Kingsley takes the reins at NBT Bancorp

NORWICH — Scott Kingsley has had about two months to settle into his new role as president and CEO of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB), and he credits his predecessor and his executive team for how well the transition has gone. “I’m all of 60 days into my new role,” he tells CNYBJ in an interview. Kingsley took over as president and CEO on May 21, filling the spot vacated by the retiring John H. Watt, Jr. At the same time, a number of other NBT executives were promoted to fill roles, including the role of chief financial officer that opened as Kingsley transitioned from that role to his new one. Between the strong executive team supporting him and the very sound strategies already in place by NBT, “the transition has been smooth,” he says. Rather than having to focus on figuring out where to take the banking company, Kingsley can put his decades of business experience to work continuing the company down the path it has already charted. “I have had a really interesting group of experiences from a professional standpoint,” he notes. He got his start in the Syracuse office of Coopers & Lybrand — before it became PricewaterhouseCoopers — as an accountant working with clients in a wide range of industries from colleges to manufacturers. “It really served me well for a broad understanding,” Kingsley recalls. His next role was as controller for Carlisle Companies, Inc., a move that took Kingsley and his growing family to Ohio for many years before the opportunity to return to New York state surfaced in 2004. That’s when Kingsley joined Community Bank System, Inc. (now Community Financial System, Inc.) as chief financial officer. “And started my learning of yet another new industry,” Kingsley says. He stayed with Community until mid-2020 when he retired to focus on some health issues. He kept busy during that time by becoming a Meals on Wheels driver, but missed the team experience that came with working in a company office. Kingsley heard about an opportunity at NBT and joined the company as its CFO in July 2021. The NBT board selected Kingsley after a 10-month process to succeed Watt as president and CEO. NBT Bancorp is the financial-holding company for NBT Bank, N.A.; benefits-administration firm EPIC Advisors, Inc., in Rochester; and NBT Insurance Agency, LLC. It has $13.5 billion in assets. The company has been successful in generating strong organic growth over the years, supplemented at time with strategic acquisitions that make sense, Kingsley contends. “I still think we focus on organic growth,” he adds, but he’s also looking for acquisition opportunities. While there are no announced plans just yet, Kingsley would like to see the NBT Bank geographic footprint expand. West of Interstate 81, Rochester, Buffalo, and the Finger Lakes are all the types of markets NBT fares well in, he says. To the south, “We are really bullish on some of the opportunities in the Hudson Valley,” he says, while Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley also holds promise. In addition to its New York and Pennsylvania offices, NBT Bank also currently has branch locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont where, the bank has “the opportunity to just build out our scale,” Kingsley adds. While NBT has locations in seven states, the company’s core legacy will always be in upstate New York, Kingsley says, and he’s really excited to see the bank play a role in the future as development — especially the addition of Micron Technologies in Clay — transforms the state along its “chip corridor.” From Syracuse to Albany and down to the Hudson Valley, NBT Bank has 60 locations along the corridor ready to serve those communities, he says. But the company isn’t just sitting around waiting for things to happen, he adds. With its locations in the Capital District, NBT saw firsthand the transformative effect a semiconductor business can have on a region with Global Foundries. NBT is taking steps to position itself to be part of that transformation, even going so far as to travel to Boise, Idaho to meet with Micron officials. NBT officials even met with representatives of a large bank in that area to talk about what went right and what pitfalls to avoid. “If the opportunity [presented by Micron] is even half of what they predict, that floats a lot of boats,” Kingsley notes. NBT’s goal is to play a role for developers, subcontractors, and eventually the people that come to the area for jobs at Micron. NBT isn’t just growing across its banking subsidiary. NBT Insurance recently completed an acquisition in the Catskills region (see story in this issue), he says, and overall, about 30 percent of the company’s revenue comes from “non-spread” — or non-loan — sources. “That diversified business model works very well for us,” Kingsley says. Overall, NBT’s future looks bright, and Kingsley is excited to take the helm and steer the company through future growth.