CHARLOTTE – Thomas A. Stith III has been sworn in as the North Carolina district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Stith will oversee an office that drives economic development by assisting local entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses.  e will also direct implementation of SBA programs on accessing capital, business advice and government contracts.

“I look forward to working with the North Carolina SBA team, our state resource partners, and the small business owners of the Tar Heel State,” said Stith. “Moving forward, I plan to reaffirm our relationship with current clients and want to ensure aspiring small business owners are aware of the SBA’s resources.”

Last fiscal year, the North Carolina District backed more than $675 million in loans to small businesses and more than 16,000 entrepreneurs were trained and counseled through SBA’s resource partners. The district office also saw more than $2.2 billion in contracts awarded to North Carolina small businesses.

Stith comes to the SBA from the Michael Thomas Group, a consulting firm he co-founded to advise clients on business development in the public and private sectors. He worked with clients to improve their understanding of marketing, government relations, strategic planning, and internal assessment.

Stith recently served with Rivermont Capital, where he was a senior adviser in investment, development opportunities and investor relations. He previously was president of a state-of-the-art toxicology lab and health care consulting function at LJP Lab. In that position, he had corporate responsibility for profit and loss, strategic planning, market development, operations, human resources, and state and federal relationships.

Stith served as chief of staff to former Gov. Pat McCrory from 2013 to 2017 and as a Durham city councilman from 1999 to 2007.

A native of Durham, Stith is a graduate of North Carolina Central University, earning a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration.