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Banker & Tradesman photo / file
Berkshire Bank’s head of consumer banking, Tami Gunsch, is stepping down at the end of June, and the bank plans to name two successors to take over her role.
Gunsch, who is currently the senior executive vice president and head of consumer banking, will step down on June 30 to spend more time with her family, the bank said in a statement yesterday. She will remain with Berkshire as a consultant for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition to her successors, the bank said.
“I want to thank Tami for her years of hard work, dedication, professionalism and commitment to all of Berkshire Bank’s customers and employees,” Berkshire CEO Nitin Mhatre said in the statement. “On behalf of the entire Berkshire Bank family we wish Tami all the best in this next chapter.”
One of Gunsch’s successors has already been named. Heather Lashway, who has been with Berkshire for 10 years, was promoted to senior vice president and director of retail banking. She will report to Mhatre. The bank said another successor would be named soon.
As director of retail banking, Lashway will be responsible for all aspects of the retail banking consumer experience, including branch banking, branch and deposit operations, call center, virtual teller, Berkshire’s MyBankers program, and sales and service delivery. Her role will include optimizing the bank’s retail banking strategy to support Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation (BEST) plan, a new strategy to improve the bank’s performance.
Lashway was most recently Berkshire’s senior vice president of retail distribution, overseeing the bank’s sales and service delivery initiatives. Before joining Berkshire Bank, Lashway spent 11 years with Citizens Bank in senior retail banking roles, including of director of sales, division training manager and regional sales manager.
“Heather is a proven leader with deep knowledge of Berkshire Bank, our employees, customers and communities,” Mhatre said. “She has consistently demonstrated superior performance in key roles and that experience will be instrumental in the execution of our BEST plan where we will optimize, digitize and enhance our consumer banking franchise to deliver a best-in-class customer experience.”
Berkshire Bank announced the BEST plan last week as it attempts to improve the bank’s performance over the next three years following a difficult year that saw substantial turnover in its executive leadership and a $554 million goodwill impairment charge. Mhatre, a former executive with Connecticut-based Webster Bank, became Berkshire’s CEO in late January.
