Dallas and is currently the treasurer for SLPS Aastha Charities.  Rajan has a BBA in Finance from Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University along with a degree from the SMU Graduate School of Banking.

 

 

Janna Blackwell Hayes, CPA

EVP, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer

Janna Hayes is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at SBT. She has 30 years of experience in all areas of banking, and is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant. She lives in Highland Village, Texas, with her husband and son.

Janna is a magna cum laude graduate of Southern Arkansas University with a BBA in Accounting and has attended numerous banking schools.

Chan Patel

CEO Chairman of Board

Chan Patel is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of SBT, as well as an owner and/or partner in several hotel operations throughout Texas. Born in India, he became a U.S. citizen in 1965 and has been an active owner and operator of hotels since 1976. He is the founding Chairman of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and an active member of multiple religious and community associations and organizations.

Chan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Bombay University, a Master’s of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and a Master’s of Science Degree in Management Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Sushil Patel

President, Director

President of SBT, Sushil Patel joined the bank in 2004 and has served on the Board of Directors since 2000. Previously, he worked as Senior Analyst at Bank of America Securities in the Global Corporate & Investment Bank, where he helped raise capital for media and telecom companies in the equity, high yield and high-grade debt markets. Sushil also operates and develops hotels in New York City and throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. He is Secretary of the Planning and Zoning Commission for the City of Irving,Texas, and also serves on the Board of Management for the Irving Family YMCA. He lives in Irving with his wife and three children.

Sushil holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Rajan Patel

Chief Lending Officer

Rajan Patel is SBT’s Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer.  Rajan oversees and manages roughly $2BN in loans across 30 states. In addition to his banking duties, Rajan along with his brother have a large real estate portfolio ranging from hotels to office and retail developments.  Their real estate assets are located all over Texas, Manhattan, DUMBO, and Long Island City.  Rajan has been married to his wife Reena for 14 years and have two daughters together, Sydney and Sienna.  Rajan also served on the Executive Committee of SLPS in Dallas and is currently the treasurer for SLPS Aastha Charities.  Rajan has a BBA in Finance from Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University along with a degree from the SMU Graduate School of Banking.

P.N. (Pete) Patel

Director

P.N. Patel was born in India in 1938. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Ghandi Engineering College in Surat, India. He workedas a Mechanical Engineer for twelve years in India, of which ten of those years were with Baroda Rayon Corp. of India. P.N. Patel immigrated in 1971 where he worked as
an engineer for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Soon after that, he began buying, selling, and operating hotels in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida. His current activities are now centered in hotel development and management across the United States. In addition to his hotel investments, P.N. Patel was involved in capital raising for a local Brunswick bank called Atlantic National Bank in which he helped gather 50 investors. He and his wife, Shanta, have two daughters, Amita and Manisha and one son, Tarun.

J.D. Patel

Director

J.D. Patel has been in the hotel industry since 1976. He attended South Gujarat University in India and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University. J.D. twice participated in Gujarat State Olympics and twice was chosen to represent Gujarat University in Kabbadi. He is a member of the Gujarati Cultural Society. J.D. and his wife, Manjula, have four children and two grandchildren.

Bipin B. Patel

Director

Bipin B. Patel has been in the hotel industry since 1977 and has developed several hotels since then. He attended Bombay University in India, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas. Currently, he owns 10 hotels in the DFW Metroplex. He is also a founding member of SLPS.

He and his wife, Sandhya, have 2 sons and 2 daughters, along with 3 grandchildren.

Surekha Patel

Director

Surekha Patel holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Gujarat University in India. Surekha worked as a Chemist for Zocon for several years and at American Airlines in the Marketing Department for 10 years. Additionally, she has hotelier experience and works in the family’s hotel business. Surekha enjoys her management responsibilities in development of new hotel properties, such as the Holiday Inn Express in Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. Surekha has four children and ten grandchildren, and is wife of Chan Patel, chairman of State Bank of Texas. For the past five years, Surekha has served as Director at Large for the Asian American Hotels Owners Association (AAHOA). In this role, she has served as Chairperson for several Women’s Conferences. Surekha is also a volunteer social worker with Hindu Temple Society and the Gujarati Cultural Society.

Jay R. Patel

Director

J.R. Patel is Founder and President of RELAX, Inc., a Roanoke, Virginia Hotelier, which was incorporated in 1980. RELAX, Inc. presently owns and operates ten hotels. J.R. lived in England for twelve years and Canada for seven years before immigrating to the US in 1978. He is an active member of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Kantaben, have two sons.

D.N. (Dan) Patel

Director

Dan Patel relocated to the U.S. in 1968 from Gujarat, India, and holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. After an eight-year career in engineering, he changed industries and became a hotel owner and operator. His expertise and knowledge in the hospitality industry dates back to 1977.

After spending numerous years owning several hotels throughout the U.S., he started a management company, Patriot Hospitality. Under the leadership of Dan, Patriot Hospitality and its related entities own, manage and develop properties under the Hilton and IHG brands across multiple states.

Dan served as Governor in his Texas region for Best Western International, and has held leadership positions for the Gujarati Cultural Society of Dallas as Secretary and President of the senior citizens group. Dan was also a member of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA).

Dan is one of the founding members of the State Bank of Texas and has been an active director from the start. He currently resides in Dallas with his wife and together they have three children and six grandchildren.

Kishor Bhikha

Director

Kishor Bhikha was raised in Panama and immigrated to the US in 1977. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Cal-Tech, Pomona California. Kishor began his hotelier ventures in 1979 and currently is an owner of various partnership hotels. He is a member of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). He and his wife, Nayana, have two children.

Yasmin Gupta

Director

Yasmin Gupta is one of the founding Directors of State Bank of Texas and continues to serve on the Board. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Stella Maris College and an MBA in International Trade and Management from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. Her career began in Mortgage Banking and Residential Loan underwriting. Through her family interests, she is involved in commercial real estate investments, which includes office buildings and hotels. Yasmin is Co-founder, Director and Executive Vice President of SB International, Inc., an established manufacturer, processor and distributor of steel pipe and tubing products for the oil and gas industry in the United States and Canada. In 2014, a generous gift from Yasmin and her husband Satish Gupta made possible the state-of-the-art SB Hall, home to the College of Business at the University of Dallas, Irving, Texas. Today, the College of Business for which they are namesakes, has over 17,000 alumni and currently enrolls nearly 1,000 graduate and undergraduate students. She was honored in 2017 to be among the first inductees in the College of Business Hall of Fame. Yasmin has been involved with several community organizations including the Girl scouts, United Way, the Chinmaya Mission and the DFW Indian Cultural Society. She is also involved with the Primary Care Clinic of North Texas, providing medical care to uninsured adults in their three non-profit healthcare facilities since 2003, and the GDAS Cancer Clinic providing non-profit cancer treatment and care to uninsured patients in the metroplex.

Ketan Masters

Director

Ketan Masters has been an hotelier entrepreneur since 1979. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Science at University of Texas at Dallas. He has served on the Board of Directors of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) consecutively from 1994 to 2004. Further, he serves as a Director of the Texas Hotel & Motel Association. He also has held the offices of Secretary and President for Gujarati Cultural Society. Raised in Zambia, Africa, he has been in the Dallas, Texas metroplex area since 1975.

Toral Balakrishnan

Advisory Director

Toral Balakrishnan serves as an Advisory Director at State Bank of Texas. After graduating from Howard University in Washington, DC, she worked as a Physician Assistant specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery, publishing internationally recognized articles and training physicians and other medical professionals. Since 2010, she has focused her career on the hotel industry and now owns properties in various brands including Choice, Wyndham, Hilton, and G6. She is married to Dr. Rajesh Balakrishnan, a practicing dentist, in Austin, Texas.

Shetal Patel

Advisory Director

Shetal Patel has been a hotel entrepreneur since 2004. Currently she owns and operates two Intercontinental Hotel Group properties in Southern California. Prior to this, she practiced as a Physician Assistant in Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Dermatology. She also has owned and personally managed her own medical practice specializing in Cosmetic Dermatology. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX. She also holds an MBA from University of California at Irvine. She is married to Narendra Patel, an attorney by profession and also a hotel entrepreneur. She has three children.

Hira Patel

Advisory Director

Hira Patel retired from IBM after 28 years where he had published ten Invention Disclosures in IBM’s Technology Disclosure Bulletin and was published in AIAR Journal. Hira is presently involved in real estate development in the hospitality industry. He is Director and Secretary of the Alameda Business Association, Trustee of Devotional Sitaram and member of India Cultural Association of Bay Area. Hira holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics & Mathematics from the University of Bombay, India. He also has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematical Engineering from the University of Louisville, Kentucky and a Master of Science Degree in Engineering from State University New York in Buffalo, New York.

Said Abusaud

AVP of Internal Operations

Ashley Alexander

VP of Operations Support

Wafee Ali

AVP/Assistant BSA officer

Melissa Butler

SVP of Lending

Melissa has over 25 years of commercial lending experience and currently serves as a Senior Vice President in SBT’s hospitality lending department where she originates both Conventional and SBA loans nationwide. Prior to joining State Bank of Texas, Melissa worked for a non-bank lender as a VP of Lending in their hotel lending division working directly with borrowers, intermediaries, franchisors, RE Brokers and other industry professionals. Leveraging her strong relationships and knowledge along with SBT’s understanding of the industry allows borrowers to feel confident who they are working with.

Melody Collins

VP of Credit Administration

Amit Desai

AVP/Branch Operations Manager

Catrina Cummings

SVP of Human Resources

Nubia Escobar

Closing Officer

Claudia Garcia

Collateral Officer

Sabreena Hussain

AVP of Operations

John Hutcherson

SVP of Operations

Tera Jennings

SVP of Operations

Ms. Jennings began her banking career in 1979 in Abilene, Texas. During the ensuing 40 years she worked in and managed all areas of bank operations. Ms. Jennings began her senior management role in 1994 at a small independent bank in Bedford, Texas as SVP/Cashier. In July 2012 Ms. Jennings became a part of the State Bank of Texas family as the Branch Operations Manager at the Irving location and was promoted to her current position in 2017. In her spare time, Ms. Jennings enjoys reading, swimming and playing in poker tournaments.

Jeff Johnson

SVP and Controller

SBT’s Controller, Jeff Johnson has over 35 years of experience in banking. His career has focused on accounting and finance, and he has served in multiple roles, including Controller, Planning and Analysis Manager, and CFO. He has worked in banks of all sizes, with deep experience in loan accounting, investment management and computer systems. Jeff lives in Lantana, Texas with his wife, and he has two sons who live in Chicago and Cincinnati.

Jeff holds an Accounting degree from Valparaiso University and an MBA from Indiana University.

M. Zaid Khan

VP of Compliance & BSA Officer

William Lobo

Branch Operations Manager/Quality Control & Special Projects

Bharti Patel

Branch Operations Manager

Brijesh Patel

VP of Credit Analysis

Brijesh Patel is Vice President at SBT, focusing on loan underwriting as well as portfolio and asset management. He has over 12 years of experience serving in multiple financial analyst capacities. Originally from Tennessee, he has been a Texas resident for over 25 years and currently lives in Irving.

Brijesh holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Monarch Patel

AVP of Loan Administration

Nixan Patel

VP of Operations

Sand Patel

SVP of Lending

Sandesh (“Sand”) Patel is currently Sr. Vice President – Commercial Lending at State Bank of Texas (“SBT”).  Mr. Patel has over 25 years of experience in commercial lending and SBA loan programs with specialization in hotel lending.  Through direct experience and past employment at both banks and non-bank lenders, has originated, processed, and/or serviced over $750 million in loans through conventional and various government sponsored loan programs.

Sand holds a B. A. in Accounting from North Carolina State University and has passed the uniform Certified Public Accountant examination. Sand currently resides in Atlanta with his wife of 25 years and two children, Dhruv and Breanna.

Amit Rikhi

AVP of IT

Steven Roberts

VP of Loan Review

Ricardo Salas

AVP/Branch Operations Manager

Gloria Sguros

VP of Lending

Kaushik Soni

VP of Lending