Five Star Bank Names Karla J.L. Gadley Senior Vice President, Community Development Officer

WARSAW, N.Y., May 22, 2017 -- Five Star Bank (the “Bank”), subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI), today announced the hiring of Karla J.L. Gadley as Senior Vice President, Community Development Officer. In her role, Ms. Gadley is responsible for overseeing, coordinating and providing strategic direction for Five Star Bank's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) related programming and outreach programs throughout the Bank's footprint. She will engage with regulators and serve as liaison between Five Star Bank and the community at large to administer programs that meet the credit and banking needs of low and moderate income individuals and small businesses. She will support the revitalization of low income communities, provide financial services to low income populations and implement partner programs with key stakeholders that demonstrate the Bank's commitment to build sustainable relationships throughout the Bank's footprint.  

“Karla is a wonderful addition to our team at Five Star Bank,” said Martin K. Birmingham, President and Chief Executive Officer. “She has extensive regulatory and community knowledge as well as strong relationships in Western New York. As an advocate for the financial needs of the communities we serve, she will be instrumental in our efforts to meet community need and achieve CRA objectives.”

Ms. Gadley started at Five Star Bank earlier this month with more than 30 years of experience in Western New York banking. She most recently served as Vice President and Corporate Responsibility Officer at KeyBank. Previously, she held several progressive banking roles in Western New York, most recently as Vice President/CRA Program Director/Community Development at First Niagara Bank.

Ms. Gadley earned Bachelor of Business Administration and MBA degrees at Medaille College. She is a board member of the Buffalo Urban League and serves as board member and loan committee member for PathStone Enterprise Center, Inc. Ms. Gadley is a past recipient of the Leadership Buffalo Award, Buffalo Business First’s “Forty under 40” Award and the Black Achievers in Industry Award. She lives in Snyder and has two adult children.

About Five Star Bank and Financial Institutions, Inc.

Five Star Bank provides a wide range of consumer and commercial banking and lending services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses through a network of more than 50 offices and 60 ATMs throughout Western and Central New York State. Additional Five Star Bank information is available at www.five-starbank.com, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Five Star Bank, Scott Danahy Naylon, LLC (“SDN”) and Courier Capital, LLC (“Courier Capital”) are subsidiaries of Financial Institutions, Inc. SDN provides a broad range of insurance services to personal and business clients across 45 states. Courier Capital provides customized investment management, investment consulting and retirement plan services to individuals, businesses, institutions, foundations and retirement plans. Financial Institutions, Inc. and its subsidiaries employ approximately 650 individuals. Financial Institutions, Inc. stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol FISI. Additional information is available at www.fiiwarsaw.com.

Shelly J. Doran
(585) 627-1362 or [email protected]