East Boston Savings Bank looking for a new president
East Boston Savings Bank is in the market for a new president to replace Robert F. Verdonck, the bank's 23-year president/chief executive officer, who retired on June 6. With no successor in place, the bank named board chairman Richard J. Gavegnano as chief executive officer and acting president. A search to find a permanent replacement for Verdonck is underway, the bank announced.
Gavegnano declined to comment about the changes.
Verdonck's departure comes just six months after the $1 billion-asset bank sold a 44 percent stake in its holding company, Meridian Interstate Banking Co.
The bank now is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the stock symbol EBSB. The stock sale raised $100 million in capital. The stock closed last week at $10.29 per share, according to Nasdaq.
In 1999, Verdonck relocated the 159-year-old bank's headquarters from East Boston to Peabody. In 2002, the bank opened a $10 million corporate office behind Northshore Mall in Peabody. East Boston Savings Bank now has 11 branches, including locations in Everett, Lynn, Melrose, Revere, and Winthrop. It also operates a mortgage center on Route 1 in Lynnfield.
Green construction methods were used to renovate the old mill building on Main Street. Recycled materials and low-carbon paints were used in the interior office design. Reycled fiber is used in wall coverings, and skylights allow natural light. Energy-efficient windows were installed, along with low-flow toilets and motion-sensitive faucets to conserve water. "We saw an opportunity here to be environmentally friendly," said Richard A. Eaton, the bank's chief executive. "We saw this as a chance to have a healthy workplace and a nice environment for our customers."
A second-floor conference room, which is available for use by community groups, has sweeping views of the Powow River, which runs behind the building. The location is the second Amesbury office for the $567 million- asset bank. Newburyport Five last June took over a former Sovereign Bank branch on Friend Street. The branch has three drive-through windows. Eaton said the two locations will not overlap. "Having them both is an asset. Amesbury has always been a very strong market for us. It's an up-and-coming community."
Newburyport Five faces tough competition from The Provident, a homegrown Amesbury bank. "There is a lot of good competition out there," Eaton said. "You just hope you can provide the service people expect."
She is the fourth generation of the Ciccarelli family to lead the organization. Her father, Paul Ciccarelli, her grandfather Arthur S. Porcella, and her great-grandfather, Michael J. Porcella, also served as president.
"I have to live up to the expectations of three previous generations," said Cicarelli, 47. Her duties will include following state and national issues that affect the funeral home industry. "There are a lot of rules that must be followed. I'd like to make sure members are all on the same page."
The family's long history in the business dates to 1886, when Porcella Funeral Home was founded in Boston's North End.
Her great-grandfather bought it from his cousin in 1904. The business then passed through the generations, expanding to Revere in 1946 and to Saugus in 1977.
Ciccarelli holds a degree in communications from Boston University, where she later worked as marketing director for the athletics department. She later graduated from FINE Mortuary College. She received her funeral director's license in 1977. She now works in the business with her father and her brother Michael.
J.R.'s Route 22 of Essex will try to defend its 2007 title as the top recipe. More than a dozen Cape Ann restaurants have signed up for the event, which aims to showcase fish recipes for little-known species of fish. The competition is organized by the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, with help from fish processors and restaurants.
Entries this year include Sicilian-style fish cakes, seafood macaroni and cheese, and pan-seared monkfish mignon. Visitors will be able to taste samples from each entry. Hors d'oeuvres will be served at 5:30 p.m. and entrees at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $2 per person. For information, visit capeannchamber.com
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com
