Leadership & Board
The GRB Leadership Team provides deep knowledge of the needs of the local business and personal banking environment. Our community is unique, and GRB’s leaders look at individual situations and opportunities in a way that only someone who lives and works here can understand. We take pride in the depth of experience this team brings to the bank and to our customers.
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Leadership Team
Philip L. Pecora
Phil currently serves as President & CEO of GRB, a position that he has held since 2003. He has more than 20 years of banking experience, having joined GRB as a Senior Vice President, Manager of Commercial Banking after a seven-year career as commercial loan officer at a large regional bank. Phil currently leads GRB’s executive management team overseeing the bank’s financial, operational, administrative, underwriting and sales activities. Phil also serves as the bank’s liaison to community support activities. During his tenure at GRB, the bank has grown from under $40 million in total assets to over $1 billion.
Phil received his BA in Economics from the University of Rochester and MBA in Finance from the William E. Simon School of Business. In addition to sitting on GRB’s Board of Directors, Phil serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Independent Bankers Association of New York State, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at McQuaid Jesuit and Board Member of the Italian Heritage Foundation of Rochester. He was formerly the co-chair of the Boy Scouts of America Seneca Waterways Council “Casting for Character” fundraising event and previously served as a Board Member and President of the Rochester Small Business Council.
In his spare time Phil enjoys spending time with his family and friends, fly fishing, golf, and skiing.
Nick Dobbertin
Nick joined GRB in 2014 and is responsible for the bank’s accounting and financial reporting, budgeting, and financial management strategies.
A Rochester native, Nick graduated from The Aquinas Institute of Rochester before earning a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in the field of Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Certified Public Accountant and spent nine years in an audit role at The Bonadio Group before joining GRB. Nick also graduated from the American Banking Association’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking through the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2021, Nick was elected as a member of the Rochester Business Journal “Forty Under 40,” recognizing the region’s next generation of community leaders.
Nick is a member of the Finance Managers Society and serves as Treasurer on The Aquinas Institute Board of Trustees. He’s been a volunteer with the annual Base Ball program at the Genesee Country Village & Museum for more than 19 years.
Timothy Jones
Tim has more than 25 years of commercial banking experience in the local Rochester market and oversees the commercial relationship management team and GRB’s business development efforts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics/finance from Ithaca College and completed his Master of Business Administration at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Saunders College of Business. Tim also completed the Senior Leadership Development Program at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Active in the community, Tim is a member of the Board of Directors and serves on the Audit and Finance Committees for Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women and is a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Constellation Brands Performing Arts Center (CMAC). He is also a former chairman of the Board of Directors of Bivona Child Advocacy Center, and continues to serve the organization as a member of its Stewardship Committee.
Paul D. Keenan
Paul has been working in the banking industry for over 20 years and joined the GRB team back in 2012. He currently serves as Genesee Regional Bank’s Senior Vice President, Retail Banking Manager and is responsible for leading the bank’s sales and operational retail team. Paul has developed several new products for GRB to better meet the needs of GRB’s customers.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the SUNY College at Brockport and an Associates of Arts in Engineering from the SUNY College at Alfred. Outside of GRB, he gives back to the Rochester community by serving on the Compeer Rochester Board and on the Greece Regional Chamber Executive Board where he is also the immediate past chair.
Michael R. Pulver
Mike joined GRB in 2014. He brings more than 30 years of mortgage banking experience at the sales- and executive-level to his role managing GRB’s growing mortgage sales team. Under Mike’s management, GRB has become one of the top purchase-money lenders in the area and was recently named one of the Best Refinance Companies in Rochester by Expertise.com. In 2022 Mike received his Residential Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). There are fewer than 1,500 CMB-certified mortgage professionals throughout the U.S.
A graduate of St. John Fisher College, Mike is involved in local chapters of the Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Cancer Society, and the United Way. He also serves as the Secretary on the Board of Directors for the New York Chapter of the MBA.
Allana M. Lazeroff
Having joined the GRB team in 2007, Allana is responsible for the bank’s operations. Additionally, she oversees IT, Human Resources, Project Management, Risk Management and Marketing. She brings more than 20 years of banking experience to the job, most recently spending 10 years prior to GRB at local regional bank managing the Cash Management sales team throughout Central New York. Allana was selected as a Women of Excellence award recipient in 2019 and also helped co-found the Women@GRB education and development group at the bank.
Allana graduated from the John Wiley School of Business at SUNY Geneseo, and earned the Certified Treasury Professional designation in 1999. She keeps busy with her husband and two sons, and enjoys cooking, traveling, yoga, and volleyball.
Board of Directors
E. Philip Saunders
ABOUT
Mr. Saunders is the founder of a number of notable companies including Genesee Regional Bank, Truck Stops of America, Griffith Energy, Travel Centers of America and Sugar Creek Corporation. In addition, Mr. Saunders is an owner of Essex Property Management, a company responsible for commercial properties. Other significant ownership interests include Valley Fuels, Bristol Harbour Resort, Sugar Creek Farms, Western New York Energy and American Rock Salt.
Mr. Saunders serves as a member of the board of directors of Genesee Regional Bank and Chairman of the bank’s holding company, Greater Rochester Bancorp. He is also Chairman of Valley Fuels as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Paul Smith’s College. Mr. Saunders also serves on the Board of Directors of American Rock Salt, Buckingham Properties, Lewis Tree, Passero Associates, NYS Trooper Foundation, Torvec Inc., Rochester Institute of Technology, Western New York Energy, and Young Entrepreneurs Academy. Mr. Saunders was formerly the Executive Vice President and Director of Ryder Systems, Owner/CEO of Econo-car International, and Owner/CEO of Richardson Foods Corporation.
In addition to his current board service, Mr. Saunders has formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Fleet Bank, Genesee Valley Trust Company, Hahn Automotive, Excellus of New York, Ryder Systems, National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), Rochester General Hospital and Roswell Park.
Mr. Saunders is a past inductee of the Rochester Business Hall of Fame and is a recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science from Paul Smith’s College. He is also a member of the Livonia Central School Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Association of Travel Centers Hall of Fame.
Ronald Billitier
ABOUT
Ron Billitier owns Billitier Electric Inc. which employs approximately 100 electricians throughout the year. Established in 1970 out of his father’s home, it has grown from a mid-sized company to one of the largest commercial/industrial union electrical contractors in New York State. He is also a member of the St. John Fisher College Board of Trustees, University of Rochester’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center Board, and University of Rochester Eye Institute Board.
Anthony Cotroneo
ABOUT
Anthony Cotroneo is a partner in the Business Finance Department; the Private Equity Practice Group; the Franchising; Distribution and Dealership Practice Group; and the Construction Law Practice Group. His business law practice includes mergers, acquisitions, sales, and spin offs. Mr. Cotroneo is the chair of the firm’s Private Equity Practice Group, where he represents Private Equity Firms, Angel Investors, and Issuers in Private Equity transactions, including assisting in defining the rights and preferences of securities, developing capital structures and deal structures for start-up and growth stage companies. As the chair of the firm’s Franchising Distribution and Dealership Practice Group, Mr. Cotroneo has assisted Franchisors and Franchisees in the preparation and review of Uniform Franchise Offering Circulars (UFOC) and Franchise Agreements. He also provides counsel to regional and national Distributors and Dealers in all activities, including preparing agreements and implementing dealer and distributor systems. Mr. Cotroneo’s construction law practice includes representing owners, construction managers, general contractors and sub-contractors in all aspects of construction matters. Mr. Cotroneo is a member of the Board of the Rochester Italian Heritage Foundation, Empire State Lyric Theatre, the Rochester Business Alliance and is a Board member and Past President of the Small Business Council, an affiliate of the Rochester Business Alliance.
Eli Futerman
ABOUT
Eli Futerman is Co-president of Hahn Automotive, a leading regional distributor of auto parts to more than 1,400 independent and company-owned jobbers along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Midwest. He is the Chairman of Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc., and also serves on the Board of Directors of the University of Rochester’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center and Odyssey Software, Inc. Mr. Futerman is the Chairman of the Financial Resource Development Committee of the Rochester United Jewish Communities Campaign, and a Vice President and sits on the Board of Directors of the Rochester Jewish Community Federation. Along with his co-president, Daniel Chessin, Mr. Futerman was named 2010 Business Person of the Year by the Rochester Small Business Council.
Dan Gullace
ABOUT
A founding partner in Genesee Regional Bank, Dan Gullace has enjoyed a successful legal career. Before his partnership at Fulton, Friedman & Gullace, he retired as a partner at Gullace & Weld LLP.
Dan Hogan
ABOUT
Co-founded by Dan Hogan, Crane-Hogan specializes in new construction and rehabilitation of highways, bridges, parking garages, dams, buildings and both sewer and water treatment plants. Recent projects include Frontier Field Stadium, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, the Irondequoit Bay Swing Bridge, the rebuilding of the Bay Bridge over Irondequoit Bay, and work on the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge and the O’Rorke Bridge over the Genesee River. Mr. Hogan is on the Board of Directors of UNICON, Genesee Transportation Council, Monroe County Empire Zone, American Rock Salt Corporation, and The Hughes Corporation. Additionally, he serves as a member of the SUNY Brockport College Council and is a trustee for the Rochester Laborers Welfare & Pension Fund.
John Holahan
ABOUT
Michelle Paroda
ABOUT
Michelle Paroda joined Ramsey Constructors in 2002. She previously was Vice President of Customer Service at Frontier Communications and Senior Vice President at Choice One Communications. Together with her brother, Ms. Paroda also invests in commercial real estate in Dansville, NY. Ms. Paroda serves on the Board of Directors of UNICON.
Steven Sauer
ABOUT
Steven Sauer serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Genesee Regional Bank. A member of GRB’s board of directors since 2005, Steven began his career in banking as a commercial lender before joining local small business, Business Methods, Inc. As COO and then CEO of Business Methods, Inc., Sauer turned the struggling company around and grew it to more than $30 million in revenue before selling it to Toshiba in 2004. Sauer stayed on with Toshiba Business Systems (TBS), holding a variety of regional and sales positions before being named president of TBS in 2020. In 2023, Sauer was promoted to the role of Chief Revenue Officer for Toshiba America Business Solutions and is responsible for increasing the company’s revenue and profitability via its U.S. direct and indirect sales channels.
Sauer has been recognized as a leader in the Rochester business community throughout his career as Chamber of Commerce “Small Businessperson of the Year,” Rochester Business Journal Forty Under 40 recipient, and Mental Health Association of Rochester/Monroe County “Volunteer of the Year.” Sauer is also committed to giving back to the community and has served as vice chairman of the board for Unity Health System, president of the Mental Health Association of Rochester/Monroe County, chairperson of the Young Entrepreneur Academy, and as a youth hockey coach.
Sauer holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York College at Geneseo. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Owner/President Management Program.
Gary Schwingel
ABOUT
Gary Schwingel joined Genesee Regional Bank in 2004 after building a successful career in banking and finance. He served as GRB’s Chief Financial Officer overseeing portfolio management, budgeting, financial management, risk management and human resources until retiring and joining the Board of Directors in 2020. During his tenure at GRB, Gary’s strategic thinking helped grow GRB’s asset size from $50 million to $715 million. His efforts contributed to the bank being named to the “Rochester Top 100” and “Best Companies to Work for in New York” lists year after year. In 2009, Gary was recognized for his financial acumen and involvement in the Rochester community when he was named “Financial Executive of the Year” in the small private company category by the Rochester Business Journal. Gary is a graduate of RIT’s E. Philip Saunders College of Business, where he also serves as an Adjunct Professor. Gary also is a member of the business school’s Finance Advisory Board. He remains active in the local community as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mary Cariola Children’s Center.
Daniel Tessoni
ABOUT
Dan Tessoni is an assistant professor of Accounting in the Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology and a CPA. He received his Ph.D. in Accounting from Syracuse University, a MS from Clarkson and a bachelor’s degree from St. John Fisher College. He has presented seminars and executive programs on accounting and finance related issues to numerous companies including Constellation Brands, ITT Industries Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, Chase Manhattan Bank, First Empire Bank and Apple Computer. Dr. Tessoni has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of ACC Corp., a publicly- held long distance and cellular telephone company from 1987 until 1998 when the company was purchased by AT&T, and as chairman of the Audit Committee, and as a member of the Compensation Committee and the Executive Committee and several special committees. Serving on the boards of several privately held corporations, his research interests are in the areas of agency theory and positive accounting theory.