The new NBT Bank CEO is a marathon runner, an avid mountain climber and a former firefighter and Meals on Wheels delivery volunteer. He shares his story of overcoming prostate cancer and starting a new chapter in his life
By Stefan Yablonski
Scott A. Kingsley became president and CEO of NBT Bank on May 21. He had joined the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer in 2021.
“I’m a North Country guy, yes — I grew up outside of Potsdam and graduated from Potsdam High School,” he said. “We didn’t do a lot of stuff in Syracuse. If we wanted to do something, my family went to Montreal or Ottawa. It was just so much closer; it was a three-hour drive [to Syracuse] and it was an hour, hour and a half to Ottawa. Those are pretty cosmopolitan cities.”
Growing up he played soccer, hockey, baseball — “pretty much everything one could do outdoors. As I got older, I started doing other things besides team sports, skiing and golf — those kinds of things,” he added.
The 60-year-old went to college at Clarkson University and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance.
While in high school and college he was a member of the West Stockholm Volunteer Fire Department.
“It’s a little small rural fire department outside of Potsdam by about 10 miles with about 35 members. I’d be shocked if the numbers were any different today,” he said. “We got great training. Thankfully when you’re a volunteer firefighter in one of those small places the order of what you do is training, fundraising and then — hopefully not very often — you have to go to an actual fire. Our little department was fortunate enough to have a couple guys who were professional firemen at Alcoa in Massena, so we learned all the right things.”
When Kingsley left Clarkson, he went to work in public accounting because people had told him “that is the spot to broaden your experience.”
“Start there, you get to see a whole bunch of different things, which was definitely the case,” he said.
He moved to Syracuse to join Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“I was on the business assurance side of the firm and gained experience on clients in several industries including industrial and manufacturing, banking, insurance and college and university — a whole bunch of exposure in my clients’ sphere. This broad industry experience provided an excellent foundation for the future,” he said.
“I also met my wife, Doreen, while at the firm. We both started work at Coopers & Lybrand on the same day. She is from North Syracuse, went to school at C-NS [Cicero-North Syracuse],” he continued. “We didn’t date for a while — a couple of years — then we decided to be more than friends. So even if my experience wasn’t great at Coopers & Lybrand, which it turns out it was … I was meeting my wife! We will be married 34 years this fall.”
He left Coopers as a senior manager to join the Carlisle Companies, Inc. as the company’s corporate controller when it was headquartered in Syracuse.
“They are a large company, not headquartered in Syracuse anymore. They’re in Scottsdale, Arizona. I literally walked across the street to join Carlisle; never changed my parking spot,” he said. “After three years in that role, I was asked to move to the Midwest in support of an acquisition Carlisle completed and became the CFO of Carlisle Engineered Products, a large operating division of the company. My family and I relocated to Hudson, Ohio, a terrific community between Cleveland and Akron. I gained a ton of operating experience including leading the organization’s efforts in overseas expansion.”
In 2004, he said he was fortunate to join Community Bank System, Inc. as its chief financial officer. “We moved our family back to Central New York. That was one of my objectives — to be a CFO of a large public company. It was a great fit; it was a move back home for my family. We enjoyed northeast Ohio. It was a great spot for the kids to grow up. But our families were still back in Upstate New York. So it was a great opportunity personally and professionally.”
After several years as the CFO, he also became the chief operating officer at Community Bank.
“I had some really good experiences with some great people,” he recalled.
Cancer
In early 2020, he had “a little health scare” in his own words.
“I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. When someone tells you you have Stage 4 cancer — you pay attention,” he said. “As an adult you can understand most of the things you are being told relative to your own health care. I’ve gotten to see how difficult that is for children. When you are a male my age you go through annual checks of PSA … my score had changed. My physician recommended I have a biopsy and that showed a fairly intense level of cancer.
“After a surgery, I retired from Community Bank to focus on my health. I went through both chemotherapy and radiation in addition to hormone therapy. I was fortunate to be treated locally and thankfully was able to accept the treatments and stay very physically active.”
Kingsley became a Meals on Wheels delivery volunteer in his spare time. He trained for and ran the Boston Marathon for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in 2021.
“About eight or nine months after that someone reached out to me and said ‘there might be an opportunity at NBT if you are interested in going back to work.’ I came and talked to John Watt and the management team at NBT; thought it was a good fit for me and the rest is history,” he said. “I had the opportunity to go back into the workforce in mid-2021 as the CFO of NBT Bancorp. John [now vice chairman of the board] is still very supportive of me. I truly missed the professional engagement and have really enjoyed the team at NBT.
“Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to become the president and CEO at NBT, which I’m very grateful for. Second chances are a wonderful thing!”
“The company is very deep. We have some great people — deep in people, deep in products and services,” he said. “The markets that we participate in, there is not much we can’t do.
“We will be the bank for those subcontractor companies for Micron; those people who want to build a warehouse or who want to do multi-family housing or the school districts that will be adding capacity in order to take on a larger population. NBT is not only in the Syracuse market but down into Hudson Valley. We have many branches in what we call the ‘Micron Chip Corridor.’ We are just in a great spot to serve the needs of the people that are already in the market today and those who will be in that market going forward.”
NBT enjoys a very loyal customer base.
“We have a lot of opportunity whether to grow organically like we think the chip corridor in Upstate is going to deliver,” he said. “We have ample opportunities to pursue.
“We focus on the needs of our employees, our customers, the communities we are operating in and of course our shareholders. Finding the right balance on how to fulfill needs of those four groups, that is what we work on diligently every day. I am completely engaged and I like to say out loud I think I am bold and enthusiastic. I think our people are genuinely engaged and have a desire to always do the right thing for their customers. As a leader, you just have to be supportive of them.”
Community-minded
He has always been focused on community service and engagement.
“I was the president of the board of directors of the Food Bank of CNY and it remains one of my favorite charities. I was on the board of the Crouse Health Foundation for 18 years. I’m currently on the audit committee of the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and the finance committee of St. Ann’s Parish in Manlius,” he said. “I have also run several distance races in support of pediatric cancer research and support, including Paige’s Butterfly Run and OnMyTeam16 [a nonprofit organization supporting children in the fight against cancer], as well as Dana Farber.”
Kingsley has raised more than $110,000 for the organizations he supports.
“Outside of work, my wife and I have been blessed with four children, a boy and three girls, who are now between 25 and 32 years old. We are also proud grandparents of one grandson. We enjoy several outdoor sports including golf [she’s a better golfer, he admits] and skiing,” he said. “My wife and I are also aspiring Adirondack 46ers and are about a third of the way into that journey. We try to go from where we are today to knocking off all 46 the peaks over 4,000 feet. That takes some stamina. You have to plan for that. You have to have good planning for that. Those hikes tend to be eight, 10, 12 hours.
I also compete annually in the Winter Empire State Games in snowshoe racing and have earned several medals!”
In the fall of 2021, Kingsley was honored with the Golden Knight award by his alma mater. Usually presented during the alumni reunion, the award is given to alumni who’ve distinguished themselves either by service to Clarkson through Alumni Associated activities or have demonstrated outstanding career achievement, bringing distinction to themselves and to Clarkson.
And he is still running.
“I probably do 18 – 20 miles a week. If I want to do another marathon I’m a little bit more diligent on my workout routine,” he said. “I still enjoy it. But some people tell me that at the age of my knees, I might want to consider a sport with less impact. I’m not there yet.”
Lifelines
Name: Scott Kingsley, 60
Birth Place: Potsdam
Residence: Manlius
Education: Clarkson University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting; Certified Public Accountant
Affiliations: Serves on Crouse Health Foundation Board of Trustees and the Audit and Finance Committee for the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse; passionate fundraiser for organizations fighting pediatric cancer
Personal/family: Married, four children and one grandchild
Hobbies: Running, hiking and other outdoor activities
