James "Jim" Brown Named Senior Executive
Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking
Philip
Jurgeleit Named Executive Vice President, Chief Credit
Officer
BOSTON, Jan. 17,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
(NYSE: BHLB), the parent company of Berkshire Bank, a leading
socially responsible community bank with financial centers located
in New England and New York, today
announced that James "Jim" Brown and Philip Jurgeleit, two experienced commercial
banking and credit executives have joined Berkshire in executive management roles. Mr.
Brown joins Berkshire as SEVP,
Head of Commercial Banking and Mr. Jurgeleit as EVP, Chief Credit
Officer.
"We're pleased to welcome both Mr. Brown and Mr. Jurgeleit to
Berkshire in their respective
executive leadership roles. Their extensive backgrounds in
commercial banking and credit risk will bring valuable perspectives
to our strong commercial banking and credit teams, support
Berkshire's Exciting Strategic
Transformation (BEST) program and continue to accelerate the
progress we've made in our performance, customer experience and
purpose," stated Berkshire CEO Nitin
Mhatre. "These hires further enhance our existing, talented
leadership team, and highlight how Berkshire Bank continues to
attract high-quality financial services leaders to accelerate our
journey towards becoming a high-performing, leading socially
responsible community bank," added Mhatre.
As SEVP, Head of Commercial Banking, Mr. Brown will oversee all
aspects of Berkshire's commercial
banking operations. He will report directly to CEO Nitin Mhatre and replace George Bacigalupo. Mr. Bacigalupo transitioned
to the position of Director - Commercial/Enterprise Sales
Management effective January 1, 2023
through December 2023 at which time
he will retire from his position at the Company and the Bank.
As EVP, Chief Credit Officer, Mr. Jurgeleit will oversee all
aspects of the company's credit underwriting, policy, and approval
processes. He will report directly to SEVP, Chief Risk Officer,
Greg Lindenmuth and replace recently
retired Chief Credit Officer Georgia
Melas.
CEO Mhatre added, "In addition to welcoming Mr. Brown and Mr.
Jurgeleit to their respective roles, I want to thank George and
Georgia for their years of dedicated service to Berkshire, our customers and communities."
"I'm excited to join the Berkshire organization and work alongside
every employee in every location across the footprint to support
the growth and success of our clients, employees, shareholders, and
communities," stated Mr. Brown. "The Company has a best-in-class
commercial banking franchise and a strong team which I look forward
to working together with, to take Berkshire to even greater heights," added
Brown.
EVP Jurgeleit stated, "I'm proud to step into this leadership
role at an organization with more than a 176-year history of
helping its customers and communities through all economic
environments. Berkshire has a
strong credit risk management practice with many experienced team
members and a supportive culture. I look forward to continuing to
find ways to support the credit needs of our borrowers and
communities while maintaining disciplined credit decisioning."
About James "Jim" Brown
Mr. Brown is a high-performing
commercial and private banking executive who brings over 30 years
of experience to Berkshire. He
spent more than 20 years at Boston Private Bank & Trust Company
in multiple senior executive roles including Co-President, EVP,
Head of Commercial Banking and Credit Administration, and Chief
Lending Officer. During his time at Boston Private the Company grew
from $500 million in assets to over
$10 billion. Mr. Brown remained at
the Bank through its acquisition by Silicon Valley Bank as Head of
Specialty Commercial within the Private Bank until late 2021. He
holds a masters from Boston College and
a bachelors from Nichols College. Mr.
Brown resides in Sudbury,
Massachusetts with his family and serves on the board of
trustees at Nichols College.
About Philip
Jurgeleit
Mr. Jurgeleit brings more than 30 years of
credit and commercial banking expertise to Berkshire, most recently serving as SVP and
Senior Director of Credit Risk at Santander Bank where he was
responsible for all aspects of credit risk management including
credit approval, asset quality, underwriting guidelines, and
credit policies for the Middle Market, Mid-Corporate, Asset Based
Lending, and Healthcare/Not-for-Profit business units. Prior to
serving in that capacity, Mr. Jurgeleit held senior leadership
roles at Citizens Bank, Webster Bank
and Bank of America. He holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor's degree
from Bowdoin College. Mr. Jurgeleit
resides in Barrington, Rhode
Island and serves on the board of The Business Development
Company of Rhode Island in
Providence, Rhode Island.
ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS
BANCORP
Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) is
the parent of Berkshire Bank. Founded in 1846, the Bank's
vision is to be a high-performing leading socially responsible
community bank. It empowers the financial potential of its
stakeholders by making banking available where, when, and how it's
needed through an uncompromising focus on exceptional customer
service, digital banking, and positive community impact. Providing
a wide range of financial solutions through its consumer banking,
commercial banking and wealth management divisions, the Bank has
approximately $11.3 billion in assets
and a community-based footprint of 100 financial centers in
Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Named one of America's Most
Trusted Companies 2022 by Newsweek, Berkshire is also listed in the Bloomberg
Gender-Equality Index and a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.
To learn more, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
LinkedIn.
Investor Relations Contacts
Kevin Conn, SVP, Investor Relations &
Corporate Development
Email: KAConn@berkshirebank.com
Tel: (617) 641-9206
David Gonci, Capital Markets
Director
Email: dgonci@berkshirebank.com
Tel: (413) 281-1973
Media Contact:
Gary
Levante, SVP, Corporate Responsibility &
Communications
Email: glevante@berkshirebank.com
Tel: (413) 447-1737
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SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.