Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of Berkshire Bank, a US-based socially responsible, community-dedicated bank with branch locations in New England and New York, announced the election of Mihir A. Desai to the Board of Directors of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Berkshire Bank effective March 10, 2022.
Mr. Desai is an internationally acclaimed Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. His extensive expertise in finance, investment, and business will bolster the Board’s support of Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation (BEST). Upon his election Desai was appointed to the Compliance & Regulatory and Risk Management & Capital Committees of the Board.
“We are pleased to welcome Mihir to our Board of Directors,” said Chairperson David M. Brunelle. “Mihir’s work at Harvard and extensive business experience will provide important insight, context and perspectives to our Board.”
“Berkshire, and all of our stakeholders will benefit greatly from Mihir’s expertise and wisdom. His understanding of the principals of finance in improving human lives will strengthen our Board and his commitment to making finance more accessible will further enhance our BEST plan as well as support our vision of being a high-performing, leading socially responsible community bank in New England and beyond,” added Berkshire Bank CEO Nitin Mhatre.
Desai, 53, is the Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School, and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Mr. Desai is an accomplished author and expert in finance and tax policy. His books include the Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return (longlisted for the 2017 FT/McKinsey Best Business Book of the Year) and How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart about the Numbers. He is a Research Associate in the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Public Economics and Corporate Finance Programs, and served as the co-director of the NBER’s India program. His research has been cited in leading academic journals and the popular press and has served as the foundation to his several testimonies to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. In addition to his work at Harvard University, his professional experiences include CS First Boston, McKinsey & Co., and advising a number of firms and governmental organizations.
Desai received his Ph.D. in political economy from Harvard University, his MBA as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School, and a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Brown University.
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