Signature Bank announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo was named the recipient of the Alfred B. DelBello Visionary Award by the Westchester County Association, the leading business membership organization in Westchester County, focused on economic vitality and development in Westchester and the surrounding region.

The Alfred B. DelBello Visionary Award applauds visionaries and honors the late DelBello, chairman emeritus of the Westchester County Association and an outstanding public official, attorney, environmentalist, businessman, mentor, humanitarian, animal welfare advocate and family man. DelBello’s friends, colleagues, family members and many members of the Westchester business community came together to pay tribute to him at a dinner held on November 19, 2015, at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, N.Y.

DePaolo was chosen to receive this honor based on his vision for creating Signature Bank as well as his passion and drive for subsequently growing the client-centric institution to $32 billion in assets (as of September 30, 2015).

“All of us at Signature Bank congratulate Joe on this prominent, meaningful and perhaps most importantly, very fitting award. Joe and Al were long-time friends and colleagues; in fact, Joe nominated Al to serve on Signature Bank’s board before it became a publicly traded company. Both possess similar innate qualities - integrity, loyalty, dedication, authenticity and humility - all of which have always been embraced by the colleagues that surrounded them in their respective roles. Joe continues to carry out the original vision of Signature Bank each and every day in his role as its leader and visionary. It is an honor for all of us to work with Joe, just as it was an honor for us to have had the opportunity to work with Al,” said Signature Bank Chairman of the Board Scott A. Shay.

“I am gratified to receive this honor, and thank the Westchester County Association for this prestigious acknowledgment. I also want to thank Dee DelBello, my close friend and Al’s wife, for her support. Over the years, we developed a strong friendship and working relationship, which will continue to strengthen as we always remember Al.”

Dee DelBello, publisher of the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals as well as WAG Magazine, commented on DePaolo’s recognition: “In presenting Joe with his award, I was fondly reminded of Al's comments after bank board meetings when he would cite just how ‘good Joe is and how he knows exactly how to run and grow a bank.’ Joe is a true visionary banker who – as co-founder of Signature Bank – helped take the institution to amazing heights in just 14 years – so notable that Forbes recently named it the ‘Best Bank in America.’”