Daily News

Berkshire Hills Appoints Ryan Board Chairman; Bossidy Retires

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. announced that William Ryan has been appointed to its board of directors as chairman. Ryan was formerly chairman of the board and CEO of TD Banknorth. The company also announced that Lawrence Bossidy has retired from Berkshire’s board of directors. Bossidy has served as Berkshire’s lead independent director since 2012, and previously served as chairman since 2002.

Berkshire’s CEO, Michael Daly, stated, “I am very pleased that Bill Ryan has joined us in the position of independent chairman, which was previously held by Larry Bossidy. We have prospered under Larry’s leadership and are grateful for his long and distinguished service to the company. With Bill, we are joined by another outstanding business leader to serve in this position. Under his leadership, the Banknorth team built a strong, well-regarded, and high-performance New England banking franchise. Bill and I share a vision of the attractive prospects for a strong regional bank in our footprint, and I look forward to working with him to achieve this vision.”

Ryan served as chairman of the board and CEO of TD Banknorth Inc. from 1989 to March 2007. Banknorth was named one of the “Best Managed Companies in America” by Forbes magazine in 2004. Ryan is a director of Unum Group (a leading employee-benefit and disability-insurance company) and has served as chair of Unum’s board since October 2011. He is also a director of Wellpoint Inc. (a leading health-benefits company). Ryan is the majority owner of the Maine Red Claws, an NBA Development League basketball team affiliated with the Boston Celtics. He also serves as a trustee of the Libra Foundation and serves on the board of advisors at the University of New England.