Needham Bank Names Melissa A. Woods First Vice President – Reporting & Analytics

NEEDHAM, MA -- Needham Bank announced that Melissa A. Woods has joined the bank as First Vice President – Reporting & Analytics. Reporting to Jim White, Senior Vice President - Director Operations, Ms. Woods has responsibility for analyzing a broad array of internal and external data and converting those insights into actionable strategic opportunities for Needham Bank.

“Understanding the needs, wants and preferences of our current and potential clients will be a key factor determining our ability to grow and better serve our communities”, commented Mr. White. “Melissa has the experience, skill-set and industry knowledge to help us plan and execute an intelligent growth strategy. We are very pleased to welcome her aboard.”

Ms. Woods has more than 20 years of financial services experience. Most recently she served as Senior Vice President/Director Operational Support at Santander Bank in East Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to assuming the operational support role she held a series of additional senior positions with Santander, including SVP/Director of the Customer Service Center and SVP/Director Client Management Group.

Ms. Woods began her career with Bank of Boston, at their Rhode Island Hospital Trust division, in 1996. She subsequently worked for Citizens Bank, taking on positions of increasing responsibility including Vice President, Sales Program Manager and Vice President, Call Center Specialty Group Director. In 2006 she joined Sovereign Bank as Vice President/Director, Specialized Customer Contact Centers. Sovereign Bank was later acquired and rebranded as Santander by its Spanish owners.

Ms. Woods holds both B.A (Psychology) and B.S. (Business Administration) degrees from Rhode Island College. She has also carried out extensive post-graduate skills development work, including Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training at the Six Sigma Academy; Dale Carnegie; the Bank of Boston Management Training Program; and IBT’s Executive Leadership & Communication program.

“I could not be more pleased to take on this new role’, Ms. Woods commented “Needham Bank has an excellent reputation in the industry for embracing new technologies and tools that are designed to make banking easier and more convenient for its customers. I fully embrace this customer-centric approach and look forward to providing the leadership team with the insights needed to make this happen.”