S&W has been retained to lead the search and selection process for the next Senior Vice President, Information Technology for Watertown Savings Bank (“WSB,” watertownsavings.com).
While the needs of its customers have evolved over the past 153 years, Watertown Savings Bank has stayed true to its Mission to “be a safe and secure, independent mutual bank committed to being a leader in delivering superior personal service, quality products, and banking convenience to customers and local communities.” Established in 1870, WSB is an approximately $1.48B state chartered mutual bank that operates 10 retail locations in the Massachusetts communities of Watertown, Belmont, Waltham, Arlington, and Lexington. The bank’s primary business model is to safeguard the deposits of area consumers and small businesses and to use those funds to support the growth of the communities it serves through a comprehensive suite of loan products. WSB is in sound financial condition with good earnings, efficiency ratio, asset quality, and capital. For the most recent reporting period the bank had a pretax ROA of 0.45, an efficiency ratio of 79.57, noncurrent loans to loans of 0.22, and core capital of 9.55. The bank is primarily regulated by the Federal Reserve Board and the Massachusetts Division of Banks. WSB is a fantastic corporate citizen and in addition to the financial support of area non-profits, contributes on average 1,800 volunteer hours across 350 community events in support of over 250 organizations.
Reporting directly to the bank’s President & CEO, the SVP-Information Technology will join a highly collaborative leadership team. As the bank’s senior most technology executive, the primary responsibility of the role will be assuming the leadership of developing and implementing the strategic direction of IT in coordination with the bank’s goals and objectives. This is a hands-on management role that will support, develop, and grow the existing IT team while also providing day-to-day support as the need arises. Additionally, the role will be responsible for presenting credibly to the bank’s Board of Directors, regulators, and auditors. We are seeking well rounded technology leaders for this unique community bank leadership role. Experience operating within the environment of a community financial institution is preferred but not required. For additional information, please contact a member of the S&W search team: Cameron Boyd, Managing Partner, Financial Services (cboyd@smithandwilkinson.com) or Nathan Townsend, Partner, Financial Services (ntownsend@smithandwilkinson.com).