Executive Management

Director Since: 2013  
Age: 55
Term Expires: 2025

Mr. Birmingham has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Institutions, Inc. and Five Star Bank since 2013. He joined Five Star in 2005 as President and CEO of National Bank of Geneva and upon its consolidation with three other subsidiary banks in December of 2005 to form Five Star Bank, served as Commercial Banking Executive and Rochester Region President. He started his banking career in 1989 with Fleet Financial Group, where he held several progressive corporate banking roles until it was acquired by Bank of America and he was named President of the Rochester Market.

Mr. Bigham has been Executive Vice President, Chief Community Banking Officer of Financial Institutions, Inc. and Five Star Bank since February 2021. He joined us as Executive Vice President, Deputy Chief Financial Officer in October 2018 and was named Chief Financial Officer in April 2019. He also served as Treasurer from April to December 2019. Previously, he worked at HealthNow New York as Director of Financial Planning & Analysis and Treasury from 2017 to 2018 and at First Niagara Financial Group where he served as Senior Vice President, Head of Consumer Product Management from 2014 to 2016 and as Senior Vice President, Head of Financial Planning & Analysis from 2010 to 2014. Mr. Bigham was with M&T Bank from 2003 to 2010, where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within the Finance Division. He is a Certified Public Accountant with eight years of public accounting experience; six years were with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Burruano has been Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Financial Institutions, Inc. and Five Star Bank since February 2021. Between December 2019 and February 2021, he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Burruano joined Five Star Bank in October 2016 as Assistant General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Compliance and was named Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in November 2018. Previously, he held various legal and compliance positions at First Niagara Bank, NA beginning in March 2011, most recently serving as Assistant General Counsel, Retail Services and Assistant Corporate Secretary. Mr. Burruano has practiced law since 1993 and was an attorney at the law firm of Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, from December 1993 to March 2011, where he ascended from associate counsel to partner.

Mr. Plants, who has been Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Financial Institutions, Inc. and Five Star Bank since February 2021, was promoted to Executive Vice President in December 2022. He joined Five Star Bank in December 2019 as Senior Vice President, Corporate Treasurer. Until November 2019, he served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer of United Bank where he progressed from Treasury Manager to Treasurer during his seven-year tenure. Prior to his tenure at United Bank, Mr. Plants served in various treasury and credit roles at GE Capital, GE Commercial Finance and Five Star Bank.

Mr. Willett has been Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Financial Institutions, Inc. and Five Star Bank since February 2021. Between November 2018 and February 2021, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Administration Officer. He joined Five Star Bank as Senior Vice President, Director of Internal Audit in August 2017. Previously, he worked at Morgan Stanley, starting in 2004, in various roles of increasing responsibility across Finance, Operations and Legal and Compliance, including Sarbanes-Oxley Implementation, Americas Head of Finance Risk Management, and Global Head of Regulatory Affairs Strategy & Implementation beginning in 2014. Earlier, Mr. Willett served in Credit Risk at J.P. Morgan.

Laurie R. Collins was named Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer of the Bank in August 2021. Prior to joining the Bank and the Company, from 2019 until 2021 she served as Global Director – Total Rewards, Culture, and HR Technology at Columbus McKinnon Corporation and prior to this from 2017 until 2019 served as Global Director – Corporate HR and Talent. Prior to her tenure at Columbus McKinnon Corporation, Ms. Collins served for 11 years in roles of increasing responsibility in the human resources department at PepsiCo, Inc.

Gary A. Pacos was named Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer of the Bank in February 2023. Previously, he worked at Bank OZK serving as the Chief Compliance Officer since 2020. Prior, Mr. Pacos served as Senior Vice President, Compliance Executive for Fair & Responsible Banking, Risk Evaluation & Assurance, overseeing Fair Lending and Compliance testing at KeyBank from 2016 to 2020, and as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Compliance and Ethics at First Niagara Bank, N.A. from 2010 to 2016. Earlier, Mr. Pacos served as Vice President, Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, Compliance Testing Manager at M&T Bank from 2006 to 2010. Mr. Pacos began his career in varying roles related to Compliance, Consumer Credit, Audit and Operations roles at HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Mr. Pacos has held board positions on the American Bankers Association’s Regulatory Compliance Schools, and National Compliance Conference.  In addition to his banking career, Mr. Pacos served our country in the United States Army as a Senior Army Aviator rising to the rank of Major, and remained in the New York Army National Guard until his retirement in 2008.  

Mr. Quinn has been Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Banking Officer of Five Star Bank since February 2021. He joined the Bank in August 2020 as Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking Executive. Previously, he served for 15 years in leadership roles with HSBC Bank USA, NA, most recently as Managing Director and Regional Head of Corporate Banking. He began his career as an attorney with Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio and subsequently spent 10 years in commercial banking at M&T Bank.