RICH NOVACK

Rich Novack currently serves as a Director of Georgia Commerce Bank as well as Georgia Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

Mr. Novack is a retired executive from Wellpoint and resides in Roswell, Georgia.

Immediately prior to retiring, Mr. Novack was General Manager of Special Accounts/Public Entities at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia and President of Greater Georgia Life-two separate divisions of WellPoint, Inc. In this capacity, Mr. Novack had total accountability and responsibility for the results of his business operations which had revenues of over $1.3 billion serving over 1.8 million members. These operations included activities such as Claims, Customer Service, Billing, Underwriting, Sales, and Account Management. Other responsibilities include actively serving in the company's Speaker's Bureau, as well as being a member of the legislative team that lobbies and testifies at the State Capitol. Mr. Novack also served on the WellPoint National Account Council and the Federal Employees Plan Product Steering Group.

Prior to this position, yet still with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Mr. Novack was Vice President for Underwriting and Marketing. In this capacity, he was responsible for meeting pre-defined revenue, growth and persistency goals. In the marketing capacity, he was responsible for Advertising and Promotion, Product Management, Market Research and Sales Training functions.

Before coming to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Mr. Novack was Senior Group Underwriter at the Prudential's Southern Group Operations where he helped to start that region in 1987.

A native of Abington, Pennsylvania, Mr. Novack has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Economics from the University of South Carolina. He has also earned a Master of Science degree in Strategic Management from Georgia State University where he was inducted to the Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society. Mr. Novack is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, Chartered Life Underwriter, and 1994 Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia President's Award Recipient.

In the community, Mr. Novack is a six-year Board Member for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Past President of the Roswell Youth Baseball Association and has a variety of other business interests in the Atlanta area. He lives in Roswell, Georgia with his wife Christine, and son Nelson.