NORTHAMPTON — Florence Bank has launched a “focused search” for its next president and CEO, the board of directors said on Wednesday, after Kevin Day announced that he would retire in November.
Day, an Easthampton resident, joined Florence Bank in 2008 as chief financial officer and he was promoted to executive vice president in 2016. In January 2020, Day was chosen as president of the bank and further elevated to CEO that May.
“I am proud to say that Florence Bank is fundamentally sound in every way,” Day said. “We have an experienced executive management team, a solid officer team and a dedicated staff. I am confident that the bank will continue to prosper for many years to come.”
Board of directors chairman John Ebbets said the board will choose a new president and CEO who is committed to keeping Florence Bank local and independent, and maintaining its form as a mutual savings bank. Chartered in 1873, Florence Bank has no stockholders and no owners.
“When Day took the helm at age 64, he promised that nothing would change at the bank,” the board wrote in a statement. “Little did he know, he’d be called upon to usher Florence Bank through some of the most tumultuous times in history, including a pandemic and the resulting financial strife.
“Day led the bank in ensuring that countless homeowners and businesses were able to defer their payments during the pandemic and in helping business customers connect to grants and other available funding,” the board said, giving customers “much-needed time to adjust to new financial situations.”
During Day’s tenure, the bank opened a branch in Chicopee — its first in the city and third in Hampden County — and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to nonprofit organizations in the Pioneer Valley, according to the board.
“Our goal in this transition is to identify an individual to lead the bank into the future while preserving the values and mission of the past that have proven so successful here,” Day said.
After his retirement, Day said he plans to spend more time with his wife Laurel, three grown children and eight grandchildren.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.