Community Bank System appoints Steele as new board chair

DeWITT — Community Bank System Inc. (NYSE: CBU), parent of Community Bank N.A., announced that it has named longtime board member Sally A. Steele as new chair of the board of directors. Steele will take over the position from Nicholas A. DiCerbo.

As chair, Steele will manage and provide leadership to the 12-person board and serve as a direct liaison to the bank’s senior management. She will work closely with Mark Tryniski, president and CEO, and Community Bank’s executive management team.

“I am thrilled Sally accepted this important leadership position for our institution,” Tryniski said in a news release. “She has served on the Board of Directors for nearly 15 years and, as a result, has extensive knowledge of our business, markets and goals. I expect her leadership to have a meaningful impact on our continued success.”

Steele has served on Community Bank System’s board since 2003, upon completion of the banking company’s acquisition of Grange National Bank. Throughout Steele’s time on the board, Community Bank System has grown by about $5.3 billion in assets, adding 78 bank branches, which includes many acquisitions of banking companies, branches, and financial-services firms.

“I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to step into this role. Nick [DiCerbo] has done a tremendous job leading the board for the past five years and I am excited to continue to build on his success,” Steele said in the release.

Steele graduated from Capital University Law School in 1981 and has practiced law in Pennsylvania since 1982. She retired from the private sector in 2015 and is a self-employed attorney. Steele resides in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania with her husband, Raymond.

DeWitt–based Community Bank operates more than 190 branches across upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania.