business briefs

• Cynthia Cain recently was promoted to executive vice president/CEO at SmartBank in Knoxville.

She has more than 27 years of experience in accounting, financial operations, business analysis, process improvement and program implementation. Cain served as SVP in the accounting department at South State Bank in Columbia, South Carolina, before joining the SmartBank team in 2019. She had extensive involvement with accounting operations, financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions, stress testing and strategic planning at South State.

• Dakota Clavier recently won the Aqua Award at Lake Homes Realty’s 9th Annual National Agent Summit for exceptional achievements in real estate.

• Qiusheng Wu, assistant professor of geography and sustainability at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, recently was appointed an Amazon visiting academic working for Amazon Web Services’ Deep Learning organization. The program allows professors and others in academia to conduct research while teaching and leading at universities.