Senior Management

Christopher D. Maher has served as Chairman of the Company and the Bank since January 2017 and as CEO of the Company and the Bank since 2015. He previously served as President of the Bank from 2015 to 2021, at which time he was succeeded by Mr. Lebel. He joined the Company and the Bank in 2013 as President and Chief Operating Officer and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2014.

Mr. Maher is active in the non-profit community, serving as Chairman of the Board of the OceanFirst Foundation, a Trustee of Helen Keller Services for the Blind, a Trustee and the Treasurer of Monmouth University, and as a Trustee and Treasurer of Hackensack Meridian Ambulatory Care. He is also active within the banking industry, as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia since 2020 and as a member of the Board of the New Jersey Bankers Association, where he serves as First Vice Chairman. 

Joseph J. Lebel III was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of OceanFirst Bank on January 1, 2021 and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of OceanFirst Financial Corp. in June 2020. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Bank since January 2019 and has previously served as Chief Banking Officer and Chief Lending Officer. Prior to joining OceanFirst, Mr. Lebel was employed with Wachovia Bank N.A.

Mr. Lebel serves as a Trustee on various non-profits, including Community Medical Center, part of the St. Barnabas Health System, and is also a Board member of St. Joseph and Donovan Catholic schools. He recently completed nine years of service as a Trustee to Fulfill, a food bank based in Ocean and Monmouth Counties. He also is a Director for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. 

Mr. Lebel provides significant leadership skills and in-depth experience in all facets of commercial and real estate lending ot the Board as well as extensive knowledge of the Bank's markets and strategic outlook.

Patrick S. Barrett was appointed Executive Vice President and CFO of the Company on June 2, 2022 following the retirement of Michael Fitzpatrick.  Mr. Barrett previously served as Executive Vice President/Finance upon joining the Company in April 2022. 

Prior to joining OceanFirst, Mr. Barrett served as CFO of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. and has extensive leadership and management expeirence at several financial services organizations. 

Steven J. Tsimbinos was appointed Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Company and the Bank in 2016, having previously served in those roles as First Senior Vice President since 2010. Prior to joining OceanFirst, he was General Counsel of Copper River Management, L.P., the investment manager to a family of hedge funds, since 2006, and prior to that a partner with Lowenstein Sandler PC, where he practiced corporate and securities law.

Michele B. Estep was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the Bank in January 2020. Prior to joining OceanFirst, Ms. Estep was the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Sun National Bank. Before then, she held leadership roles at KeyBank in Albany, New York.

Karthik Sridharan was appointed Chief Information Officer of the Bank in September 2019. Prior to joining OceanFirst, Mr. Sridharan was the Chief Technology Officer at Citigroup from 2011 to 2019 and previously held leadership roles in global technology management with JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America Corp. Mr. Sridharan was also an Industry Manager at Microsoft prior to joining the financial services industry.

Grace Vallacchi has served as Executive Vice President and CRO of the Company and the Bank since September 2017. Prior to joining OceanFirst, Ms. Vallacchi was Associate Deputy Comptroller in the Northeastern District of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) since February 2016. Prior to that position, she was Assistant Deputy Comptroller at the OCC since 2012, and a National Bank Examiner since 2007.

Ms. Vallacchi’s experience provides the Board with enhanced risk management, banking industry knowledge, and regulatory and government relations.

Anthony Giordano III was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief of Banking Operations on February 1, 2022, having been previously appointed Chief Retail Banking Officer of the Bank on January 2020. He also previously served as the Bank’s Senior Operations Officer since 2015 and as Interim Chief Information Officer until Mr. Sridharan’s appointment. Prior to joining OceanFirst, Mr. Giordano was Chief Executive Officer of Colonial American Bank until its acquisition by OceanFirst.   

Angela K. Ho was appointed Chief Accounting Officer of the Company in March 2017 and had served as the Chief Accounting Officer of the Bank since September 2016. Prior to joining OceanFirst, Ms. Ho served as the controller of Northfield Bank since 2012 and had significant accounting responsibilities at Signature Bank and KPMG LLP.