Submitted by Elizabeth A. Kuhns, Marketing Officer & Assistant Corporate Secretary, Essex Savings Bank.
(Essex, Connecticut) — Gregory R. Shook, President & CEO of Essex Savings Bank, is pleased to make the following announcements as a result of the Bank’s continued growth and success in appreciation of these individuals valuable contributions.
Donald Beckwith was named Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer. The newly created position will help to build new business and ensure the Bank’s lending portfolio quality is maintained. Mr. Beckwith joined the Bank in June 2002 as Vice President, Chief Lending Officer. His prior experience includes over 45 years in banking along the shoreline. Mr. Beckwith has managed virtually all aspects of lending in both the commercial and consumer arenas while balancing these duties with loan portfolio management and compliance. He has been an active member of the community having served on numerous boards. He holds a BS from the University of Connecticut and currently resides in North Haven with his wife.
Diane Arnold was promoted to Senior Vice President, Chief Lending Officer from Vice President, Senior Commercial Loan Officer/ Senior Loan Administration Manager. Ms. Arnold joined the Bank in January 2002 as an Assistant Vice President/Commercial Loan Officer. Ms. Arnold began her career as a teller quickly rising to the role of credit analyst prior to joining the Bank. Ms. Arnold is highly active in the community, currently serving on the Board of the Estuary Council of Seniors and has served on several other boards in the past. Ms. Arnold earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Quinnipiac College and is a 1990 graduate of the Connecticut School of Finance and Management. She and her husband are residents of Ivoryton.
Gregory S. Cassells was named Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer and Community Development Officer. Starting at Essex Savings Bank as a Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer in 2011, Mr. Cassells’ career spans nearly thirty years in banking. Prior to coming to Essex Savings Bank he directed affordable housing development at Mercy Housing, Inc., in Hartford, as well as served as Vice President at both Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase Bank where he managed lending portfolios of affordable housing developers and where he underwent formal credit and risk analysis training. He is a graduate of UCONN and holds his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He resides with his family in Ivoryton, Connecticut.
Bernadette Jones was named Vice President, Compliance Officer, Assistant Secretary. Ms. Jones joined Essex Savings Bank in 1978 and has held the positions of Assistant Vice President, Controller, Assistant Controller, Supervisor of Operations and Teller. Most recently she managed the Loan Administration Department as a Vice President. She is a graduate of the Stone School of Business, the Connecticut School of Finance and Management and the America’s Community Bankers’ National School of Banking. Ms. Jones is very active with a number of nonprofits and currently resides in Westbrook, Connecticut.
Marla Bogaert was promoted to Vice President, Mortgage Loan Officer and Business Development Officer from Assistant Vice President, Residential Loan Officer, and Branch Manager of the Essex office located at 9 Main Street. Ms. Bogaert’s career highlights include serving as Retail Banking Manager of the former CT River Community Bank and as Retail Banking Manager and Loan Officer for Maritime Bank in Essex. She graduated from UCONN with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Economics and is a graduate of the New England School of Banking. Ms. Bogaert is very active with a number of nonprofits and currently resides in Essex, Connecticut.
Nathan Bordeleau was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Credit Officer from Credit Officer & Assistant Treasurer. Mr. Bordeleau joined Essex Savings Bank in April 2013 as a Credit Analyst, and was promoted to Senior Credit Analyst in June of 2016. Mr. Bordeleau received his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Northeastern University and a Masters of Science in Accounting from the New England College. He and his family currently reside in Gales Ferry, Connecticut.
Elizabeth Kuhns was promoted to Marketing Officer and Assistant Corporate Secretary from Marketing and Administrative Assistant. Ms. Kuhns received her Bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University and is a recent graduate of the Connecticut School of Finance and Management. She joined Essex Savings Bank in December 2014 and currently resides with her husband in New London, Connecticut.
Hilary Mondelci was promoted to Loan Administration Manager and Assistant Corporate Secretary from Loan Administration Assistant Manager. Ms. Mondelci is a recent graduate of the Connecticut School of Finance and Management. She joined Essex Savings Bank in June 2011 and currently resides with her family in Chester, Connecticut.
Brian Zupan was promoted to Essex Village Branch Manager, Residential Loan Officer and Assistant Treasurer from Underwriter and Loan Processor in the Bank’s Loan Administration department. Prior to working at the Bank, Mr. Zupan was employed as a Mortgage Loan Officer at Primary Residential Mortgage. Mr. Zupan is a graduate of Salve Regina University. He joined the Bank in 2016 and currently resides with his wife in Deep River, Connecticut.
Essex Savings Bank is a FDIC insured, state chartered, mutual savings bank established in 1851. The Bank serves the Connecticut River Valley and shoreline with six offices in Essex (2), Chester, Madison, Old Lyme and Old Saybrook providing a full complement of personal and business banking. Financial, estate, insurance and retirement planning are offered throughout the state by the Bank’s Trust Department and wholly-owned subsidiary, Essex Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.
