Five Star Bank Names Key Executives

─ William L. Kreienberg Named Chief Corporate Development Executive
─ Michael D. Burneal Named Chief Risk and Enterprise Administration Officer

WARSAW, N.Y., March 21, 2017 -- Five Star Bank, subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI), today announced that William L. Kreienberg has been named Executive Vice President−Chief Corporate Development Executive and General Counsel and Michael D. Burneal has been named Senior Vice President−Chief Risk and Enterprise Administration Officer.

“When we first announced our new organizational structure last summer, we described the newly-created position of Chief Corporate Development Executive as a role responsible for commercial lending and fee-based businesses, including our insurance and wealth management subsidiaries,” said Martin K. Birmingham, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As time passed, it was clear that Bill Kreienberg is an ideal fit for the role. Bill has a deep understanding of all aspects of our business and brings to this role general business expertise, legal capabilities, and the proven ability to source new opportunities and strengthen existing relationships.

“Assuming the chief risk officer role for our organization is Mike Burneal. Mike has 30 years of banking experience and a track record of accomplishing results and leading others. He has a broad understanding of our organization gained through 13 years of experience leading our loan, deposit and information technology operations. He has demonstrated stewardship through expense control initiatives, implementation of technology solutions, and the design and execution of our financial solution center concept, and has been instrumental in the implementation of our enterprise risk management process. We are very pleased to have Mike serve as our Chief Risk and Enterprise Administration Officer.”    

Mr. Kreienberg joined Five Star Bank as General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer in December of 2014.  Previously, he practiced law beginning in 1984 and served as a Partner at the law firm Harter Secrest & Emery LLP from 1996 until late 2014. Mr. Kreienberg has a BA from Muskingum College and earned his law degree from Syracuse University.

Mr. Burneal joined Five Star Bank in 2004 as Loan Operations Manager, was promoted to Vice President – Banking Services Manager in 2007, and was named a Senior Vice President in 2010. In September of 2014, he was named Senior Vice President–Chief Information Officer. Previously, he held financial management positions at Sovereign Bank, First Federal Savings and Loan, and Columbia Banking. Mr. Burneal graduated from the University of Rochester with a BA in Economics and earned his MBA from Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.

Five Star Bank

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. More Five Star Bank information is available at www.five-starbank.com, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Five Star Bank is a subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (“FII”), a publicly-traded company. FII provides diversified financial services through its subsidiaries Five Star Bank, Scott Danahy Naylon and Courier Capital. FII and its subsidiaries employ approximately 700 individuals. The company’s stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol FISI. Additional information is available at www.fiiwarsaw.com.

Five Star Bank Contact:
Shelly J. Doran
(585) 627-1362 or [email protected]