Jeffrey Tengel
Rockland Trust Co.’s long-time CEO Christopher Oddleifson plans to retire from that role next month, and People’s United Bank’s former president has been named his successor.
Jeffrey Tengel will take over as CEO of the $19.7 billion-asset Rockland Trust on or about Feb. 6, the bank said in a statement today.
Oddleifson, who has been Rockland Trust’s CEO since 2003, will remain with the bank in an advisory role throughout 2023.
Tengel was most recently M&T Bank’s senior executive vice president and head of commercial specialty banking. Before M&T Bank’s 2022 acquisition of Bridgeport, Connecticut-based People’s United, Tengel was People’s United’s president, responsible for commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management.
Tengel’s appointment came after a CEO succession planning process that was overseen by a committee of independent directors from the bank’s board, the statement said. The process included a nationwide CEO search.
Rockland Trust had just over $2 billion in assets when Oddleifson took over as CEO, the bank said. Since 2008, Rockland Trust has acquired 10 banks, including Blue Hills Bank in 2019 and East Boston Savings Bank in 2021. The bank said it now has more than 120 retail branches, commercial and residential lending centers, and investment management offices.
“What an honor it has been to serve as Rockland Trust’s CEO,” Oddleifson said in the statement. “After leading Rockland Trust for over twenty years, I have decided that the time has come to pass the baton. I am thrilled that our Board of Directors has selected a successor with the caliber of Jeff Tengel to guide Rockland Trust into the future.”
While Oddleifson will remain as a director on Rockland Trust’s board and as a Class III director for the bank’s parent company, Independent Bank Corp., he does not plan to continue on the boards when his terms expire in 2023, the statement said.
Chris Oddleifson
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank Chris Oddleifson for establishing consistent, disciplined, outstanding performance over the last two decades,” Donna L. Abelli, chair of the Independent Bank Corp. and Rockland Trust boards, said in the statement. “Our strategic direction is unchanged, and we are confident that Jeff Tengel will leverage his robust commercial banking experience and people-first leadership style to maintain Rockland Trust’s best-in-class culture and build on the organization’s solid foundation.”
Tengel had joined People’s United in 2010 and was named the bank’s president in 2018. Before that, he worked at PNC Bank after its 2008 acquisition of National City Bank, where Tengel had been executive vice president of corporate banking. Tengel had joined National City Bank in 1986, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Tengel is on Quinnipiac University’s board of trustees. He will become a Class I director at Independent Bank Corp. as soon as he begins his role as CEO, the statement said.
“I am grateful for the opportunity the Board has granted me to join an outstanding organization so deeply rooted in the communities it serves,” Tengel said in the statement. “I look forward to building strong, enduring relationships with Rockland Trust’s loyal customers and dedicated colleagues. I am steadfastly committed to maintaining the award-winning culture and customer service fostered during Chris Oddleifson’s long-term stewardship. I will draw upon my experience to lead Rockland Trust to a tomorrow filled with innovation, opportunity, sustainable disciplined growth, and purpose.”
