Lynn K. Giroux came to Essex Savings Bank 15 years ago as manager of human resources and branch administration.
Over the years, her responsibilities have grown to also include compliance, managing deposit operations and facilities management. Today, Giroux is senior vice president and chief administrative officer, and the only woman on the bank’s senior management team.
“I look at everything as a welcome challenge,” Giroux said. “I am not easily intimidated.”
Nominated by her staff and by the president and CEO, Giroux is one of this year’s Women of FIRE award winners.
“Lynn has the insight to be open-minded regarding advancements that will provide an improved experience for customers, while always being attentive to the financial impact on the bottom line,” President and CEO Gregory Shook wrote in his nomination of Giroux. “She continually empowers all employees to be the best that they can be, which is a quality of a great leader.”
Giroux attributes her love of banking and tough-mindedness to her father, a banker in Vermont.
“My father taught me early to be tough,” she said, adding that banking is a great career for women. “There are so many opportunities and avenues you can pursue. If you are willing to challenge yourself and work hard, you can succeed.”
“Challenge” is the hallmark of Giroux’s career. In this year alone, she has handled human resource management where she overhauled the bank’s salary structure, implemented due diligence procedures for the Bank Secrecy Act, managed the renovation of the Lyme branch, served as compliance officer with responsibilities for the labyrinth of new regulations for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the Dodd/Frank Act and implementation of remote deposit capture and business banking enhancements.
Under Giroux’s leadership, the bank has expanded its footprint, adding two new branches over the past five years.
“The two most important words in my vocabulary are ‘passion’ and ‘balance,’” Giroux said. “I am passionate about everything I touch, both on the job and off, and I try to convey that to everyone with whom I come in contact. I also believe we all need balance in our lives.”
Giroux balances her banking job with cycling in the summer and downhill skiing in the winter. She is also active in many community organizations, including Camp Hazen YMCA, the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, the Society of Human Resource Management and the Bank Compliance Association of Connecticut.
