8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 25, 2021

BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Delaware	001-15781	04-3510455
(State or Other Jurisdiction) of Incorporation)	(Commission File No.)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts	02109
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 773-5601, ext. 133773

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

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Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share	BHLB	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers

On May 25, 2021, Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the “Bank”), announced that Tami Gunsch, Senior Executive Vice President Head of Consumer Banking, is stepping down from her position as of June 30, 2021 to spend more time with her family. After June 30, 2021, Ms. Gunsch will remain as a consultant for a period of time.

The Company has appointed Heather Lashway as Senior Vice President Director of Retail Banking. Ms. Lashway will report to Chief Executive Officer Nitin Mhatre. Ms. Lashway has more than 25 years of retail banking expertise, most recently serving as the Bank’s Senior Vice President Retail Distribution where she oversaw the Bank’s sales and service delivery initiatives. Prior to joining the Bank, Heather spent 11 years with Citizens Bank in senior Retail Banking roles inclusive of Director of Sales, Division Training Manager and Regional Sales Manager. Ms. Lashway holds a Bachelors in Accounting & Finance from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont and was previously an Albany Business Review 40 under 40 honoree. There are no transactions requiring disclosure pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K.

On May 25, 2021, the Company issued a news release discussing the changes to its management. The full text of the news release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01   Financial Statements and Exhibits

(a) Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired.  Not applicable.

(b) Pro Forma Financial Information.  Not applicable.

(c) Shell Company Transactions.  Not applicable.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No. Description

99.1 News Release dated May 25, 2021

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

		Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
DATE: May 25, 2021	By:	/s/ Nitin Mhatre
		Nitin Mhatre Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

Berkshire Hills Names Heather Lashway Director of Retail Banking

BOSTON – May 25, 2021 – Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), the parent company of Berkshire Bank, a socially-responsible community-dedicated bank with locations primarily in New England and New York, today announced that Heather Lashway, a ten-year Berkshire veteran was promoted to Senior Vice President Director of Retail Banking reporting to CEO Nitin Mhatre. Tami Gunsch, current Senior Executive Vice President Head of Consumer Banking is stepping down from her position as of June 30, 2021 to spend more time with her family. After June 30th, Ms. Gunsch will stay on as a consultant for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition to her successors, Ms. Lashway and another to be named soon.

“I want to thank Tami for her years of hard work, dedication, professionalism and commitment to all of Berkshire Bank’s customers and employees. On behalf of the entire Berkshire Bank family we wish Tami all the best in this next chapter.” stated Nitin Mhatre, CEO of Berkshire.

In her role as Director of Retail Banking Ms. Lashway will be responsible for all aspects of the retail banking consumer experience, including branch banking, branch and deposit operations, call center, virtual teller, MyBankers and Sales & Service Delivery. She will work to optimize, digitize and enhance the Bank’s retail banking strategy in support of Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation (BEST) plan to deliver enhanced value for all its stakeholders.

“Heather is a proven leader with deep knowledge of Berkshire Bank, our employees, customers and communities. She has consistently demonstrated superior performance in key roles and that experience will be instrumental in the execution of our BEST plan where we will optimize, digitize and enhance our consumer banking franchise to deliver a best-in-class customer experience,” added Mhatre.

Ms. Lashway is a senior leader with more than 25 years of retail banking expertise, most recently serving as Berkshire’s Senior Vice President Retail Distribution where she oversaw the Bank’s sales and service delivery initiatives. Prior to joining Berkshire Bank, Heather spent 11 years with Citizens Bank in senior Retail Banking roles inclusive of Director of Sales, Division Training Manager and Regional Sales Manager. Ms. Lashway holds a Bachelors in Accounting & Finance from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont and was previously an Albany Business Review 40 under 40 honoree.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP

Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank, which is transforming what it means to bank its neighbors socially, humanly and digitally to empower the financial potential of people, families and businesses in its communities as it pursues its vision of being the leading socially

responsible omni-channel community bank in the markets it serves. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire operates 118 banking offices primarily in New England and New York. 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these statements from the use of the words "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "plan," "potential," "estimate," "project," "believe," "intend," "anticipate," "expect," "target," and similar expressions. There are many factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from expectations described in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of such factors, please see Berkshire's most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.  You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our expectations only as of the date of this document. Berkshire does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Investor Relations Contact:	Media Contacts:
Kevin Conn, SVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Development Email: KAConn2@berkshirebank.com Tel: (617) 641-9206 David Gonci, Capital Markets DirectorEmail:  DGonci@berkshirebank.comTel:  (413) 281-1973	John Lovallo Email: jlovallo@levick.com Tel: (917) 612-8419 Sarah Sem Email: ssem@levick.com Tel: (802) 310-7663

XML

Document and Entity Information	May 25, 2021
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	May 25, 2021
Entity Registrant Name	BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP INC
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity File Number	001-15781
Entity Tax Identification Number	04-3510455
Entity Address, Address Line One	60 STATE STREET
Entity Address, Address Line Two	38TH FLOOR
Entity Address, City or Town	BOSTON
Entity Address, State or Province	MA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	02109
City Area Code	617
Local Phone Number	807-8190
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001108134
Title of 12(b) Security	Common stock, par value $0.01 per share
Trading Symbol	BHLB
Security Exchange Name	NYSE