Ashlee Flores
Berkshire Bank’s chief compliance officer plans to leave the bank at the end of the month, and her replacement will come from within the bank.
Deborah A. Stephenson, Berkshire Bank’s senior executive vice president and chief compliance officer, has notified the bank that she will resign effective Sept. 30 to pursue another opportunity, the bank said in a statement.
“I want to thank Ms. Stephenson for her years of hard work, dedication, professionalism, and commitment to leading a best in class compliance function at Berkshire Bank,” Berkshire’s CEO Nitin Mhatre said in the statement. “On behalf of the entire Berkshire family, we wish Deb all the best in her next chapter.”
Berkshire Bank, which has branches in Central and Eastern Connecticut, has named Ashlee Flores to replace Stephenson as chief compliance officer, promoting her to executive vice president. She was most recently Berkshire’s senior vice president of compliance, overseeing the bank’s compliance program.
“We are delighted to welcome Ms. Flores to our executive team. She is a proven leader with deep knowledge of Berkshire Bank, our employees, customers, and communities,” Mhatre said. “She has consistently demonstrated her performance in key roles within our compliance function and actively participates in strategic initiatives to advise on potential compliance impacts. Her positive energy and breadth of experience make her the ideal candidate to lead our compliance function into the future under our Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation (BEST) program.”
Flores will report directly to Greg Lindenmuth, Berkshire’s senior executive vice president and chief risk officer. In her new role, Flores will oversee the bank’s compliance risk management program, including compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, Community Reinvestment Act, and consumer protection laws and regulations, the statement said. She will also manage the functions involved with security and fraud investigations.
“I’m honored to step into this leadership role at Berkshire as we look to deliver on our vision to be a high-performing, leading socially responsible community bank,” Flores said. “Central to this vision is maintaining a strong culture of compliance, risk management and consumer financial protection so that we can best serve our customers and communities.”
Flores has more than 15 years of financial industry, risk management and compliance experience, the statement said. She joined Berkshire Bank in 2015 when it acquired Springfield-based Hampden Bank, where she managed the compliance and audit program.
Flores volunteers with Leadership Pioneer Valley’s finance committee and Dress for Success, the statement said, and is a former board member for the Western Massachusetts Compliance Association.
