JOHN A. KLEIN
Joined bank in 1971
The president and chief executive officer of Bridgeport, Conn.-based People’s United Financial, John A. Klein, died of cancer on Friday.
His death comes just three weeks after People’s United, parent company of People’s United Bank, completed its acquisition of Burlington, Vt.-based Chittenden Corp. That move – which gave the bank $21 billion in assets and more than 300 bank branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York – was initiated by Klein last year.
Klein had been battling cancer since 2004, according to a prepared statement from the bank. He took a leave of absence this past November, and Philip R. Sherringham was appointed acting president and chief executive officer. Sherringham is slated to continue working in that role.
“John’s vision as president and chief executive officer has been instrumental in the company’s success over the course of his eight-year tenure,” Sherringham said in a prepared statement. “I know that the entire People’s United team is committed to building upon the successes that John’s leadership has afforded us.”
Klein joined the bank in 1971 as a management trainee, and after graduating from the University of Connecticut Law School, he established the bank’s Legal Department in 1977. He was named general counsel in 1984, and tapped to head up the bank’s Hartford region the following year. In 1990, Klein took over the bank’s consumer banking division, and he became the president and chief executive officer in 1999.
The purchase of Chittenden, Klein’s last major initiative for the bank, took People’s United outside of the Connecticut market and grew its assets by 50 percent, making it the largest bank based in the state. The bank paid approximately $1.9 billion, or $35.63 per Chittenden share, for the deal.
Plans call for the six banks in the Chittenden group of banks to continue to do business under their existing names, but as subsidiaries of People’s United Bank. The six are: Chittenden Bank, based in Burlington, Vt.; Flagship Bank and Trust Co., based in Worcester; Maine Bank & Trust, based in Portland, Maine; Merrill Merchants Bank, based in Bangor, Maine; Ocean Bank based in Portsmouth, N.H.; and The Bank of Western Massachusetts, based in Springfield.
“John had an extraordinary career with People’s United, spanning more than 35 years,” said George P. Carter, chairman of the People’s United board of directors, in a prepared statement. “I feel truly privileged to have had the opportunity to serve as a member of the board of directors during John’s tenure.”
Klein is survived by his wife, Carla Klein; his daughter, Kristen Klein Chiodo; and his son, Eric Klein.
