Citizens bank appoints Christopher J. Swift & Lee Alexander to Board of Directors

By Pavithra R

Citizens Financial has announced the joining of Christopher (Chris) J. Swift and Lee Alexander to its board of directors, effective February 1, 2021. Mr Swift will serve on the board’s Risk Committee, and Mr Alexander will serve on the Audit Committee.

Currently, Mr Swift serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Hartford Financial Services Group, a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds, founded in 1810. Mr Alexander is the Executive VP and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for The Clearing House, operator of core payments system infrastructure in the U.S., including a real-time payment system.

“We are pleased to welcome both Chris and Lee to our board of directors. Chris is a standout CEO in the financial services industry, with significant experience in transformation and positioning a venerable company for the future. Lee brings tremendous insights into new technologies, cybersecurity, data analytics and payments gleaned from his experience at The Clearing House and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. We are fortunate to attract such talented directors as we continue our journey to drive shareholder value and become a top-performing bank,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Van Saun.

Citizens has also announced the retirement of Howard (Hoddy) Hanna, who has served on the Citizens Board since 2009, from the board after his current term expiry at the end of April 2021, given mandatory age considerations under the bank’s corporate governance guidelines. Hanna is Chair of Hanna Holdings, the third-largest real estate company in the United States, as well as Chair of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and has served as a member of the board’s Audit Committee & Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.

“I would like to thank Hoddy for the fine contribution he’s made to Citizens over the years. We’ve all very much enjoyed working with him and wish him well in life’s next chapter,” added Van Saun.