Florence Bank promotes Jim Hickey to Senior Vice President / Director of Marketing
Senior Vice President / Director of Marketing Monica Curhan retires
FLORENCE—Florence Bank announced that vice president / director of marketing operations Jim Hickey of South Deerfield has been promoted to lead the bank’s marketing efforts as senior vice president / director of marketing.
Hickey replaces Monica Curhan, who retired on April 7 after serving as senior vice president / 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 in 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 the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has experience in areas that include account management, creative development, media plan execution and media buying.
Before joining Florence Bank, Hickey was the vice president of account service at Communicators Group, a marketing communications firm in Keene, New Hampshire. He has also served as vice president and director of marketing for Westbank, a financial institution formerly based in West Springfield.
He 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,” he said.
Active in the community, Jim sits on the board for the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.
Curhan was pleased to be retiring. She lives in Mattapoisett and was looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren and helping her husband operate his apiary, caring for the bees, selling honey and honey products.
In the 10 years that Curhan represented the bank, she 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 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.
About Florence Bank
Florence Bank is a mutual savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 12 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, Chicopee, West Springfield, and Springfield. Additionally, it offers 25 ATMs and a wide range of financial services, including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses. Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate.
