Financial Institutions, the parent of Five Star Bank, has promoted a senior executive to become its new president and chief executive officer, as of March 1.
The Warsaw-based company on Wednesday named Martin K. Birmingham Jr. to take the helm of the regional community bank, which operates more than 50 offices in Western and Central New York.
He takes over from John E. Benjamin, the company’s chairman, who has been acting as interim CEO for several months since the abrupt resignation of former longtime CEO Peter G. Humphrey over apparent disagreements with the board. Benjamin will remain chairman of the company.
The announcement ends a months-long executive search that was launched last August after Humphrey’s resignation. Humphrey, who had been CEO since 1994, was the fourth-generation of the family that had controlled and run the company and its subsidiary banks for more than 150 years, so his departure without warning came as a surprise to many.
It also came as the bank was completing a pair of branch acquisitions from First Niagara Financial Group that gave it four former HSBC Bank USA branches and four former First Niagara branches in five counties. The deals closed last June and August, respectively, giving Financial Institutions another $376 million in deposits and $94 million in loans. Three branches were consolidated into an existing Five Star office in the Elmira area, but the bank came away with the No. 2 market share in Chemung County.
“It’s an extraordinary time for Five Star. We’re intently pursuing organic growth opportunities while remaining nimble to capitalize on marketplace changes,” Birmingham said in a statement. “By combining the substantial talents of our entire team with more innovative approaches and community-centered values, we’re poised for considerable success.”
Birmingham has served since last August as president and chief of community banking for the $2.7-billion-asset banking company. Previously, he was executive vice president and commercial banking executive, and also served as Northeast regional president for Five Star Bank. He joined the company in 2005, and briefly served as president and CEO of National Bank of Geneva before the parent company folded all of its bank subsidiaries into one and renamed it as Five Star.
The Pittsford resident previously worked as Rochester regional market president for Bank of America Corp. and its predecessor, FleetBoston Financial Group, from 2000 to 2005, and held corporate banking roles with FleetBoston’s Rochester division before Bank of America bought Fleet. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Lawrence University and is presently pursuing an M.B.A. from University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business.
“In selecting our next CEO, the board was focused on fulfilling our mission for the benefit of shareholders. Marty has distinguished himself as this type of forward-looking leader,” Benjamin said. “He has a multifaceted understanding of the community banking environment, and a true appreciation for the core customer and employee values that make us unique. With the intent of extending our track record of consistent growth, the board is enthusiastic about having Marty at the helm.”
email: jepstein@buffnews.com
The Warsaw-based company on Wednesday named Martin K. Birmingham Jr. to take the helm of the regional community bank, which operates more than 50 offices in Western and Central New York.
He takes over from John E. Benjamin, the company’s chairman, who has been acting as interim CEO for several months since the abrupt resignation of former longtime CEO Peter G. Humphrey over apparent disagreements with the board. Benjamin will remain chairman of the company.
The announcement ends a months-long executive search that was launched last August after Humphrey’s resignation. Humphrey, who had been CEO since 1994, was the fourth-generation of the family that had controlled and run the company and its subsidiary banks for more than 150 years, so his departure without warning came as a surprise to many.
It also came as the bank was completing a pair of branch acquisitions from First Niagara Financial Group that gave it four former HSBC Bank USA branches and four former First Niagara branches in five counties. The deals closed last June and August, respectively, giving Financial Institutions another $376 million in deposits and $94 million in loans. Three branches were consolidated into an existing Five Star office in the Elmira area, but the bank came away with the No. 2 market share in Chemung County.
“It’s an extraordinary time for Five Star. We’re intently pursuing organic growth opportunities while remaining nimble to capitalize on marketplace changes,” Birmingham said in a statement. “By combining the substantial talents of our entire team with more innovative approaches and community-centered values, we’re poised for considerable success.”
Birmingham has served since last August as president and chief of community banking for the $2.7-billion-asset banking company. Previously, he was executive vice president and commercial banking executive, and also served as Northeast regional president for Five Star Bank. He joined the company in 2005, and briefly served as president and CEO of National Bank of Geneva before the parent company folded all of its bank subsidiaries into one and renamed it as Five Star.
The Pittsford resident previously worked as Rochester regional market president for Bank of America Corp. and its predecessor, FleetBoston Financial Group, from 2000 to 2005, and held corporate banking roles with FleetBoston’s Rochester division before Bank of America bought Fleet. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Lawrence University and is presently pursuing an M.B.A. from University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business.
“In selecting our next CEO, the board was focused on fulfilling our mission for the benefit of shareholders. Marty has distinguished himself as this type of forward-looking leader,” Benjamin said. “He has a multifaceted understanding of the community banking environment, and a true appreciation for the core customer and employee values that make us unique. With the intent of extending our track record of consistent growth, the board is enthusiastic about having Marty at the helm.”
email: jepstein@buffnews.com