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August 11, 2020

Berkshire Hills president and CEO steps down

Photo | Rick Saia A Westborough branch of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, more commonly called Berkshire Bank

Berkshire Hills Bank president, CEO and Director Richard Marotta has stepped down from his roles, the Boston bank’s parent company, Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc., announced on Monday, giving no explanation for his sudden departure.

Marotta is the second CEO to suddenly step down from the bank since 2018. His predecessor, Michael Daly, abruptly resigned as president and CEO in November 2018, with little explanation for the departure. Daly received $7.5 million as a severance package. Berkshire hadn't disclosed the severance package for Marotta, as of Tuesday morning.

Berkshire is the parent company of Worcester’s Commerce Bank, which it acquired in October 2018 for $230 million. Following the transaction, Berkshire moved its headquarters from Pittsfield to Boston.

Marotta will be replaced by acting President and CEO Sean Gray, the bank’s current senior executive vice president, president and chief operating officer. 

In a statement, Marotta said he was proud of the work he did with the company, which included doubling the bank’s size to $13.1 billion in assets, as well as overseeing a series of acquisitions. 

"And as CEO, I am most proud to have established and implemented the Bank's Be FIRST values, making social responsibility an integral component of the Bank's identity as a purpose driven 21st century community bank,” Marotta said. 

Gray, according to the announcement, has been president and CEO of Berkshire Bank since November 2018, having also worked as senior executive vice president of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. beginning in 2015. He first joined Berkshire in 2007.

The company’s board plans to begin a CEO search process to look at candidates from both inside and outside of the company. Gray will be among the candidates considered, according to a press release.

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