GLASTONBURY, Conn., Jan. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- William H.W. Crawford, IV, Chief Executive Officer of United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBNK) and United Bank of Glastonbury, Conn., today announced that they have hired John J. Smith as Executive Vice President and Chief Information & Administrative Officer. In this executive role, Smith will lead the Information Technology (IT), Payment Operations and Project Management teams at United Bank.
Smith comes to United with more than 30 years of experience in financial services technology and operations management. Smith spent the last 10 years with New York-based CIT Group in New Jersey, most recently holding the position of Chief Information Officer for CIT Bank Unit from 2010 to 2015 and Chief Information Officer of Consumer & Small Business Banking from 2005 to 2010. Prior to CIT Group, Smith was the Chief Information Officer for operations and technology services at NYCE Corporation and held similar IT roles earlier in his career at Summit Bank and UJB/Financial.
In these positions, Smith has gained valuable experience in managing all aspects of information technology and operations units including back-office operations, application development, data center management/operations, network management and call centers. He's led IT organizations of up to 800 professionals and has implemented effective governance structures to ensure operations and technology plans, as well as services, are aligned with business unit strategies. Smith also played a key role in building and launching an Internet only direct bank.
In addition, Smith brings to United Bank significant experience in merger and acquisition integration including developing required strategy, planning and roadmaps.
"Technology plays a role in every area of a bank so hiring an IT and operations leader of John's caliber is a strategic imperative that will put us in an even stronger position to grow the Bank, serve our customers and win new business while running our front-office and back-office operations more efficiently and at a lower cost," said William H.W. Crawford, IV, CEO of United Bank and United Financial Bancorp, Inc. "We were fortunate to have the opportunity to choose from a strong pool of candidates for this position and I'm confident we hired the best in John Smith who is the right fit for our Bank and values the same vision of excellence we champion at United."
In addition to his professional roles, Smith has also been relied upon to share his knowledge and provide industry insight as a Board member of Jack Henry and Associates' Mid-Tier Advisory Board, Chairman of a local IT user group in New Jersey which consists of IT leaders representing corporations in various industry sectors and a former Board member of The State of New Jersey Office of Information Technology.
Smith started at United Bank on January 19, 2016 and will report directly to Crawford.
ABOUT UNITED BANK:
On April 30, 2014, United Bank (established in 1882) and Rockville Bank (established 1858) completed a transformational merger of equals by bringing together two financially strong, independent-minded institutions to create the premier community bank in New England with more than 50 branches in two states and more than $5.8 billion in assets. United Bank is a Connecticut state chartered bank headquartered in Glastonbury, Conn. with regional offices throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Holding Company for United Bank is United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market: "UBNK"). For more information on United Bank, please visit www.bankatunited.com.
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SOURCE United Bank
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