First Niagara Financial announced Brian M. Dempsey was named SVP and corporate controller, reporting to Gregory W. Norwood, CFO. Dempsey will also serve as the company’s principal accounting officer.

Dempsey previously served as director of finance accounting and brings to his new position more than 15 years of leadership experience in corporate finance and public accounting. He joined the company in October 2009 as corporate reporting manager. Prior to joining, Dempsey was a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he worked for 10 years auditing various banks and financial service companies.

“Brian is a highly respected member of our finance team and has demonstrated that he is the right person to lead this important function,” said Norwood. “I have every confidence that he will continue to drive a disciplined approach to our financial reporting.”