Five Star Bank promotes Bader to chief information security officer

WARSAW, N.Y. — Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), parent company of Five Star Bank, on July 24 announced that it has promoted Scott Bader to serve as the bank’s senior VP and chief information security officer (CISO). 

In his role, Bader will be responsible for the “execution and evolution” of the bank’s information and cybersecurity program, as well as compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements regarding information access, security, and privacy.

“Scott is an exceptional and proven leader who I’m confident will help the bank achieve its strategic goals while ensuring customer and bank information is maintained in a highly secure manner,” Gary Pacos, chief risk officer of Five Star Bank, said in a release. “Having led Five Star Bank’s technology function through significant growth during the past 15 years, Scott has strong technology experience, deep institutional knowledge and a keen understanding of the sophisticated threats facing the financial services industry today, all of which are key to supporting Five Star Bank and its affiliates into the future.”

Bader background 

Since joining Five Star Bank in 2008, Bader has taken on “steadily increasing” responsibility in the information security and technology functions. 

From 2010-2014, he led the launch of the bank’s information-security program as senior VP and information security officer and technology services manager. Since 2014, Bader has served as senior VP and technology services director and played an integral role in the bank’s digital transformation. 

Prior to joining Five Star Bank, Bader worked in progressive technology roles at retailer Chico’s FAS, Inc. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1990-1994, working on an international counterintelligence team.

Five Star Bank and Financial Institutions, Inc. are headquartered in Warsaw in Wyoming County in Western New York. Five Star Bank has about 50 branches throughout Western and Central New York. Its CNY branches include offices in Auburn, Waterloo, Geneva, Ovid, Horseheads, and Elmira. Five Star Bank recently expanded into the Syracuse market with a new commercial-loan production office at 115 Solar St. in the city’s Franklin Square area. 

Financial Institutions, Inc. has about $6 billion in assets, offering banking, insurance, and wealth-management products and services through a network of subsidiaries.