Columbia Financial announced that Matthew Smith has been appointed as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company and the Bank effective Nov. 25, 2024. The company previously disclosed the retirement of E. Thomas Allen Jr., the current Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Bank, effective as of Jan. 31, 2025.

Smith served as the Chief Digital Banking Officer and Head of Enterprise Product, Marketing and Transformation at Webster Bank from February 2022 until November 2024. Prior to that time, Smith served as Head of Digital Banking and Banking as a Service at Sterling National Bank from January 2020 to February 2022 (when Sterling National Bank was acquired by Webster Bank) and Chief Product and Marketing Strategy Officer of Sterling National Bank from October 2017 to January 2020.

Thomas J. Kemly, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company and the Bank, said on the appointment: "Matthew has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth in banking operations, and we are pleased to welcome him to the company and the Bank. We look forward to working with Matthew as part of our executive leadership team in an effort to continue to provide quality and convenient products and services to our customers."

Kemly continued, "We also extend our deepest appreciation to Tom Allen for his three decades of dedicated service to the Bank. Tom's expertise and commitment have been instrumental in the continued success of the Company and the Bank and we wish him all the best on his well-deserved retirement."