Business Council Elects Three Members to Board of Directors

Tom Tranter Elected to the Executive Committee

ALBANY, NY (06/21/2013)(readMedia)-- The Business Council of New York State, Inc. recently elected three members to its Board of Directors.

Martin K. Birmingham, CEO and president of the Financial Institution; Kevin B. Quinn, senior vice president and managing director Upstate New York of HSBC Bank USA, N.A.; and Dennis Richardson, president and CEO of Hillside Family of Agencies, joined The Business Council's Board at its meeting in New York City on May 14. Additionally, Tom Tranter, president of Corning Enterprises and director of government affairs at Corning Incorporated, was appointed to the Board's executive committee.

"These distinguished individuals bring extensive knowledge and experience about New York's business climate to our board," said Heather C. Briccetti, Esq., president and CEO of The Business Council. "Each has a keen understanding of our efforts to strengthen the state's economy and to create jobs. They are an asset to our ongoing mission to make New York a business-friendly state."

Martin Birmingham has been chief executive officer and president of Financial Institutions, Inc., which is the parent company of Five Star Bank, since March 2013. Birmingham has also served as executive vice president and commercial banking executive since 2005. Birmingham holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from St. Lawrence University, and an MBA from the University of Rochester's Simon School of Business.

Kevin Quinn has 19 years of commercial banking experience, covering large corporate and middle market companies located throughout a 14-state region of the Midwest and parts of Canada. Quinn has a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, as well as a JD and MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Dennis Richardson has worked at Hillside Family of Agencies since September 1994, and is responsible for the overall leadership and administration. Prior to Hillside, he served as the executive director of the Children's Study Home in Springfield, MA as well as serving as adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. He is a graduate of Columbia University's School of Social Work.