Bridgeport regional lender People’s United Financial has tapped a former interim CEO of rival Sovereign Bank and to lead the company’s finances.
Kirk W. Walters has been named senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of the parent and its flagship People’s United Bank.
When Walters takes up his post within a month, he will be reunited with People’s United CEO John “Jack” Barnes, both of whom worked together earlier in their banking careers.
In the interim, Jeffrey Hoyt, the lender’s senior vice president and controller, will serve as CFO, the bank said.
Walters, 55, who will also be appointed to the parent’s board of directors, replaces CFO Paul D. Burner, who left the company Tuesday “to seek other opportunities,” a People’s United spokesman said.
Burner was a top lieutenant to former People’s United CEO Philip R. Sherringham, who was ousted abruptly last year for reportedly moving too slowly to build up the Bridgeport lender through acquisitions.
A veteran banker, Walters was most recently senior executive vice president and a board member of Santander Holdings USA Inc., Sovereign’s Spanish parent. He also served as interim president and CEO of Sovereign from October 2008 until Banco Santander acquired the bank in February 2009.
Prior to joining Sovereign, Walters was executive vice president and CFO of Chittenden Corp., which People’s United acquired in January 2008.
Barnes also served with Walters on the Chittenden executive management team for many years.
“Kirk brings extraordinary competencies and a wealth of experience built over a finance career that spans more than 30 years,” Barnes said in a statement.
Barnes said Walters experiences at Chittenden and Santander give him an “outstanding perspective on the competitive landscape,” in which the bank operates. He said he and Walters have an “excellent history of working together.”
