Boston, MA According to Eastern Bank Corp., Richard Holbrook, chairman and chief executive officer of Eastern Bank and Eastern Bank Corporation since 2007, will retire on December 31, 2016. Holbrook’s retirement concludes more than two decades of leadership during which the company grew more than five times in total assets, more than tripled its number of locations, successfully entered insurance brokerage and several other businesses, and significantly expanded its geographic footprint beyond the North Shore of Boston to one that reaches southern New Hampshire and Cape Cod.
The board of directors will elect Robert Rivers, Eastern Bank’s president and chief operating officer, to succeed Holbrook as chairman and CEO of both the bank and the holding company effective January 1, 2017.
In addition, Quincy Miller, previously Massachusetts state president of Citizens Bank and president of its business banking division, will join Eastern Bank next month as vice chairman and chief banking officer and is expected to succeed Rivers as president of Eastern Bank effective January 1, 2017.
“We remain firmly committed to our mission of serving our customers, our employees, and our communities,” said Holbrook, who turns 65 this year. “We are confident that this orderly transition will help Eastern continue its consistent growth and profitability as well as our strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, while delivering superior customer service in this ever-changing and rapidly evolving environment.”
Rivers joined Eastern Bank as Vice chairman and chief banking officer, becoming president in 2007, chief operating officer in 2012, and an Eastern Bank director in 2015.
“We intend to continue to grow and build upon the success that Rich has led since he joined Eastern in 1996,” said Rivers. “Adding Quincy to a very strong leadership team positions us to further elevate our brand, business, and social justice mission as we begin our third century as a company.”
Upon his retirement, Holbrook will continue to serve on Eastern Bank’s board of directors.
Founded in 1818 and based in Boston, Eastern Bank is the largest and oldest mutual bank in the country, with $9.6 billion in assets and nearly 100 branches serving communities in eastern Massachusetts and southern and coastal New Hampshire. Eastern Bank offers banking, investments and insurance all under one roof, and prides itself on working harder to understand its customers’ needs so it can deliver these services in a committed and personal way. Eastern Bank, which includes Eastern Bank Wealth Management and Eastern Insurance, is a recognized leader in corporate social responsibility and for its advocacy on behalf of a number of social justice causes.