Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. announced that Walter F. Rusnak, CPA, 70, Chief Financial Officer, will retire from the role after a career spanning more than forty years in finance effective June 28, 2024. Justin K. Bigham, CPA, 50, has been named to succeed Rusnak as Chief Financial Officer. Rusnak will remain with the company in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition and to continue to oversee the Bank?s investment securities portfolio and overall balance sheet management.

Rusnak joined Pathfinder Bank in 2015 and has held a number of positions in accounting and finance, including Vice President of Finance and First Vice President of Finance and Accounting. Prior to his time at Pathfinder Bank, Rusnak was an advisory board member and founding principal of Ovitz Corporation, where he advised and supported the financial operations and corporate governance in a start-up medical device company and has held several roles in publicly traded banks and regional credit unions across the country. Rusnak is a CPA and received his MBA in Finance from the State University of New York, Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Canisius College.

Bigham comes to Pathfinder Bank with more than 25 years? experience and an impressive background in Financial Services. Bigham has served in several key roles at various large public companies including his most recent position as Executive Vice President and Chief Community Banking Officer at Five Star Bank, after serving previously as their Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to his time at Five Star Bank, he served as Director of Financial Planning and Treasury at HealthNow New York and spent six years in senior positions at First Niagara in both finance and business line capacities, following seven years in increasingly responsible positions within the Finance Division at M&T Bank. Bigham earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from St. Bonaventure University and is a Certified Public Accountant.