UTICA, N.Y. — BPAS on Aug. 24 dedicated its training center in Utica to former company CEO Barry Kublin. Kublin retired as company CEO on Dec. 31. In announcing the retirement last December, BPAS said Kublin would remain with the business as part of its board of directors and offer strategic consulting and industry-advisory services. […]
UTICA, N.Y. — BPAS on Aug. 24 dedicated its training center in Utica to former company CEO Barry Kublin.
Kublin retired as company CEO on Dec. 31. In announcing the retirement last December, BPAS said Kublin would remain with the business as part of its board of directors and offer strategic consulting and industry-advisory services.
BPAS is a Utica–based provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and collective-investment trusts. BPAS is a unit of DeWitt–based Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU).
The Barry Kublin Learning Center is serving as an area for the education and development of BPAS employees, Susan Playman, chief marketing officer at BPAS, tells CNYBJ in email. It was an existing training room in the BPAS Utica office, she notes.
“When we acquired the company in 1996, we had 17 employees and training was disjointed. We immediately formed after-work study groups and pursued professional certifications,” Kublin said in a statement provided to CNYBJ. “We have continued to push life-long learning, invest in continuing education, and embrace new-wave benefit offerings and operational processes all to the betterment of the customers we serve. I’m honored to be the inspiration for the Barry Kublin Learning Center. Education is a critical element of innovation.”
Kublin grew BPAS and its local presence from 17 employees in 1996 to more than 400 employees in 12 offices across the nation.
The company employs more than 100 people in its Utica office.
Besides Kublin, guest speakers at the Aug. 24 event included Mark Tryniski, CEO of Community Bank System; Paul Neveu, CEO of BPAS; and Vince Spina, president of BPAS actuarial & pension services.
In the December 2020 BPAS news release announcing Kublin’s impending retirement, Tryniski said of Kublin, “It was a great run of 36 years … Barry is a rare individual who is adept at both strategy and execution. He is entrepreneurial and operational, and a serial opportunist — which is how he was able to grow a business from scratch to more than$100 million in annual revenues. We’ll continue to benefit from his vision, expertise, and industry relationships in his new capacity.”
