CenterState CEO appoints Fournier as new board chair

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — CenterState CEO, the region’s largest economic development and business leadership organization, has announced that its board of directors has elected KeyBank Central New York Market President Stephen Fournier as the organization’s new board chair. Fournier succeeds David Schneckenburger, president and CEO of Thompson & Johnson Equipment Co., Inc., who served as board chair since 2022. Fournier has served as the leader of KeyBank’s Central New York Market for more than two decades. In this role, he is the senior representative and spokesperson and leads the organization’s economic and community development efforts in Central New York’s 14-county footprint. He also oversees KeyBank’s branch network along the I-90 corridor including the Buffalo, Rochester, Central New York, Capital Region markets. He leads efforts to promote steady business growth, strengthen relationships and deliver the breadth and depth of the bank’s financial services across upstate New York. “Steve is a longstanding, committed partner to CenterState CEO,” Robert Simpson, president of CenterState CEO, said in the announcement. “Through his leadership, KeyBank and the KeyBank Foundation have been heavily involved in our programmatic work, investing in initiatives to provide assistance to entrepreneurs and small-business owners, and supporting equitable growth within in our community. We’re incredibly fortunate to have him step into this new role as chair as we work to advance our mission-focused work at a period of profound growth and opportunity in our region.” Fournier was a member of the Strategic Partnership Committee that led to the founding of CenterState CEO in 2010 and has served as a member of CenterState CEO’s board of directors for the past 15 years. During that time, he has held roles on the board’s Executive Committee and as past treasurer, and served on the Finance and Sustainability Committee, Audit and Risk Committee (past chair), Compensation Committee, as well as the CenterState CEO Foundation board. “It’s an honor to be selected as CenterState CEO’s new chair,” Fournier said. “I’m eager to step into this role at a time of such growth potential in the region. Central New York is full of promise, and I look forward to continuing to drive economic prosperity and development through CenterState CEO’s transformative programming and resources.” Fournier earned a bachelor’s degree in management and finance from the University of Dayton. He is a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware and KeyBank’s Executive Leadership program at the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.