James R. Palermo is Management Services executive for Bank of America. His areas of responsibility include Corporate Real Estate and Corporate Security. He is an executive vice president. Palermo joined Bank of America in 1979 as a purchasing manager. During his career with Bank of America, he has managed General and Real Estate Services functions in various departments, divisions and group assignments. Palermo is chairman of Charlotte Center City Partners and is immediate past president of the Charlotte Arts & Science Council. He also chairs the Friends of the Fourth Ward and is known as the "unofficial mayor of Fourth Ward." He is a member of the board of trustees for the North Carolina Medical Foundation, Belmont Abbey College and Retinitis Pigmentosis Foundation. He is an honorary member of Beta Gamma Sigma at Clemson University. A native of Dunkirk, N,Y., Palermo earned a bachelor's degree from Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y. Palermo and his wife Sharron have an adult son and daughter.