Jeanne Hulit picked to lead Maine Community Bancorp
Courtesy / Maine Community Bancorp
Jeanne Hulit, who served as acting administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under President Obama, will take the reins of Maine Community Bancorp in October as its single president and CEO.
Jeanne Hulit, who served as acting administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under President Obama, will take the reins of Maine Community Bancorp in October as its single president and CEO.
Maine Community Bancorp was created in 2016, following through on a 2015 agreement between Biddeford Savings Bank and Mechanic Savings Bank to form a mutual holding company that would own both banks. The two banks stated at the time that the strategic alignment positioned each bank to build upon its strengths and competitive advantages by sharing resources, achieving cost efficiencies and significantly increasing their loan capabilities.
“With the announcement today that it’s hiring a single president and CEO, the board of directors of the mutual holding company, Maine Community Bancorp, advances its goal of strengthening the alliance of its two independent holdings, Biddeford Savings and Mechanics Savings Bank,” the company stated in a news release. “By hiring Jeanne Hulit as its president and CEO, the board is underscoring Maine Community Bancorp’s commitment to community banking, local economies, small business, and customer service.”
Biddeford Savings Bank CEO Charles Petersen and Mechanic Savings Bank CEO Rick Vail, both of whom helped guide their banks in the creation of Maine Community Bancorp, will retire in October when Hulit assumes the position of president and CEO.
A veteran business leader
Hulit brings nearly two decades of banking experience as well as experience leading a Maine-based manufacturer and several years in public service at the state and federal level.
She comes to Maine Community Bancorp from Village Candle in Wells, where she was named president last October by the company’s founder and CEO Paul Aldrich to lead a new management team in expanding the 25-year-old company’s international market. In March, Village Candle announced an agreement with the international shipper Eimskip it said would enhance its ability to grow its sales in the European market by shipping out of Portland.
Prior to that, over the course of her nearly 20 years in banking in Maine, Hulit has served as president of community banking for Northeast Bank, senior vice president for commercial lending at Citizens Bank and vice president of KeyBank.
“Jeanne Hulit’s decades of experience in banking alone would make her an excellent candidate to lead this organization,” Jon S. Oxman, chairman of the Maine Community Bancorp board of directors, said in today’s news release. “But what really makes her stand out is her leadership skill. In banking, in public service, in community service — her knowledge, skill, and leadership, often in the face of great change, make her the perfect person to strengthen this alliance of community banks. Jeanne has the expertise to assess situations, make sound decisions, and execute with successful results.”
Stints with the SBA
In 2013, after having served as both the New England regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Capital Access, Hulit then joined the cabinet of President Barack Obama as the SBA’s acting administrator.
Earlier public service included her appointment as deputy director of the international division at the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
Hulit said her passion for the community banking model is fueled by “an unfailing belief in the strength of Maine citizens, workers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to create the kinds of communities where we all want to live, work and raise families.
“The commitment of Maine Community Bancorp to its communities and to its continued independence is gratifying,” she added. “I’m eager to be a part of its future.”
Hulit gave a nod to Biddeford Savings Bank CEO Charles Petersen and Mechanic Savings Bank CEO Rick Vail, who’ll be leaving when she steps into her new role in October.
“The wisdom and expertise that Charles and Rick have brought to bear in the creation of Maine Community Bancorp, as well as in maintaining the independent identities of the two banks is truly admirable,” she said “They’ve laid a solid foundation upon which we can all continue to build.”
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