ITHACA — Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE: TMP) announced it has concluded a succession-planning process for Board of Directors Chairman James J. Byrnes, whose term will expire in May 2014. It has named current board member, Dr. Thomas R. Rochon as his successor.
Byrnes has served as chairman of the board of the banking and financial services company since its formation in 1995.
Rochon has been as a Tompkins Financial board member since 2009. He is currently president of Ithaca College, a position he has held since July 2008 and which he will continue to hold while serving as Tompkins Financial board chairman.
Rochon holds a doctorate and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan. Prior to his selection as the president of Ithaca College, Rochon served as executive vice president and chief academic officer of the University of St. Thomas, a master’s comprehensive university in Minnesota.
“I look forward to working with Tom Rochon in the coming months to assure a smooth transition next spring … He brings executive level expertise running a complex business in an extremely competitive, yet highly regulated, marketplace,” Byrnes said in a news release.
Tompkins Financial is an Ithaca–based banking and financial-services firm with $4.9 billion in assets serving the Central, Western, and Hudson Valley regions of New York state, and the Southeastern region of Pennsylvania. It is parent of Tompkins Trust Company, as well as several other subsidiaries.