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Advocacy
Advocacy
Contact: Carolyn Mandelker
HARRISON EDWARDS 914-242-0010 x 101
cmandelker@harrison-edwardspr.com
Financial services executive ready to step in on an interim basis at Westchester County’s leading business advocacy association
(White Plains, New York…. November 4, 2019) William P. Harrington, Chairman of the Westchester County Association (WCA), announced today that John E. Ritacco, a financial services executive who was the former President and CEO of CMS Bancorp Inc., a publicly traded financial institution, will be appointed as Interim President/CEO of the WCA, effective January 1, 2020, as the search for a new leader progresses. Ritacco will remain in the position until a successor to William M. Mooney, Jr., the current President and CEO, is found.
Ritacco will work with the WCA Board and staff as they continue to proactively develop and advance policies and initiatives to foster smart growth and economic vitality in the region. “John has been an active business consultant to the WCA for the past two years and has worked closely with Bill Mooney and the Board,” Harrington explained. “So his taking the interim position is a terrific and natural fit if we have not identified a new CEO by the new year.”
Mooney, longtime popular head of the WCA, officially retires as of December 31, 2019. A seven-person Search Committee, chaired by Jeffrey Menkes, President & CEO of The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and a key member of WCA’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors, is in the process of conducting a comprehensive and inclusive search for the next leader of the WCA.
Ritacco has asked that all individuals interested in the position of President and CEO of the WCA contact him at jritacco@westchester.org as soon as possible.
“The Search Committee wants to make their selection from a solid, capable, diverse pool of highly-qualified individuals,” Menkes said. “We will keep moving ahead as we begin our next chapter and prepare to meet the extraordinary opportunities afforded by a changing and dynamic business climate.”
The WCA will honor Mooney, a giant in the regional business and banking communities, at their Annual Fall Leadership Dinner, to be held on November 13 at the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, SUNY.
About John Ritacco
In addition to his position as CEO & president at CMS Bancorp, Ritacco also served as an executive advisor to the New York and Connecticut Middle Market Lending Groups at Wells Fargo Bank, and most recently, was a special projects consultant to the WCA. Earlier in his career, he held executive positions at First Union National Bank in White Plains. A warm affable person, Ritacco was a natural fit for community outreach, and contributed his time and treasure to: the American Diabetes Association (“Father of the Year” Honoree in 2010), March of Dimes-Westchester Division (“Signature Chef” Honoree, 2015), Junior Achievement-Hudson Valley (Board of Directors, 1994-1998), and the Westchester County Association (Board of Directors, 2011-2015). He holds an Honoree Doctorate Degree in Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University; and a BA from University of Rhode Island.
The Westchester County Association represents the county’s foremost companies as well as municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education, supporting their objectives through direct advocacy and original programming. It is focused on promoting Westchester County as the region’s best place to live, work, and play: offering a high quality of life; access to good jobs, world-class schools, cultural institutions, dining, and recreational opportunities, all within close proximity to New York City and the rest of the Hudson Valley.
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