Avidia Bank Selects Robert Cozzone as President & CEO
In anticipation of the planned retirement of the bank’s longtime President & CEO, Mark O’Connell, Avidia Bank (www.avidiabank.com) selected S&W to manage the search and selection process for its next chief executive.
Under O’Connell’s leadership, Avidia Bank grew to become one of the premier community banking franchises in the country and a model of a modern, community-oriented financial institution. Headquartered in Hudson, Massachusetts, in the state’s fertile MetroWest Market, Avidia Bank is a mutual community bank that was formed by the 2007 merger between Hudson Savings Bank and Westborough Bank, both community banks founded in 1869. In addition to traditional business and personal banking business lines, the bank’s combination of a strong risk management framework and a culture of innovation allows it to operate several unique and profitable niche business lines both on the loan and deposit side of its balance sheet, serving customers locally, regionally, and nationally. The bank is in strong financial condition, with historically good earnings, efficiency, asset quality, and capital With approximately $2.5B in total bank assets, Avidia Bank employs 250 teammates and operates 10 retail locations in the communities of Clinton, Framingham, Hudson, Leominster, Marlborough, Northborough, Shrewsbury, and Westborough. Through the Avidia Bank Charitable Foundation, the bank supports area nonprofits through a regular grant process.
“A CEO role, such as the opportunity to lead Avidia Bank, attracted a tremendous amount of interest from banking talent from across the country,” said Cameron Boyd, managing partner at S&W. “Given the fantastic foundation that Mark and the entire team there have built, this represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a very unique franchise into the future. In partnership with the bank’s nominated Selection Committee, we considered a lot of excellent candidates, any number of whom would have been good choices. However, after all of our interviews and interactions with Rob and having facilitated the Committee’s meetings with him, it ultimately became clear that he was the leader best suited to take this bank to new heights. Above and beyond any of his professional accomplishments and accolades, Rob is a caring and empathetic leader, with the right mixture of appreciation for where Avidia has been and the energy to take Avidia where it can go.”
A resident of Plymouth, Rob Cozzone received his MS in Finance from Boston College and his BS in Business Administration from Bridgewater State. Over the course of his twenty-five-year tenure with $20B Rockland Trust Company, Cozzone was promoted into roles of increasing scope and responsibility, including Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, and also assumed responsibility for Retail Banking and Small Business, culminating in the role of EVP, Chief Operating Officer. He played an integral part in the bank’s numerous mergers and acquisitions over the past two decades, including but not limited to East Boston Savings Bank and Blue Hills Bancorp.