ON THE MOVE
TRY TO KEEP UP
LOCAL PROFESSIONALS MAKING THEIR MARK IN NEW ENGLAND BANKING Berkshire Announces Executive Leadership Transition
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of Berkshire Bank, announced that Richard M. Marotta stepped down from his position as president and CEO of the company Sean A. Gray and CEO of the bank, as well as from his role as a director to pursue new opportunities. The bank’s leadership succession planning process concluded with the board choosing Sean A. Gray, current senior executive vice president of the company and president and chief operating officer of the bank, to serve as acting president and CEO for the company. The board will initiate a CEO search process to consider candidates inside and outside of Berkshire, and Gray will be a candidate in that search process. According to the Worcester Business Journal, https://www. wbjournal.com/article/berkshire-hills-president-and-ceo-stepsdown Marotta is the second CEO to suddenly step down from the bank since 2018. His predecessor, Michael Daly, abruptly resigned as president and CEO in November 2018, with little explanation for the departure. Daly received $7.5 million as a severance package. As CEO, in addition to the implementation of the Bank’s Be FIRST values, Marotta led the launch of Reevx Labs, the bank’s initiative for investment in local communities to help individuals and small businesses access banking services and capital. Under Marotta’s tenure, the bank expanded its outreach to diverse communities, achieved greater diversity in its executive/ senior management ranks, and has been recognized as a leader among its peers in environmental, social & corporate governance rankings.
Naylor Hired As VP To Oversee New Valley Branch
Malissa Naylor
New Valley Bank & Trust, the first new bank in Massachusetts in the past decade, opened its expanded downtown Springfield branch. Malissa Naylor has joined the bank as vice president, relationship manager to oversee the new office and to continue the bank’s business development efforts.
22 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Issue Four | September 2020
“Malissa is an experienced banker who brings a high level of community involvement to our team,” said Jeff Sullivan, New Valley’s president. “Malissa is eager to solve problems for customers; she leverages her 15 years of experience in banking to creatively bring answers to the table.” Naylor will be working with the bank’s commercial banking team to advise and implement cash management solutions to its customers. New Valley’s online banking platform combines many customer-friendly features such as single sign-on for all cash management, remote deposit, wire and ACH functions, an online dashboard to view and transfer from outside financial institutions as well as between New Valley accounts, and full mobile banking functionality. Naylor is a graduate of Westfield State University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. She is a board member of Home City Housing, Inc., an affordable housing development company, and is also involved in numerous community organizations in a volunteer capacity.
Montgomery-Rice To Serve As Chair Of Maine Bankers
At the 127th annual meeting of the Maine Bankers Association - held virtually this year - the member banks elected Robert S. Montgomery-Rice, president & CEO of Bangor Savings Bank, to head the association as chair Robert Montgomery- beginning July 1. Also elected as association vice chair was Curtis C. Rice Simard, president & CEO of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Montgomery-Rice served as vice chair of the Maine Bankers Association this past year and has been a member of the executive committee since 2016. He also serves as a trustee of the Maine Financial Institutions Insurance Trusts. He joined Bangor Savings Bank in 2004 as the director of human resources. He was the chief operations officer before being named President & CEO in 2015. Simard joined Bar Harbor Bank & Trust in 2013 and has worked in the banking industry for 28 years. He was originally elected to the executive committee in 2014 and served a threeyear term. He was reelected to the executive committee in 2019. Tony McKim, president & CEO, First National Bank will continue to serve as the immediate past chair. In addition to the leadership, others elected to the executive committee include
