Corporate Leadership

Thomas J. Kemly was appointed President and CEO of Columbia Bank in 2012. He has since led the Bank on a steady growth trajectory by spearheading organic growth, Columbia Financial, Inc.’s IPO and strategic acquisitions. With over 40 years of experience, Mr. Kemly has been an active and influential figure in banking. Most recently, Kemly was elected to the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York’s Board of Directors and was named to the Power 100 List by NJBIZ, a statewide business publication. Throughout his career he has worked to advance housing opportunities for families of all incomes, accelerate local community development and increase charitable giving efforts. Kemly pioneered the Bank’s “Team Columbia” initiatives, where the Bank encourages employees to volunteer at local organizations and participate in meaningful community events. In conjunction with Columbia Bank’s IPO in 2018, he grew the Columbia Bank Foundation to one of the largest private giving Foundations in the state of New Jersey.

Kemly began his Columbia Bank career in 1981 and has held a number of positions, including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, before becoming President of the Bank.

Mr. Allen joined Columbia Bank in 1994 as a Financial Planning and Analysis Manager. He has also held various positions within the finance department, including Treasurer, Vice President and Treasurer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, and Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer in 2015.

Prior to joining Columbia Bank, Mr. Allen served as a Financial Analyst for Irving Trust, Vice President of Finance for Lincoln Federal Savings Bank, and Senior Vice President and Treasurer for Crestmont Federal Savings Bank.

Mr. Allen also serves as a Director of the Columbia Bank Foundation, a member of the New Jersey Bankers Association, the Financial Managers Society of New York and New Jersey, and regularly volunteers his time in support of the Patriots Path Council, as an Executive Board member.

Mr. Allen earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Missouri and an MBA in Financial Management from Pace University.

Mr. Gibney joined Columbia Bank in 2014 as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Columbia Bank, Mr. Gibney served as Principal at FinPro Capital Advisors, Inc., an investment banking and consulting firm specializing in the financial services industry.

Mr. Gibney graduated Magna Cum Laude from Babson College with a triple major in Finance, Investments and Economics. He has also earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Mr. Jennings was appointed Executive Vice President, Operations Officer of Columbia Bank in January 2022. In this role, Mr. Jennings is responsible for the Operations division including Card Services, Deposit Operations, Loan Servicing and the Customer Service Center. Prior to joining Columbia Bank, Mr. Jennings served in various positions with JP Morgan Chase & Co. since 2004.

Most recently, Mr. Jennings served as Executive Director, Head of Treasury Services – Community Development Banking at JP Morgan Chase & Co. from 2020 to January 2022, served as Executive Director, Client Service Director – Commercial Real Estate at JP Morgan Chase & Co. from 2015 to 2020 and served as Executive Director, Senior Business Manager – Commercial Banking Client Services at JP Morgan Chase & Co. from 2013 to 2015.

Mr. Jennings holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from The Ohio State University and received an MBA from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business.

Mr. Klimowich joined Columbia Bank in 1985 as a Junior Accountant. He has also held various positions within the accounting department, including as Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager, Assistant Controller and Senior Vice President, Controller. He was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer in 2013.

Mr. Klimowich serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Fair Lawn’s All-Sports Program and is a volunteer Coordinator with Fair Lawn’s Youth Baseball Program. He previously served as a member of the National Financial Institutions Accounting Council (FIAC), as a National Board Member of the Financial Manager’s Society (FMS) and as Past President of the New York/New Jersey FMS Chapter.

Mr. Klimowich earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from William Paterson University and an MBA in Accounting from Seton Hall University.

Oliver E. Lewis, Jr. was appointed EVP, Head of Commercial Banking of Columbia Bank in January 2021. Prior to joining Columbia Bank. Mr. Lewis served as an Executive Director for JPMorgan Chase from 2011 to March 2019, where he was a Commercial Bank Market Executive for Chase’s Commercial Bank Office in Central New Jersey and had direct responsibility for a team of bankers and associates with annual review of approximately $30 million. Mr. Lewis served in various other capacities with JPMorgan Chase from 1998 to 2011 and also served as an Assistant Vice President, Treasury Management with PNC Bank from 1994 to 1998. From 1987 to 1992, Mr. Lewis served as a Financial Services Officer in the United States Air Force, where he attained the rank of Captain. Mr. Lewis holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Manesh Prabhu was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer of Columbia Bank in October 2022.  In this role, Mr. Prabhu is responsible for Columbia Bank’s information systems and digital banking.  Mr. Prabhu has over 20 years of experience at leading institutions including People’s United Bank N.A. Most recently, he held the title of Chief Technology Officer where he led the IT strategy and technology transformation for People’s United. Through his nearly 20-year tenure and senior leadership roles at People’s United, Mr. Prabhu led enterprise architecture, data architecture, IT governance, business intelligence, marketing analytics, and data quality with a heavy focus on digital transformation.  Mr. Prabhu holds an MBA from Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM) – Madurai Kamaraj University in India and a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology (RIT) - Mahatma Gandhi University in India.

Matthew W. Rickert was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer of Columbia Bank in September 2022.  In this role, Mr. Rickert is responsible for Columbia Bank’s credit organization, including all aspects of consumer and commercial credit, special assets, and credit policy.  Mr. Rickert has over 20 years of diversified experience at financial institutions.  Prior to joining Columbia Bank, he was at JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) serving most recently as Market Executive for Middle Market Banking and Specialized Industries (MMBSI) at JPMC where he oversaw all facets of the portfolio, including sales and client profitability in New Jersey.  Previously, Mr. Rickert served as Credit Risk Director at JPMC where he managed the credit, counterparty, and market risk undertaken by the firm. Prior to that, he held banking and credit roles at Wells Fargo and HSBC.  Mr. Rickert holds a Master of Business Administration from Baruch College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and History from The Pennsylvania State University.

Mayra L. Rinaldi was appointed Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance and Culture of Columbia Financial, Inc. and Columbia Bank in December 2022.  In this role, Mrs. Rinaldi is responsible for overseeing the Corporate Governance, Executive Administration, Community Development and Corporate Facilities departments of the Company and the Bank.  She is also responsible for the Company’s and the Bank’s regulatory and SEC compliance requirements, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, which includes monitoring the effectiveness of the Bank’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as well as community support initiatives consisting of Team Columbia, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) outreach and the Columbia Bank Foundation. Mrs. Rinaldi is also responsible for providing executive oversight and monitoring of the Company’s and the Bank’s culture to ensure that it remains aligned with Columbia’s Creed of Shared Values, which is designed to ensure that all policies, products, and services, and actions throughout the Company and Bank allow team members to always act in the best interests of customers, coworkers, communities and shareholders.  Mrs. Rinaldi has over 20 years of experience at the Bank, having joined the Bank in 2000 and serving in various roles since that time.  Most recently, Mrs. Rinaldi has served as the Bank’s Senior Vice President, Corporate Governance since 2014.  Mrs. Rinaldi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Kean University and is a graduate of the Stonier School of Banking.

Ms. Schlesinger was appointed as Executive Vice President, Head of Consumer Banking in September of 2018. Ms. Schlesinger was previously with Citigroup, Inc. for 25 years, most recently as its Managing Director, U.S. Retail and Division Manager for Citi's New York City and New Jersey markets.

Presently, Ms. Schlesinger serves on both the corporate Advisory Board YWCA for the Boys and Girls Club of New Jersey as well as Seton Hall’s Customer Experience Program Advisory Board.

Ms. Schlesinger holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Michigan.

Jenifer W. Walden joined the Company and the Bank in June 2022 and will succeed Geri M. Kelly as Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer of the Company and the Bank upon Ms. Kelly’s retirement in September 2022.  Prior to joining the Company and the Bank, Ms. Walden has spent more than two decades at Fortune 50 financial services institutions, and more recently, three smaller entities including a mid-cap bank, a technology start-up, and a global manufacturing company.  From 2021 until June 2022, Ms. Walden served as the Global Director of Talent Management, Human Resources, at Nice-Pak Products. 

Prior to that time, Ms. Walden was Senior Vice President, Human Resources, at USEReady from 2020 to 2021 and was Director of Talent, First Senior Vice President at Valley Bank from 2018 to 2020.  Ms. Walden also served as Senior HR Business Partner and IT Recruitment Leader (Prudential Insurance & Annuities) for Prudential Financial from 2013 to 2018, and as Director of Human Resources (Prudential Real Estate Investors, PGIM) for Prudential Financial from 2010 to 2013.  Prior to that, Ms. Walden served in various positions with Ernst & Young LLP from 1999 to 2010. 

Ms. Walden is a doctoral candidate in strategic leadership at Liberty University and holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Development & Leadership from St. Joseph’s University and a Bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University.