Bay State Savings Bank CEO to retire; CFO to take over Sept. 1

Photo | Courtesy of Bay State Savings Bank CFO Seth Pitts (left) will take over for Peter Alden as CEO of Bay State Savings Bank after Alden's Aug. 31 retirement.

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By Timothy Doyle

Peter Alden, president, CEO, and director of Worcester-based Bay State Savings Bank, will retire Aug. 31.

Executive Vice President and CFO Seth Pitts will step into the CEO role on Sept. 1. Pitts, a Black man, will be the first person of color to lead Bay State.

“It has been a privilege to lead Bay State Savings Bank,” Alden said in a Thursday press release from the bank. “The management team we’ve developed is prepared to take Bay State Savings Bank to the next level. I will continue to assist the leadership team throughout the transition to Seth’s leadership and beyond as needed.”

Alden has been Bay State's CEO for 12 years. When Alden first arrived at Bay State, the bank was intentionally shrinking its operations to improve its financial situation. Alden made a plan to change that, putting it on a path of gradual growth. Since he came on board, Bay State has nearly doubled in size, from $257 million to $534 million in assets. Alden was named to the WBJ Hall of Fame in 2023.

“Peter’s retirement caps a great period in which he led the Bank to growth of nearly twice our size since he joined," William Fay, Bay State board chair, said in the Thursday press release.

Alden has been one of Worcester's most visible CEOs, such as participating in the annual CEO Soak, where he is dunked into a water tank to raise money for charity.

Pitts joined Bay State in 2020 after serving with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as a financial institution risk examiner. Prior to the FDIC, he served with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development mission area as a lending specialist, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was a member of the WBJ 40 Under Forty Class of 2021.

“I plan to build on the foundation Peter laid and prepare Bay State to continue to serve our communities for at least another 100 years. The Board of Directors and I are aligned on taking Bay State Savings Bank to the next level,” Pitts said in the press release.

Bay State Savings Bank has seven branches, all in Central Massachusetts, with $460 million in deposits as of June 30, 2022, making it the 21st largest bank in Central Massachusetts when ranked by local deposits, according to the WBJ Research department. It has $534 million in assets as of March 31, according to FDIC data.

“The bank has experienced record performance in recent years, and Seth has been instrumental to our success," Alden said in the press release. “He is a dynamic leader, and his broad experience and creative approach to strategic initiatives will further the bank’s progress towards the next levels of success."