NORWICH, N.Y. — John Watt, Jr. started serving as the new president and CEO of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB) on Monday morning.
Watt is serving in the same role for NBT Bank, N.A. and as a member of the board of directors, the banking company said in a news release.
Watt’s ascension into the top spot is the culmination of a succession plan that the NBT board of directors unanimously approved back on May 3.
Under that succession plan, Watt is succeeding Martin Dietrich as CEO of NBT Bank and NBT Bancorp.
At that same May 3 meeting, the NBT board promoted Watt to president of NBT Bank and elected Dietrich as the board chairman.
Dietrich has announced his intention to retire this month.
Norwich–based NBT Bancorp is the parent company of NBT Bank. It has more than $8.8 billion in total assets and operates 154 bank branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
About Watt
Watt joined NBT Bancorp in 2014 to lead the bank’s expansion into Maine and establish a regional headquarters in Portland, Maine.
Since joining NBT, his role has expanded to provide executive leadership for credit administration, consumer lending, marketing, and product development.
He was promoted to executive VP and joined NBT’s executive-management team in 2015.
Watt has more than 30 years of experience in financial services.
Prior to NBT, he was executive VP of commercial banking, investment management, and bank operations at Alliance Bank, N.A. through the merger with NBT Bank in 2013. He was also a member of the board of directors for Alliance Bank and Alliance Financial Corp., its parent company.
He was previously employed by JP Morgan Chase and its predecessors, according to the news release.
About Dietrich
Dietrich began his career in financial services with NBT Bank in 1981.
He joined the bank’s senior-management team in 1995 before becoming bank president in 2000.
Dietrich later became president and CEO of NBT Bank and president of NBT Bancorp in 2004.
He took over as CEO of NBT Bancorp in 2006.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com