Board of Advisors
Craig L. Montanaro
President & CEO, Kearny Financial Corp. Hanson
Craig L. Montanaro is the President & CEO of Kearny Financial Corp. the parent company of Kearny Bank, a state-chartered savings bank which operates from its administrative headquarters in Fairfield, New Jersey and a total of 43 retail branch offices located throughout northern and central New Jersey and Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York. Kearny Bank is the fifth largest Bank headquartered in New Jersey with assets of $7.7 billion.
In his role as CEO & President of Kearny, he is responsible for providing leadership and overseeing the strategic direction of the company. His 37 years of experience in the banking industry include in-depth knowledge of the following areas: retail branch operations, BSA/AML, capital markets, compliance, finance, governance, human resources, information security, information technology, residential and commercial lending, marketing, and risk management. Prior to his appointment in 2010, Mr. Montanaro served in several different executive level positions at Kearny including Vice President & Regional Branch Administrator, Senior Vice President & Director of Strategic Planning and President & Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Kearny, Mr. Montanaro was the Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for West Essex Bank a $400 million stock savings bank headquartered in Caldwell, New Jersey which ultimately merged with Kearny in July of 2003.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Syracuse University and received his MBA from Fairfield University. His additional qualifications include a graduate degree in banking from the National School of Banking, Fairfield University.
Mr. Montanaro makes time to be involved with various community service organizations. He is an active member of the North Essex Chamber of Commerce and the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves as a trustee on the Wood-Ridge Memorial Foundation, Junior Achievement of New Jersey, Chairman of the Chilton Hospital Foundation, Chairman of the New Jersey Bankers Association, Trustee, New Jersey Bankers Business Services Board, and President and Director of the KearnyBank Charitable Foundation.
He lives in Wyckoff, New Jersey with his wife, Liz and their two children, James and Hailey.