BOSTON, Oct. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire
Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) announced that its Board of
Directors has unanimously elected J. Williar ("Bill") Dunlaevy to
serve as its Chairman, effective December
1, 2019. A former bank CEO, Mr. Dunlaevy has served as
a director since 2011 and is designated as independent as well as a
financial expert by the Board of Directors under the rules of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange.
The Company's banking subsidiary, Berkshire Bank, has similarly
elected Mr. Dunlaevy as Board Chair.
Mr. Dunlaevy commented, "I'm honored to have been chosen to
succeed Bill Ryan as Chairman, and I
look forward to continuing to work with the management team and the
entire Board to deliver on our commitment to our shareholders,
customers, and communities. I want to thank Bill for his
leadership, friendship and tremendous contributions to Berkshire as chairman over the past five
years. I'm pleased that he'll remain as a director so the
board may continue to benefit from his substantial banking
experience and valued judgement. Our Board and management
team remain dedicated to our vision of building a 21st
century community bank."
Mr. Ryan stated, "I'm delighted that the Board has selected
Bill Dunlaevy to succeed me as
Chairman. He has great expertise in community banking and is
committed to success for our company, culture, and vision. I
look forward to continuing to work closely with Bill in our new
roles as I scale back my commitments for health reasons."
Mr. Dunlaevy is the former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
of the Board of Legacy Bancorp, Inc. and Legacy Banks
("Legacy"). He served as the Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman of the Board of Legacy from 1996 until their merger with
Berkshire in 2011. A community
leader, Mr. Dunlaevy currently serves as a director of the
Berkshire Bank Foundation and previously served as Chairman of the
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Mr. Dunlaevy has also
been a director of the Depositors Insurance Fund, Massachusetts
Bankers Association, and Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of
Massachusetts ("SBLI").
BACKGROUND
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank which is
transforming into a 21st century community bank with a
culture of belonging. Headquartered in
Boston, Berkshire operates 132 banking offices in
seven Northeastern states, with approximately $13.5 billion in assets.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This document contains forward-looking statements as defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are
several factors that could cause actual results to differ
significantly from expectations described in the forward-looking
statements. For a discussion of such factors, please see
Berkshire's most recent reports on
Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
Berkshire does not undertake any
obligation to update forward-looking statements.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations Contact
David Gonci, Capital Markets
Director, 413-281-1973
Media Contact
Diana Pisciotta; Communications
Contact; 617-784-5256
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SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.