Community Bank System, Inc. Elects Michele Sullivan as New Independent Director
January 19 2024 - 4:15PM
Business Wire
Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) (the “Company”)
announced today the election of Michele Sullivan to its Board of
Directors (the “Board”) as a new independent director, effective as
of February 1, 2024. Ms. Sullivan is a retired partner of Crowe LLP
(“Crowe”) where she served in Crowe’s consulting practice
specializing in the financial services sector. She worked with top
United States and global banks, as well as mid-market insurance
carriers and fintech companies, providing consulting services on
risk, compliance, internal audit, technology, strategic
acquisitions, merger integration, and governance matters. Ms.
Sullivan is a certified public accountant (CPA) and a certified
risk management professional (CRMA).
Ms. Sullivan joined Crowe in 1992 and, prior to her retirement
in March 2023, served on Crowe’s Board of Directors for seven years
and its Audit and Risk Committee. During her time on Crowe’s Board,
she developed and led the Corporate Governance Strategic
Initiative. She was a founding member of Crowe’s Exceptional Client
Experience and Women Into Leadership programs and served on their
steering committees.
Ms. Sullivan’s election expands the Company’s Board to 14
Directors, 12 of whom are independent. Ms. Sullivan was also
appointed to the Board of Directors of Community Bank, N.A., the
Company’s wholly-owned banking subsidiary. The Board has determined
that Ms. Sullivan is a qualified financial expert and she will
serve on the Board’s Audit Committee and Risk Committee.
“We are pleased to welcome Michele Sullivan as a new independent
director to the Board of Directors of Community Bank System, Inc.
and Community Bank, N.A.,” said Eric E. Stickels, Chair of the
Board of Directors. “Her audit, compliance, governance and risk
management experience as a partner at Crowe are valuable additions
to the Board. Her appointment reflects the Board’s continued focus
on enhancing the Board’s depth of experience and diversity to
ensure an appropriate level of expertise and perspective to provide
effective oversight of the Company and its subsidiaries.”
Dimitar Karaivanov, President and Chief Executive Officer,
stated “Michele brings over 30 years of financial industry
experience to our boardroom and, together with her governance and
risk management expertise, she is a great addition. I am looking
forward to her insights as we continue to deliver exceptional
returns to our shareholders.”
Ms. Sullivan graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in
Accounting and has completed Board and Corporate Governance course
work through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management
Executive Development Program.
About Community Bank System, Inc.
Community Bank System, Inc. is a diversified financial services
company focused on four main business lines – banking, benefits
administration, insurance services and wealth management with total
assets of $15.4 billion. Its banking subsidiary, Community Bank,
N.A., is among the country’s 100 largest banking institutions and
operates more than 200 customer facilities across Upstate New York,
Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. In
addition to a full range of retail, business, and municipal banking
services, the Company offers comprehensive financial planning,
trust administration and wealth management services through its
Community Bank Wealth Management operating unit. The Company’s
Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc. subsidiary is a leading
provider of employee benefits administration, trust services,
collective investment fund administration, and actuarial consulting
services to customers on a national scale. The Company’s OneGroup
NY, Inc. subsidiary is a top 100 U.S. insurance agency. Community
Bank System, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the
Company’s stock trades under the symbol CBU. For more information
about Community Bank visit www.cbna.com or
https://ir.communitybanksystem.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and
expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from
those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The following
factors, among others, could cause the actual results of the
Company’s operations to differ materially from its expectations:
the macroeconomic and other challenges and uncertainties related to
or resulting from recent bank failures; current and future economic
and market conditions, including the effects on commercial real
estate and residential housing prices, unemployment rates, high
inflation, U.S. fiscal debt, budget and tax matters, geopolitical
matters, and global economic growth; fiscal and monetary policies
of the Federal Reserve Board; the potential adverse effects of
unusual and infrequently occurring events; management’s estimates
and projections of interest rates and interest rate policies; the
effect of changes in the level of checking, savings or money market
account deposit balances and other factors that affect net interest
margin; future provisions for credit losses on loans and debt
securities; changes in nonperforming assets; ability to contain
costs in inflationary conditions; the effect of financial market
valuations on the Company’s fee income businesses, including its
employee benefit services, wealth management, and insurance
businesses; the successful integration of operations of its
acquisitions; competition; changes in legislation or regulatory
requirements, including capital requirements; and the timing for
receiving regulatory approvals and completing pending merger and
acquisition transactions. For more information about factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s
expectations, refer to its reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the discussion under “Risk
Factors” as filed with the SEC and available on the Company’s
website at https://ir.communitybanksystem.com and on the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov. Further, any forward-looking statement
speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the
statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
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Joseph E. Sutaris EVP & Chief Financial Officer Office:
(315) 445-7396
Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU)
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