Richard M. Adams is Executive Chairman of the Board of United Bankshares, Inc. and United Bank. A Parkersburg native, he is a graduate of West Virginia University and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.
Adams began his banking career as a Management Trainee with Wachovia Bank and Trust in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Later, he returned to his roots in West Virginia to join The Parkersburg National Bank. At the age of 29, he was named President and CEO of what was The Parkersburg National Bank (predecessor to United), a single-office, $100 million in assets, community bank. Under Adams’ leadership, United completed 33 acquisitions and currently has assets of approximately $29.5 billion, 3,000 team members and nearly 250 banking and mortgage offices located throughout Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Washington, D.C. United Bank, headquartered in Vienna, Va., is the largest state-chartered bank headquartered in the Commonwealth.
Richard Adams is a member of the Bank Policy Institute, the World President’s Organization, and is a Board Member of the WV United Health System. Adams is a Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Business Roundtable, the WV Chamber of Commerce, WV Kids Count and Eastern States Bankcard Association in New York. He has been a member of the International Financial Conference and served on the American Bankers Association Governing Council. Adams also served on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Regional Advisory Council, the Young President’s Organization of America and the Rotary Club.
In 2020, Adams received the Washington Business Journal’s CEO COVID Response Leader Award. In addition, Adams has been inducted into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame and has been honored as a recipient of the Ernst & Young “Lifetime Achievement Award” and the Executive Magazine CEO of the Year Award. Adams was selected by Morningstar, Inc. as one of three nominees nationwide for their CEO of the Year Award and was ranked #20 in the Washington Business Journal “Power 100” listing. He also has published articles in various national banking journals. Adams was a member of the U.S. Army Reserves and served on the Vestry of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church.