Eastern Bank announced this week that it has tapped an entrepreneur-author and a retired partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers to its board of directors.

Diane Hessan, CEO of the Startup Institute, and Barry R. Nearhos, who recently retired as the Northeast managing partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, have joined the Boston-based bank’s board.

“Eastern Bank is incredibly fortunate to add two dynamic leaders with diverse perspectives to our board,” Chairman and CEO Richard E. Holbrook said in a statement. “Their collective talents and experience will help us further elevate our mission and transform our business to continue to better compete and serve our customers and our communities in the years ahead.”

Hessan is an entrepreneur, marketer and author. In addition to being CEO of Startup Institute, she is also the founder and chairman of C Space. Hessan serves on the boards of Panera Bread Co. and Coach Up Inc., as well as several nonprofit boards, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, MassChallenge and Tufts University.

Nearhos recently retired from a 36-year career at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he led teams in providing audit, business advisory and other services to clients of all sizes, representing many industries, including life sciences, telecommunications, technology and manufacturing. He’s served on nonprofit boards including the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Jobs for Massachusetts and Massachusetts Business Roundtable.