Ruth Mahoney has come a long way in her banking career ”“ from branch teller in Dublin in the late ”™80s to head of Key Bank”™s Hudson Valley region.
Mahoney was recently named president of the bank”™s Hudson Valley and metro New York district. She succeeds Michael Orsino, who is retiring in April.
“It”™s a real honor for me,” Mahoney said in an interview Sept. 14 at Tappan Hill in Tarrytown. “I”™ve been working in this market for over 14 years so it”™s really a great opportunity to come and work with the team.”
Previously, Mahoney was senior vice president and market manager for the Capital Region and Hudson Valley districts for Key Private Bank. She joined Key in 1991, worked for other financial institutions for 10 years, and returned to Key in 2006.
“I covered the district when I worked at Fleet and Bank of America, and I”™ve been covering the district from a private bank perspective for the last couple of years, so I know the employees, know the district ”“ and I”™m a Marist (College) grad so I know my way around Dutchess County.
“So it feels like the right time to come to the district and hopefully lead this team to a great future.”
Mahoney described her entry into banking as an “accident, completely.”
“I was playing basketball for the Irish National Basketball Team and I got recruited to go work for the Bank of Ireland. They supported the athletes so that we could travel and practice. It seemed like a great idea. I could play basketball, travel and have a job at the same time.
“When I came to Marist on a basketball scholarship Key actually came on campus and recruited me in my senior year so I moved to Albany to be part of Key”™s management training program.”
Mahoney will be moving down from Albany as she transitions into her new role and Orsino prepares for his retirement.
“(Orsino has) been a great mentor to me, in addition to many of the senior executives ”“ Beth (Mooney) being one of them ”“ that I”™m really grateful to for their support over the years,” Mahoney said.
KeyCorp Vice Chairman Beth Mooney described Mahoney as “dynamic, incredibly client- and employee-friendly (and) very committed to community.”
“I met Ruth four years ago,” Mooney said. “She impressed me the minute I met her. I ”¦ made a mental note to myself that said, ”˜This is a young lady with a bright future and lots of talent and has really earned the right to be in this chair.”
Mahoney said she is ready to tackle new challenges.
“One of the biggest challenges for us in this marketplace is that it”™s very much an over-banked district. Every bank in the country is here competing for the dollars. So the biggest challenge will be improving upon our brand ”“ we already have a substantial brand and presence here ”“ and really taking it to the next level.”
Part of that plan includes the bank”™s recent completion of its “revitalization” of 21 branches in the Hudson Valley.
Â
“The project has been going on for the past two years at a time when most financial institutions were ducking and covering. We made the decision to continue to invest in our branch franchise and we completed 21 branch modernizations. We have three new branches in the district. We”™re very excited about the future.”
