Greenville Leadership Team
Zack Cisson
Zack Cisson, age 34 born in Greenville, SC, is an Employee Benefits Consultant with USI Insurance Services in Greenville. His current role involves advising HR and CFOs on capital-efficient health insurance and benefits.
Zack began his career in a management trainee role with First Citizens Bank in 2010. After almost 2 years, he transitioned to medical device sales with Crosslink Life Sciences, an agency of Stryker Orthopaedics. He spent 10 years as a full-line sales representative with Crosslink where he sold hip and knee implants along with trauma products to orthopaedic surgeons. His role involved providing intraoperative orthopaedic consultation to medical teams and orthopaedic surgeons, maintaining a high level of customer service to all related staff and analyzing situational logistics to ensure timely instrument delivery and product availability.
Prior to beginning his professional career, he attended The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Zack graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
For several years after college, Zack was a representative for the Greenville chapter of The Citadel’s Young Alumni Council. He has also volunteered for several United Way community initiatives over the years as a way of giving back to a community that has been so good to him.
Born and raised in the upstate of SC, Zack is currently living in Travelers Rest, SC with his wife and daughter.
KRUT PATEL
Krut Patel’s journey is a fusion of unwavering commitment to both professional excellence and community enrichment. He is proud to serve as the CEO and Principal at The Divine Group, where his entrepreneurial journey has been a tapestry of challenges, achievements, and continuous growth.
As CEO, his responsibilities encompass overseeing both commercial and residential developments, and managing a dynamic real estate brokerage firm with over a dozen dedicated agents. Additionally, he takes charge of the financial management of various subsidiaries and investments, ensuring the continued success and growth of the enterprise.
Beyond the boardroom, Krut is dedicated to giving back to the community. Alongside his wife, he co-founded the Dāna Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to providing essential school supplies, tuition assistance, and subsidized camp opportunities for underprivileged children. Furthermore, he’s had the privilege of serving as the entertainment chair for Greenville’s Hindu temple, the Vedic Center, a role that allowed him to contribute to the cultural vibrancy and community spirit of the region.
For Krut, giving back to the community is a profound commitment, enhancing the meaning that he finds in both his personal and professional life.
DARATH MACKIE
Darath Mackie is a skilled Broker at Lee & Associates Greenville / Spartanburg, with over 20 years
of experience in commercial real estate. Her specialties include commercial office, retail space, and
land acquisition, and she has held roles as Regional Director for Sutera Inc. USA and Director of
Business Development for Cely Construction in Greenville, South Carolina.
She is an active participant in various business and professional organizations, including pursuing
the CCIM Designation within the local CCIM chapter.
As a Board Member of the Greater Greenville Area Realtors Association, she also serves as Chair of
the Commercial Steering Committee. With a history of leadership roles, including President
of CREW Upstate SC and IFMA, she brings a wealth of knowledge about disaster preparedness in
commercial real estate transactions, property valuations, and investment decisions.
In 2022, she was voted the Caine Halter Commercial Realtor of the Year!
ANNA MILLS
Anna Mills is the Senior Banking Officer with First Carolina Bank in Greenville, SC. She has over 14 years of experience in the banking industry with an extensive background in business development, portfolio management, private and business banking, and credit analysis. As the SBO her responsibilities include establishing new consumer and commercial relationships through loan and deposit growth.
Anna is originally from Rock Hill, SC and graduated from Presbyterian College with a BA in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics. She serves on the boards on Meals on Wheels Greenville, Unity Health on Main, where she serves as Secretary, and CREW Upstate, where she Chairs the Professional Development Committee. She also is a regular volunteer with Junior Achievement.
In her free time, Anna is passionate about being outdoors and you’ll find her hiking, kayaking, or biking on the Swamp Rabbit.
Brandon Robinson
Brandon has over 9 years of experience working in public accounting in tax consulting, planning, and compliance. Prior to joining Bradshaw, Gordon & Clinkscales, LLC, in November 2019, Brandon served as a tax manager with a large regional accounting firm in Greenville. His experience includes an emphasis in real estate, construction, manufacturing and distribution, multi-state entities, high net-worth individuals and closely held businesses.
Courtney Ashley
Courtney Ashley is the Economic Development Marketing Manager for the City of Greenville, South Carolina. She supports the City’s economic development efforts through developing content, programs and materials that highlight Greenville’s numerous assets and focus on educating corporate executives, entrepreneurs and talent on the advantages of doing business in the City. She also serves as a community engagement representative through strategic and collaborative relationships with partner organizations, universities and business and community leaders to build support for the City’s economic development initiatives.
Courtney previously served as the Marketing and Events Director for the Town of Forest City and as the Director of Marketing for the Forest City Owls. She is a 2015 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Courtney is a member of the South Carolina Economic Development Association, the International Downtown Association and the Greenville Chamber Young Professionals.
Nauman Panjwani
Nauman is a passionate and dynamic owner/operator/developer in the commercial real estate space. He is currently the Executive VP and a partner at SNS Investments, a family office specializing in the hospitality and retail asset classes, as well as the private equity space. He most recently developed and now manages an award-winning hotel in Greenville SC, led the acquisition of a beautiful downtown hotel in Jacksonville FL, and is spearheading an adaptive reuse project in the heart of Atlanta GA. Nauman has worked with all major hotel brands and many national retail anchor tenants while managing the full lifecycle of over $100M of assets.
Raised in NC, Nauman received his Bachelors from UNC with a joint degree from Duke University. He started his career consulting for some of the largest financial institutions in the world and then led a Global Sales Operations team at Uber (pre-IPO).
Outside of work Nauman is dedicated to shaping the future of the communities he’s involved in. He sits on a number of industry boards, including the SC Restaurant and Lodging Association, VisitGreenvilleSC Tourism Board, Choice Hotels Owners Council, and the largest hotel association in the world- Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) Franchise & Industry Relations Board. Recently, Nauman also received the AAHOA Outstanding Young Professional award and served as the youngest of a 10 member committee that designed the new prototype for Choice Hotels’ flagship brand. He was subsequently nominated as an industry “Rising Star”.
Nauman is passionate about financial literacy, storytelling, and connecting with people of all kinds. In his spare time, he loves to dance and is an avid traveler.
J.R. CHARLES
J.R. Charles is an economic development professional with 15 years of experience in industrial development, retail recruitment, and small business support. In his role with the City of Mauldin, J.R. serves as the Director of Community Development, and his responsibilities include business retention/recruitment, administration of special projects, and oversight of the Mauldin Cultural Center’s community events, theater production, and arts education programming. Additionally, J.R. is a member of the South Carolina Economic Developers Association, the Greenville chapter of the REAL Professionals Network, Duke Energy’s Regional Advisory Committee, the Greater Mauldin Chamber of Commerce, and the Upstate SC Alliance.
Prior to working for the City of Mauldin, J.R. served as the Vice President of Economic Development for Carroll Tomorrow (Carrollton, GA), the Oconee County Commission as Director of Economic Development, the Habersham County Development Authority as Executive Director, and the Upson County Industrial Development Authority as Executive Director. Over the course of his career, he has successfully serviced more than $180 million in investment and the creation/retention of 800 jobs. His proudest accomplishment is helping save two industries in Carroll County, one that rebuilt and retailed all of its employees after a total-loss fire, and one that he assisted in a buy-out strategy that preserved 300 jobs and doubled the facility’s physical footprint.
J.R. is a Georgia native and a proud Georgia Bulldog, but he was smart enough to marry a Clemson Tiger fan from Newberry, SC. J.R. and his wife have two young children, and they enjoy attending local festivals, volunteering at Advent United Methodist Church, and cultivating home-grown vegetables in their raised box gardens.
JESSICA MCCOY
Jessica McCoy is the Client Experience Manager at Brasfield & Gorrie. After graduating from Clemson University with a B.A. in Political Science, Jessica moved back to her hometown of Greenville, SC, where she served in Constituent Services for former US Senator Jim DeMint.
She joined Brasfield & Gorrie in 2011 as part of their Corporate Recruiting team. At Brasfield & Gorrie, Jessica has served in several capacities, including Human Resources, Marketing, Business Development, and Corporate Strategy. In her current role, she works with the business development, strategy, and project teams to forge stronger relationships with clients and to better understand and serve their needs.
Jessica is a former Witherspoon Fellow and graduate of CREW Authentic Leadership, Furman Women’s Leadership Institute, and Leadership Greenville Class 47. She currently serves as Board Co-Chair of GirlUp GVL, a local nonprofit serving under-resourced middle and high school girls through experience, enrichment, and empowerment. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Blood Connection, an independently managed, non-profit community blood center, whose mission is to support our healthcare partners with adequate, safe, cost-effective blood supplies and services, and on the Greenville County School District Career and Technical Education Advisory Council who reviews the career and technical education local plan, and advises the school district concerning current and future employment needs, relevancy of existing programs, and coordination of programs and partnerships.
Jessica lives in Upstate, South Carolina with her husband and two daughters.