John Ciulla is leading Webster Bank through a period of growth and change, including a number of mergers and acquisitions that have significantly added to the regional lender’s balance sheet and foothold in financial technology.
Ciulla is chairman and CEO of Webster Financial Corp. and chairman, president and CEO of Webster Bank.
In 2022, he led Webster Financial’s $10 billion-plus merger with Sterling Bancorp of New York, a deal that immediately grew the banking company’s assets to $65 billion and gave it major presences in both Connecticut and New York.
Today, the bank has $74.9 billion in assets with more than 200 branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.
Webster Bank has since relocated its headquarters to Stamford, while also maintaining a significant presence in its longtime home of Waterbury.
Ciulla has also led the bank through smaller deals. Last year, it acquired interLINK, a company that provides cash management services to financial intermediaries and administers retail brokerage accounts on behalf of broker-dealers and clearing platforms.
In January, Webster acquired for $350 million Ametros Financial Corp., which administers medical funds from insurance claims settlements.
Ciulla has had a long career with Webster. He started there in 2004 as a senior vice president for middle market banking.
He went on to have several leadership roles, including as chief credit risk officer from 2008 to 2010. He was promoted to executive vice president and head of middle market banking in 2011, then head of commercial banking in 2014, and to president in 2015.
Ciulla became CEO of Webster in 2018.