PROVIDENCE – Sean A. Gray has been named CEO of Beacon Financial Corp. and its subsidiary Beacon Bank following the retirement of former CEO Paul A. Perrault, Beacon Financial announced Monday.
Gray was unanimously appointed CEO by the boards of Beacon Financial and Beacon Bank, effective Monday. He will also join the boards, according to a Beacon Financial company announcement.
Gray most recently served as chief operating officer for Beacon Financial, where he oversaw the company’s enterprise operations and systems integration following the merger of Brookline Bancorp Inc. and Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. that created Beacon Financial.
Before the merger, Gray was president and chief operating officer of Berkshire Bank from 2018-2025 and was senior executive vice president of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from 2015-2025. He had been with Berkshire since 2007, serving in a variety of leadership roles across retail and commercial banking, specialty lending, wealth management and other areas, according to Beacon Financial.
Perrault’s retirement follows a banking career spanning more than five decades, the company said. He will remain with Beacon Financial for one year in a consulting capacity to assist with the transition.
In a prepared statement, Gray said Beacon is positioned to grow with greater scale, expanded capabilities and a stronger operating platform, while maintaining its regional operating model and local decision-making.
Beacon Financial, headquartered in Boston, is the holding company for Beacon Bank, which has $22.3 billion in assets and more than 145 branches throughout New England and New York, according to the company.
Beacon Financial was formed through the merger of former Bank Rhode Island parent company Brookline Bancorp Inc. and Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., with Bank Rhode Island, also known as BankRI, among the banking operations now under the Beacon umbrella.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
