Living a Journey that is an "Exception to the Rule"

Cassius F. Butts is the Executive Vice President of Innovative Finance & Strategic Partnerships for Carver Financial Corporation; parent company for Carver State Bank (Georgia) and Alamerican Bank (Alabama). He is also the founder of Capital Fortitude Business Advisors, a

management consulting firm. He is also a best-selling author (Exceptional:

Being the Exception to the Rule and Pursuit:365 Business Edition where he

was a contributing author). He also serves as an adjunct professor of

Leadership & Professional Development at his alma mater, Morehouse

College.

Cassius was appointed in 2018 by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp as chairman of the Fort

McPherson Local Redevelopment Authority to help lead the reuse planning for the 487-acre

former military installation in Atlanta. It is there where the T. D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures and

Tyler Perry Studios are creating the city’s second largest economic development project in more

than 50 years. Cassius was also appointed as the National Co-Chair of the General Services

Administration’s Policy Acquisition Committee. As co-chair, he helps ensure climate and

sustainability strategies are fully considered in the federal acquisition process. He also served on

the Biden-Harris Transition team as a non-partisan committee member.

Cassius’ public service career includes positions as the former Region IV Administrator for the

United States Small Business Administration (SBA), appointed by President Barack Obama. He

was the first African American to serve in that role. Under his tenure, he managed five record

breaking years with over $30 billion dollars in small business lending. He also previously served

as a Presidential Management Fellow under the George W. Bush Administration with the U.S.

Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). While at HUD, he assisted in the

establishment of a multi-million marketing procurement process and was named Branch Chief of

the Real Estate Owned division.

Nationally recognized as a trusted advisor and strategist across private and public sectors, Cassius

has enabled municipalities, non-governmental organizations, corporations, and executives to chart

pathways to success through strategic planning and business development.