News
November 16, 2020Pioneer Announces Kelli Arnold as Senior Vice President of Commercial & Community Development
Today Pioneer announced the appointment of Kelli Arnold as Senior Vice President of Commercial & Community Development to lead its commercial banking division. In this role, Arnold will be instrumental in deepening relationships with clients across all departments, coordinating a holistic approach to each financial relationship.
Arnold most recently served as the National Director of Corporate Responsibility and Community Engagement at Key, where she led a national team of Corporate Responsibility Officers across 26 markets, directing the strategic and tactical implementation of KeyBank’s $16.5 Billion Community Benefit Plan. In addition, she led the CRA Data and Analytics team that demonstrated outstanding impact to low and moderate communities from Maine to Alaska.
“Kelli brings an outstanding level of professionalism, experience, and ambition to Pioneer,” said Thomas Amell, President and Chief Executive Officer at Pioneer. “We are thrilled that she will be leading our efforts to provide each client with a full, seamless set of financial products to add value and enable greater client success.”
In addition to expanding its commercial team, Pioneer also continues to develop a full suite of products and services to help streamline financial product portfolios for businesses, including cash and risk management, debt and equity capital, treasury management, investment services, insurance, and employee benefits.
“Pioneer has been strategically building one of the best commercial banking divisions in the Capital Region by recruiting the area’s top talent to our team and investing in complementary product offerings,” said Jesse Tomczak, Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer at Pioneer. “Kelli is exactly the leader we envisioned for this role in that she can utilize her experience from a variety of sectors to serve our clients’ financial needs.”
Prior to joining KeyBank in 2016, Arnold was the Senior Vice President, Director of Government Banking & Albany Market Executive at First Niagara, overseeing a customer base of over 600 clients and depository balances above $3.5 billion. Before First Niagara, Kelli was the Senior Vice President, Eastern NY Commercial Banking Executive and Director of the NYS Health Care & Not for Profit Groups at HSBC, and has also held leadership roles at DASNY and Leading Age NY.
“Pioneer is known for its deep community roots and high level of client engagement,” states Arnold. “I’m excited to bring my passion and experience to the Pioneer team, and to join an organization with such a strong foundation as it continues to grow and positively impact the community.”
Arnold earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business from SUNY Oswego, and an MBA in Health Care Administration from Union College. Kelli is active in various community organizations. She is the Chair of the Board at SEAT Center, Schenectady and a member of the boards of the Capital Affordable Housing Funding Corporation. She had also served on the boards of Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless, Rensselaer Regional Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Health of Buffalo and CenterState CEO.
Rob Nichols, another former Key executive who came to Pioneer in 2019, previously held this position and was recently promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at Pioneer.
