Jim Hickey Promoted to Senior Vice President / Director of Marketing

We are proud to announce that vice president / director of marketing operations Jim Hickey of South Deerfield has been promoted to lead the bank’s marketing efforts as senior vice president / director of marketing. 

Jim replaces Monica Curhan, who retired on April 7 after serving as senior vice president / director of marketing for nearly 10 years.

Jim was hired in November 2021 as director of marketing operations with the explicit plan to one day take the helm as director of marketing. He has 25 years of strategic marketing experience as well as a strong affinity for the Florence Bank brand, which Monica ushered in in the early years of her tenure. 

“The challenge for me will be sustaining and evolving our unique brand identity,” Jim says. 

Matt Garrity, president and CEO of Florence Bank, says, “We are thrilled that Jim is stepping into this role to lead our marketing efforts. He is a creative thinker with a collaborative approach and a proven track record of managing projects from conception to implementation. I’m excited to see where he takes the brand next.”

Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has experience in areas that include account management, creative development, media plan execution and media buying.

Before joining Florence Bank, Jim was the vice president of account service at Communicators Group, a marketing communications firm in Keene, New Hampshire. He has also served as vice president and director of marketing for Westbank, a financial institution formerly based in West Springfield. 

He says his experience in financial services marketing and communications will continue to inform his work for Florence Bank. 

“I have managed the marketing and communications efforts for a number of clients in the banking industry. Those experiences have helped prepare me for this role,” Jim says.

Active in the community, Jim sits on the board for the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Monica was pleased to be retiring. She lives in Mattapoisett and was looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren and helping her husband operate his apiary, caring for the bees, selling honey and honey products.

In the 10 years that Monica represented the bank, she served as a trustee for Cooley Dickinson Hospital, on its board for three years as well as on various committees. She also volunteered for the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, served meals at the Interfaith Emergency Homeless Shelter—COT Shelter in downtown Northampton, and took part in a Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity build day.

 We wish Monica well, and we are pleased to have Jim in his new leadership role!