Pathfinder in NY names interim president/CEO

Pathfinder Bancorp in Oswego, N.Y., has made an abrupt change in leadership. 

The $1.3 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that James Dowd had been named interim president and CEO, succeeding Thomas Schneider, who resigned effectively immediately.

Schneider, who also stepped down from the board, was named the company’s director of capital markets and corporate strategy. Pathfinder said Schneider wanted “a less time-consuming role due to recent health issues and personal loss.” 

Dowd, who joined Pathfinder in 1994, is the company’s chief operating officer. 

Dowd’s “contributions to Pathfinder have demonstrated that his unique combination of skills, experience, passion for the industry and masterful ability to develop people have positioned him to lead the bank forward,” Chris Burritt, Pathfinder’s chairman, said in the release. 

Schneider joined the company in 1988; he has been president and CEO since 2000.