Windsor Federal selects Luke Kettles as next President

As part of the planned retirement of its President & CEO George Hermann, Windsor Federal (www.windsorfederal.com) selected S&W to manage the search and selection process for its next chief executive.  Headquartered in Windsor, CT, Windsor Federal is an 86-year-old, approximately $750MM, nationally chartered mutual bank.  Under the leadership of Mr. Hermann, the bank nearly doubled its asset size, significantly migrated the composition of its loan portfolio toward commercial lending and opened a modern and more expansive operations center.  The bank’s role in the financial lives of its business and consumer customers and in the communities that it serves is epitomized in its tagline, “neighbors helping neighbors.”  Windsor Federal has the distinction of being both the only federal savings association in Connecticut and the last remaining bank headquartered in Hartford County.  

Following an exhaustive executive search led by S&W’s Financial Services Practice Managing Partner Cameron Boyd, the bank’s nominated Selection Committee considered a diverse pool of candidates from local, regional, and national financial institutions.  Ultimately the Selection Committee chose Luke Kettles, the bank’s EVP & Chief Lending Officer to succeed Mr. Hermann.  As part of a planned transition, Mr. Kettles was promoted to President and will assume the title of CEO following Mr. Hermann’s retirement.  A resident of Suffield, CT, Mr. Kettles 30-year banking career has encompassed lending and leadership roles of increasing scope and responsibility, including having served as Chief Lending Officer of Springfield, MA-based Hampden Bank (acquired by Berkshire Bank) and his 7 years as Windsor Federal’s senior lending executive.  He holds an MBA from UMass Amherst, BS from Westfield State, and is a graduate of the School of Commercial Lending at Babson College.  “At the onset of the Windsor Federal search we solicited written opinions from not only the members of the Selection Committee but also from the entire Board of Directors as to what was important to the institution moving forward.  The resounding feedback was that Windsor Federal was an organization that valued its independence and mutual ownership structure, was committed to the communities it served and to being an employer of choice, and to continuing its evolution toward being a bank for area businesses.  Luke’s reputation as a top tier commercial lending executive, his passion for community and for mutuality, and his growth mindset made him the clear choice to continue the great work done by the team at Windsor.”  Cameron Boyd, Managing Partner, Financial Services Practice.