Webster Financial Corp., the holding company for Webster Bank, has appointed President and CEO John R. Ciulla as its next chairman of the board of directors. He will replace James C. Smith, who served in that capacity since January 2018 and will retire at the company”™s 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.
Ciulla, 54, joined Webster in 2004 as senior vice president for middle market banking and served in several management positions, including chief credit risk officer and head of commercial banking, before becoming president in 2015. He replaced Smith as CEO in January 2018, becoming the third chief executive in the company”™s history.
Ciulla is also president of the bank’s holding company and a member of the Webster Bank board of directors. Outside of the Waterbury-headquartered bank, he serves on the Federal Reserve System’s Federal Advisory Council as a representative for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (First District).
“Webster’s leadership succession plan, implemented seamlessly over several years, is now complete,” said Smith, whose father Harold Webster Smith founded the financial institution in 1935 at the age of 24. “The board and I believe that Webster will thrive under a principled leader who serves as both chairman and CEO. John is that leader, having ably demonstrated his leadership skills, strategic acumen and responsible stewardship of the values that define Webster.”
“I am honored to have the board”™s confidence and I remain committed to achieving purposeful progress on clearly defined strategies,” said Ciulla. “Webster”™s considerable progress over time is a reflection of the quality and dedication of our leadership team and the 3,400 values-guided Webster bankers who excel in service to our customers, our communities and one another.”
Webster Bank operates 177 branches and 316 ATMs in Connecticut, Westchester County, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
