WESTERLY – The planned leadership change at Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. became official last week.
Edward O. Handy III assumed the position of chairman and CEO of the Westerly-based parent of The Washington Trust Co. He replaces Joseph J. MarcAurele, who retired on March 2.
“Washington Trust has a long, proud history as America’s oldest community bank and has attained an outstanding track record of success over the past two centuries,” Handy said.
Prior to taking over at the helm of the company, with $4.5 billion in assets, Handy served as president and chief operating officer.
The role will be filled by Mark K. W. Gim, who joined Washington Trust in 1993 and previously served as senior executive vice president of wealth management and chief strategy officer.
Gim helped grow the company’s wealth-management business to $6.7 billion of assets under management in 2017 from $4.8 billion in 2013.
“My goal is to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our key constituents by providing the highest value of financial products and customer services,” he said.
The duo aims to continue to grow the second-largest Rhode Island-based bank.
“I am honored to assume the role of CEO of this remarkable organization and look forward to leading Washington Trust into the next chapter,” Handy said.
Eli Sherman is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Sherman@PBN.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.
