CCB MEDIA PHOTO: The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod introduces Lisa Oliver as the new President and CEO to replace retiring Joel Crowell.
HYANNIS – The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod has named its new President and CEO.
Lisa Oliver becomes just the 5th President in the 95-year history of the community bank – and the first woman.
Oliver has more than 30 years of financial experience, including 25 years at Cleveland-based KeyBank where she most recently served as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Banking.
She will replace Joel Crowell, who has retiring after 47 years with the bank, including serving as President and CEO since 1983.
“Lisa is a relationship builder and that’s an incredibly important skill set for a community banker,” Crowell said.
Crowell said the board of directors believes her culture, and beliefs in culture, match those of the organization and will resonate with customers and employees.
He said her leadership and credit skills stand out.
The 15-member board of directors for the bank selected Oliver after an extensive search.
Search Committee Chair Steve Abbott said Oliver is the total package.
“What stood out for us about Lisa is some of the things we have talked about – her commitment to community, her commitment to customer service – to people,” Abbott said.
Wendy Northcross, the CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and bank board member, said the board is excited to have Oliver taking over.
“There’s a great team here at the Cooperative Bank so it was really important for us to find a good fit, and yet find that injection of new energy and new ideas and a real commitment to the business community, which Lisa had demonstrated in the past,” Northcross said.
Oliver said she is excited for the opportunity to join the Cooperative Bank team.
“From the moment I got a call about the opportunity and began to research the Coop and look online and understand who they were, I realized that this is a bank that probably couldn’t have been a better fit to who I am,” Oliver said.
She said the goal is serve the clients, the employees and the local communities.
“It’s about an opportunity to run a business that ultimately works with the people in the community and then gives back to those people,” Oliver said. “That’s a tremendous model and this bank has done it well for, closing in on, 100 years.”
Oliver said she understands there are high expectations being only the 5th president of the bank.
“This isn’t about being a journey-woman banker who just hops from place to place and enjoys sitting in a CEO role and wants to change things and move,” she said. “This is a commitment for me. This is a commitment to be part of the culture, to understand the culture, to help be a steward of the culture as time moves forward and I really see that as a great opportunity.”
Oliver said her intent is to be here long-term and for the journey.
She is also proud to be the first woman CEO at the Cooperative Bank.
“I will, into the role, use the learnings of what it’s meant to be a woman in business over time,” Oliver said.
She said she will share the lessons she has learned through that growth.
“That’s not just applicable to women that’s really applicable across the board,” Oliver said.
Oliver is familiar with region as her husband grew up in Sharon and her family has spent time vacationing on Cape Cod.
“I already had a sense from my time here about the seasonal issues, about the worker issues, about the high cost of housing relative to importing talent,” she said.
Oliver said finding the right ratio between cost of housing and pay is a challenge.
“When you think about helping to create jobs, helping to create a path through which people would come here and see this as a viable long-term opportunity to live as a young person, grow as a young person, and not just young people just jobs in general,” she said. “Focusing on business and focusing on small business activities and helping to create employment in a creative way through the bank means is a huge opportunity.”
Oliver said gives back to the community is also critical to her.
Currently she is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board and is very passionate about the American Heart Association. She is also on the Council of Economic Inclusion in Cleveland.
“It is very important to me,” she said. “If I was independently wealthy tomorrow I would still volunteer 50 to 60 hours a week. I’m very passionate about it.”
Oliver assumes the role on March 6.
Crowell will continue to work closely with Oliver to ensure a smooth transition.
The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, which is headquartered in Hyannis, is an independent, mutual community bank with over $800 million in assets.
The bank has branches on Route 6A in Yarmouth Port, East Dennis and West Barnstable; in Sandwich at 275 Cotuit Road; in Hyannis at 695 Attucks Lane in Independence Park; in East Harwich at 1470 Orleans Road/Route 39; in North Falmouth at 660 North Falmouth Highway; in Marstons Mills at 3840 Falmouth Road, and at 238 Worcester Court in Falmouth.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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