Sterling Bancorp, the thrift holding company for Sterling Bank and Trust, promoted Karen Knott, currently senior vice president and controller, to the role of CFO of the company and the bank.
Knott’s promotion is subject to the receipt of regulatory non-objection from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Stephen Huber, who is currently executive vice president and CFO of the company and who also briefly served as interim CEO, decided to step down from his roles at the company and pursue other interests.
“We are indeed fortunate to have Karen step into the role as our chief financial officer. During her tenure with Sterling, Karen has always played a critical role in the execution of our strategies. She is an accomplished financial executive and well respected within the company,” Thomas M. O’Brien, chairman, president and CEO of Sterling Bancorp, said. “Steve Huber leaves with our appreciation for his many years of service to Sterling and we all wish him the very best of luck as he pursues future opportunities.”
Knott has more than 20 years of experience in financial operations and accounting roles with financial institutions and has served as Sterling’s senior vice president and controller since March. Prior to this role, she served as assistant vice president and controller of Sterling Bank and Trust beginning in 2015. She also served in a variety of other financial roles, including divisional controller for commercial lending and staff accountant, since first joining the bank in 1998. Before joining Sterling, Knott began her career in customer service and finance positions at Credit Union ONE and CommonPoint Mortgage.
