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Management

Management

Thomas M. O’Brien
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President
An accomplished leader in the financial services industry with over 44 years of industry experience, Mr. O'Brien most recently served as Vice Chairman of New York City-based Emigrant Bancorp, Inc. and Emigrant Bank from October 2018 to March 2020.  Mr. O’Brien served as President, Chief Executive Officer and on the boards of Sun Bancorp, Inc. and Sun National Bank from April 2014 to February 2018.  Mr. O’Brien previously served on the boards of BankUnited, Inc. and BankUnited, NA from May 2012 to April 2014.  Prior to that, Mr. O’Brien served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of State Bank of Long Island and State Bancorp, Inc. from November 2006 to January 2012.  From 2000 to 2006, Mr. O’Brien was President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Bank of New York and, following the acquisition of Atlantic Bank of New York by New York Commercial Bank, continued to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer during the post-closing transition.  From 1996 to 2000, Mr. O’Brien was Vice Chairman and a board member of North Fork Bank and North Fork Bancorporation, Inc.  From 1977 to 1996, Mr. O’Brien was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of North Side Savings Bank.  Mr. O’Brien served as a director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York from 2008 to 2012 and served as Chairman of New York Bankers Association in 2007.  Mr. O’Brien is currently Trustee and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Prudential Insurance Company of America $175 Billion Annuity Fund Complex, and Vice-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Finance Committee of Archcare and Catholic Healthcare Foundation for the Archdiocese of New York.  Mr. O’Brien received a B.A. in Political Science from Niagara University in 1972 and an M.B.A. from Iona College in 1982.
    Christine Meredith
    Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

    Ms. Meredith has served as the Company’s and the Bank’s Chief Risk Officer since February 2020 until her promotion to Chief Operating Officer effective April 1, 2024. In July 2023 she was promoted to Senior Executive Vice President. Ms. Meredith has over 25 years of experience as banker, regulator, and consultant to the financial services industry. Prior to joining Sterling, Ms. Meredith served as Senior Vice President and Director of Enterprise Risk Management at Columbia Banking System from 2010 through 2020. Its subsidiary, Columbia Bank, was a regional bank based in Tacoma, Washington. Ms. Meredith served as a Risk Management Examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Seattle, Washington from 2009 to 2010, with a focus on credit and financial risk reviews. Ms. Meredith worked with Washington Mutual from 2003 to 2008 in various capacities including enterprise risk management, commercial real estate product development, and regulatory implementation. Ms. Meredith was a consultant with the Secura Group, a boutique financial services consulting firm based in Washington, DC, from 2002 to 2003, and previously from 1996 to 1998. Ms. Meredith worked for Arthur Andersen in Los Angeles, California as a Business Process Consultant from 2000 to 2002. In 2000, Ms. Meredith was commissioned as a Safety and Soundness Examiner for the Federal Reserve’s Twelfth District in San Francisco, California, where she conducted risk management, compliance, trust, and information technology examinations.

     Ms. Meredith is a member of the American Bankers Association’s Certified Enterprise Risk Professionals Board. Previously, she served on the Mid-Tier Bank and Enterprise Risk Management Councils for the Risk Management Association. Ms. Meredith also served as Chair of the Enterprise Risk Management Committee for the Washington Bankers Association. Ms. Meredith received her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Georgetown University.

      Karen Zaborney Knott
      Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

      Ms. Knott has over 20 years of experience in financial operations and accounting roles with financial institutions and has served as the Company’s Senior Vice President and Controller since March, 2021. Prior to this role, she served as Assistant Vice President and Controller of the Bank since 2015 and has served in a variety of other financial roles, including Divisional Controller for Commercial Lending and Staff Accountant, since first joining the Bank in 1998. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Knott began her career in customer service and finance positions at Credit Union ONE and CommonPoint Mortgage Co. Ms. Knott received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Grand Valley State University.

        Elizabeth M Keogh
        Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
        Ms. Keogh has over 30 years’ experience as a practicing attorney with expertise in banking, securities and corporate law and regulation, among other areas. Ms. Keogh was hired as Sterling Bancorp, Inc.’s Chief Legal Officer in October 2022. Prior to joining Sterling as an employee, Ms. Keogh was a consultant to the Company from 2020 to 2022 focusing on proxy statement disclosure and other SEC reporting requirements. Since 2009, Ms. Keogh has worked as a self-employed legal consultant and has provided consulting services in respect of numerous transactional, corporate governance and regulatory compliance matters to a variety of financial institutions, including the Company. Prior to establishing her own consulting practice, Ms. Keogh was a corporate attorney for 15 years with the law firms of Thacher Proffitt & Wood and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, prior to its merger with Denton Wilde Sapte LLP. Ms. Keogh earned a law degree from New York University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairfield University.