NBT completes leadership transition plan

NORWICH, N.Y. — NBT Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ: NBTB) announced this week it has wrapped up its CEO succession plan with Scott A. Kingsley succeeding John. H. Watt, Jr. as the company’s 15th president and CEO.

Kingsley was also elected to NBT’s board of directors, while Watt will continue to serve on the board as its vice chair.

With the CEO transition also come other changes. Joseph R. Stagliano is now president of NBT Bank, N.A., the company’s banking subsidiary. Annette L. Burns was promoted to executive VP and CFO, and Shauna M. Hyle is the new executive VP of retail community banking.

“Smooth leadership transitions are characteristic of high-performing companies,” NBT Board Chair Martin A. Dietrich said in a May 21 news release. “The board enthusiastically and unanimously approved the succession plan we announced in January. We thank John for the vision and energy he has invested in NBT, and we are fortunate to have a tested and aligned executive management team with strong and experienced leaders like Scott, Joe, Annette, and Shauna.”

Kingsley joined NBT in 2021 as its executive VP and CFO. He has more than 35 years of experience, including 16 years as a member of the management team at Community Bank System, Inc. where he served as CFO and COO. He started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP before joining Carlisle Companies, Inc.

Stagliano, with more than 30 years of experience in the financial-services industry, served as president of retail community banking and chief information officer prior to his promotion. He joined NBT in 1999.

Burns, who joined NBT in 2013 with the company’s acquisition of Alliance Bancorp, brings 30 years of accounting and finance experience to her new role as CFO. Prior to her promotion, she served as chief accounting officer.

Prior to her promotion, Hyle oversaw NBT’s consumer–lending business and provided executive sponsorship for the company’s benefits-administration business, EPIC Retirement Plan Services in Rochester. She joined NBT in 2008.

NBT Bancorp, headquartered in Norwich, has total assets of $13.44 billion and operates NBT Bank, N.A., with 154 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut; Epic Advisors, Inc., a national benefits-administration firm based in Rochester; and NBT Insurance Agency, LLC, a full-service insurance agency based in Norwich.