Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On September 28, 2023, Judith H. Germano was appointed to the Board of Directors of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company”) to fill the position vacated by the previously disclosed retirement of Marcia Z. Hefter. Ms. Germano will serve for a term that will expire at the annual meeting of the shareholders of the Company in 2024. Ms. Germano was also appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Dime Community Bank. Ms. Germano will serve on the Credit Risk, Enterprise Risk, and Strategic Planning Committees of the Board of Directors.
Ms. Germano is Founder and Lead Counsel at GermanoLaw LLC, a boutique law firm she founded in 2013. Ms. Germano is a Distinguished Fellow at New York University (NYU)’s Center for Cybersecurity, an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, and an Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern School of Business. Ms. Germano specializes in cybersecurity and privacy, financial regulation and compliance, and risk management and strategy. Ms. Germano served for 11 years as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, including as Chief of Economic Crimes at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where she handled complex financial fraud and cybercrime matters; she also served on the U.S. President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force following the 2008 Financial Crisis. Ms. Germano previously worked at the global law firm Shearman & Sterling, and as a law clerk to federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. She founded and chairs WomenLeadersinCybersecurity.org and has led the NYU Cybersecurity Leaders Roundtable series since 2013. She sits on the Advisory Boards of the Advanced Cybersecurity Center and the Volatility and Risk Institute; and is an Expert Industry Advisor at TruePic, Inc. Ms. Germano holds a B.S. degree from Cornell University and a J.D., cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Ms. Germano and any other person pursuant to which Ms. Germano will become a director. Ms. Germano is not a party to any transaction with the Company that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of the Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K.
A press release containing additional information is included herewith as Exhibit 99.1.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
