Oak Ridge, N.J. – March 18, 2015 – Thomas J. Shara, President and CEO of Lakeland Bank, is pleased to announce the following new officer appointments to the Middlesex/Monmouth regional Loan Production Office, headed by Senior Vice President Robert Ravaschiere, who brings over 20 years of commercial lending experience to the team:
Owen McKenna, with over 30 years of commercial lending expertise in middle market and small business lending, joins Lakeland Bank as Vice President, Commercial Lending. Previously, McKenna was Vice President Senior Relationship Manager at Ocean First Bank in Red Bank, covering Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean Counties. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Team Leader at Investors Bank in Spring Lake Heights. McKenna is Chairman of Keansburg Planning Board and a board member for both Monmouth Ocean Development Council and Middlesex County College Foundation. He resides in Keansburg.
Christina Paccione has an extensive commercial lending background and joins Lakeland Bank as Vice President, Commercial Lending. Before joining the Bank, she was Vice President, Commercial Lending for Ocean First Bank in Red Bank, covering Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean Counties. Prior to that, Paccione was Vice President, Commercial Lending with Investors Bank in Spring Lake Heights. She is past President of the Monmouth Business Group, Vice Chair of Monmouth Ocean Development Council Education Committee and a member of St. Mary’s Church. Paccione resides in Colts Neck.
David Heinmets has a broad business banking background in Monmouth and Ocean counties and joins Lakeland Bank as Vice President, Commercial Lending. Previously, Heinmets was Vice President, Business Banking at Investors Bank in Short Hills. He is a board member of Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, a member of Monmouth Ocean Development Council and on the Board of Elders for Lincroft Bible Church. Heinmets resides in Ocean Township.
“The new Loan Production Office, staffed by local bankers with knowledge of this market, allows us to build the Bank’s brand beyond our current footprint," said David Yanagisawa, EVP and Chief Lending Officer of Lakeland Bank. "We have strategically selected this site, because we see growth potential for Lakeland in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties as well as adjacent markets.”
Ravaschiere and his team will focus on developing new relationships for the Bank. Prior to joining Lakeland, Ravaschiere was a Senior Vice President at Investors Bank and managed their central and southern New Jersey commercial and industrial lending division.
"We're pleased to welcome an experienced central New Jersey commercial lending team to Lakeland Bank,” said Shara.
The Lending Team is temporarily located in Red Bank, and will move to their permanent office located at 485 Route 1 South, Iselin, NJ which is anticipated to open by the end of the second quarter. This office will provide an array of commercial lending services to businesses in the Middlesex and Monmouth County markets.
About Lakeland Bank
Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ: LBAI), the holding company for Lakeland Bank, has $3.5 billion in total assets with 51 offices spanning eight northern New Jersey counties: Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Lakeland Bank, headquartered in Oak Ridge, offers an extensive array of consumer and commercial products and services, including online and mobile banking, localized commercial lending teams, an expanded residential mortgage lending platform and 24-hour-or-less turnaround on consumer loan applications. For more information about the full line of products and services, visit LakelandBank.com.