Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. announced that James "Jim" Brown  and Philip Jurgeleit, two experienced commercial banking and credit executives have joined Berkshire in executive management roles. Mr. Brown joins Berkshire as SEVP, Head of Commercial Banking and Mr. Jurgeleit as EVP, Chief Credit Officer. As SEVP, Head of Commercial Banking, Mr. Brown will oversee all aspects of Berkshire's commercial banking operations.

He will replace George Bacigalupo. Mr. Bacigalupo transitioned to the position of Director - Commercial/Enterprise Sales Management effective January 1, 2023 through December 2023 at which time he will retire from his position at the Company and the Bank. As EVP, Chief Credit Officer, Mr. Jurgeleit will oversee all aspects of the company's credit underwriting, policy, and approval processes.

He will report directly to SEVP, Chief Risk Officer, Greg Lindenmuth and replace recently retired Chief Credit Officer Georgia Melas. James "Jim" Brown: Mr. Brown is a high-performing commercial and private banking executive who brings over 30 years of experience to Berkshire. He spent more than 20 years at Boston Private Bank & Trust Company in multiple senior executive roles including Co-President, EVP, Head of Commercial Banking and Credit Administration, and Chief Lending Officer.

During his time at Boston Private the Company grew from $500 million in assets to over $10 billion. Mr. Brown remained at the Bank through its acquisition by Silicon Valley Bank as Head of Specialty Commercial within the Private Bank until late 2021. He holds a masters from Boston College and a bachelors from Nichols College.

Mr. Brown resides in Sudbury, Massachusetts with his family and serves on the board of trustees at Nichols College. Philip Jurgeleit: Mr. Jurgeleit brings more than 30 years of credit and commercial banking expertise to Berkshire, most recently serving as SVP and Senior Director of Credit Risk at Santander Bank where he was responsible for all aspects of credit risk management including credit approval, asset quality, underwriting guidelines, and credit policies for the Middle Market, Mid-Corporate, Asset Based Lending, and Healthcare/Not-for-Profit business units. Prior to serving in that capacity, Mr. Jurgeleit held senior leadership roles at Citizens Bank, Webster Bank and Bank of America.

He holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College. Mr. Jurgeleit resides in Barrington, Rhode Island and serves on the board of The Business Development Company of Rhode Island in Providence, Rhode Island.