ZRG Partners Recruits Chief Risk Officer for Mascoma Bank
April 17, 2023 – ZRG Partners, a leading search firm backed by private equity firm RFE Investment Partners, recently recruited Anne Chapin as the new chief risk officer for Mascoma Bank in Lebanon, NH. Managing directors Scott Kyle, Patrick Prout, and Jerry Bratkovich led the assignment.
Ms. Chapin is a corporate risk transformation executive with 20-plus years of progressive experience at a Fortune 50 financial leader. Her skills include enterprise risk strategy, planning, and risk management framework, and she has hands-on experience mitigating major risk events. Previously, Ms. Chapin served as SVP at Wells Fargo.
Established in 1899, Mascoma Bank has 25 locations through the Connecticut River Valley in New Hampshire and Vermont. It is a full service bank offering a wide array of financial services including deposit products, loans, commercial banking, insurance, and wealth management. The bank also offers a wide range of automated services to provide access to one’s accounts 24/7, including internet banking, person to person payments, mobile deposits, and cash management products.
ZRG, founded in 1999, is a mid-sized global executive search firm and one of the fastest growing in the search industry. It provides a full suite of executive, middle management, and customized search solutions through its offices in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. The firm finds leaders across a broad spectrum of business markets, including aerospace, consumer, education, healthcare services, and solutions, industrial, life sciences, non-profit, private equity and venture capital, and technology. ZRG is based in Rochelle Park, NJ.
Experienced Recruiters
Mr. Kyle’s recruiting activities encompass both domestic and international assignments in the areas of information technology, life sciences, sales, marketing, and general management. He has over 15 years of experience working with national executive search firms. His prior corporate career includes more than 18 years of recruitment and placement of senior executives and middle managers in high technology, life sciences, consumer products, and manufacturing for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to his career in executive search, Mr. Kyle served as a national director of staffing for Fidelity Investments.
Related: ZRG Partners Recruits Chief Technology Officer for Kantata
Mr. Prout is managing director within the financial services practice of ZRG. He is also a member of the industrial/manufacturing and corporate board practices. Previously, Mr. Prout was a managing director with Diversified Search. Prior to that, he ran his own search firm, The Prout Group, with responsibility for developing and managing the strategic direction and the daily operations of the firm as well as providing leadership for the firm’s financial services practice. Additionally, he conducted senior-level search assignments in the industrial/manufacturing, non-profit, corporate board, and corporate infrastructure practices.
The Evolving Role of the Chief Risk Officer
In the aftermath of the NPA (non-performing asset) blowout, the stress across key financial institutions both in the public and private sector and the potential of a contagion effect, the burning need for stringent risk management practices emerged as a top priority for financial institutions including NBFCs (non-banking financial companies).
Therefore, it came as no surprise when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened to define a set of guidelines to give definition to the role of a chief risk officer in NBFCs. Earlier, in 2017, RBI had prescribed rules for CROs in the banking ecosystem. As per the recent announcement, RBI has mandated NBFCs with asset size of more than INR 5,000 crores to appoint a CRO who will function independently to ensure the highest standards of risk management. While this is a welcome move, says a new report from EMA Partners International, the natural question that follows is, How does an organization safeguard the independence of the function?
Mr. Bratkovich focuses in several niches with ZRG. He brings a track record with over 30 years of organizational design, human capital management, and business transactions experience. He has experience with non-profit organizations particularly providing financing and programmatic support to underserved communities (CDFIs and community development agencies). Prior to joining ZRG, Mr. Bratkovich worked as an executive advisor to Itochu International Inc., the North American subsidiary of the global firm, Itochu Corp.
Recent Search
ZRG Partners recently assisted in placing Bennett B. Borden as chief data scientist with DLA Piper. Lisa Hooker, ZRG’s managing director and technology practice leader, led the assignment along with Rahul Kapur, managing director and global head of fintech, and Jack Dart, managing associate. “As companies around the world deploy a variety of AI and machine learning technologies to automate their business processes, Bennett and his team provide a much-needed technical component unique to the legal industry,” said Danny Tobey, chair of DLA Piper’s AI practice. “We are excited to enhance our deep bench in AI with seamlessly integrated legal and computational capabilities.”
“AI development and adoption is crucial as companies look to grow their businesses and compete successfully,” said Frank Ryan, DLA Piper’s Americas chair. “The addition of Bennett and his team as part of the firm’s overall AI offering provides clients with a comprehensive compliance and government affairs strategy important to their success.”
Related: ZRG Partners Recruits Chief Revenue Officer for CalAmp
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
