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John Ciulla to Succeed Jack Kopnisky as Webster Financial Corporation Board Chair

By Webster Bank

(STAMFORD, CT) February 1, 2024 | 1 min read —

Webster Financial Corporation has announced that as part of a planned transition, John R. Ciulla, Webster’s Chief Executive Officer, will become chairman of the board of Webster Financial Corporation and Webster Bank, National Association.

Ciulla joined Webster in 2004. He served as chairman, president and CEO of Webster Financial Corporation from 2020 until the close of its merger of equals with Sterling Bancorp in 2022.

In addition, Richard O’Toole will become lead independent director of the board, succeeding William Atwell, who will remain on the board. Atwell has been a valued member of the board since 2014 and is the former consulting and managing director of Atwell Partners, LLC. Both appointments are effective February 1, 2024.

O’Toole is executive vice president of The Related Companies and has been a member of the board since 2022, having previously served as a director for Sterling Bancorp since 2011 and chairman of the Sterling board from 2017-2022.

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. ( “Santander US” ) is a wholly -owned subsidiary of Madrid -based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) (“Santander ”), recognized as one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune Magazine in 2026, with more than 182 million customers in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Santander US is the intermediate holding company for Santander’s five growing businesses in the United States. Santander’s U.S. presence consists of auto lending, retail and digital banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management businesses. In August 2026, Santander closed on its acquisition of Webster Financial Corporation and, indirectly, Webster Bank, N.A, creating a leading retail and commercial bank in the United States by assets with an expanded presence in the Northeast. In the U.S. market, Santander also is recognized as top-10 auto lender and a top -10 multifamily bank lender and servicer, and operates one of the fastest growing digital banks, Openbank by Santander, as a division of Santander Bank, N.A. For more information about Santander US, please visit www.santanderus.com.

Contact Information

Media Contact:

Alice Ferreira

[email protected]

203.578.2610

Investor Contact:

Emlen Harmon

[email protected]

212.309.7646

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