Florence Bank Promotes Jim Hickey to Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing

FLORENCE — Florence Bank announced that Jim Hickey, vice president and director of Marketing Operations, has been promoted to lead the bank’s marketing efforts as senior vice president and director of Marketing.

Hickey replaces Monica Curhan, who retired on April 7 after serving as senior vice president and director of Marketing for nearly 10 years.

Hickey was hired in November 2021 as director of Marketing Operations with the explicit plan to one day take the helm as director of Marketing. He has 25 years of strategic marketing experience as well as a strong affinity for the Florence Bank brand, which Curhan ushered in during the early years of her tenure. “The challenge for me will be sustaining and evolving our unique brand identity,” Hickey said.

Matt Garrity, president and CEO of Florence Bank, said, “we are thrilled that Jim is stepping into this role to lead our marketing efforts. He is a creative thinker with a collaborative approach and a proven track record of managing projects from conception to implementation. I’m excited to see where he takes the brand next.”

Hickey holds a bachelor’s degree in English from UMass Amherst. He has experience in areas that include account management, creative development, media plan execution, and media buying.

Before joining Florence Bank, he was vice president of Account Service at Communicators Group, a marketing communications firm in Keene, N.H. He has also served as vice president and director of Marketing for Westbank, a financial institution formerly based in West Springfield.

Hickey said his experience in financial-services marketing and communications will continue to inform his work for Florence Bank. “I have managed the marketing and communications efforts for a number of clients in the banking industry. Those experiences have helped prepare me for this role.”

Active in the community, Hickey sits on the board for the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Curhan is looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren and helping her husband operate his apiary, caring for the bees and selling honey and honey products.

In the 10 years she represented the bank, Curhan served as a trustee for Cooley Dickinson Hospital, on its board for three years as well as on various committees. She also volunteered for the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, served meals at the Interfaith Emergency Homeless Shelter ­– COT Shelter in downtown Northampton, and took part in a Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity build day.