Joseph Savage has been promoted to president of Webster Bank and its holding company, effective Jan. 1. He has also been named to the bank’s board of directors.

In his new role, Savage will oversee Webster’s commercial banking and private banking units as well as human resources. He will continue to report to James Smith, chairman and CEO.

Savage most recently worked at Webster Bank as executive vice president and head of commercial banking. Prior to joining Webster in 2002, he was executive vice president and head of the communications and energy banking group for CoBank in Denver, Colo. Before that, he worked at The Bank of New York. He is a director of the MetroHartford Alliance, the Connecticut Technology Council and the Travelers Championship Committee.

"In his 11 years at Webster, Joe and his team have grown commercial banking to the point that it now accounts for more than half of our total loan portfolio and half of Webster’s net income," Smith said in a statement. "Especially important is the culture Joe has helped to instill across the franchise… teams working together across business units delivering the totality of Webster to our clients."