DeWITT— Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) recently announced the election of Susan E. Skerritt to its board of directors as a new independent director.

Skerritt’s election expands the DeWitt–based banking company’s board to 13 directors, 12 of whom are independent. She was also appointed to the board of directors of Community Bank, N.A., the company’s wholly owned banking subsidiary. Skerritt will also serve on the board’s audit and compliance committee and the risk committee.

Skerritt has 35 years of experience in banking and financial services, having served in leadership positions at Deutsche Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, and RBC U.S. Group Holdings LLC. Earlier in her career she, held various leadership roles at Morgan Stanley, Treasury Strategies, Inc., Ernst & Young, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, according to a Community Bank news release. Skerritt is currently a senior advisor with Promontory Financial Group, an IBM company that provides consulting services to financial institutions on regulatory, governance, and risk-management issues.

Skerritt graduated from Hamilton College with a bachelor’s degree in economics and has served on its board of trustees since 1994. She received her MBA in finance and international business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Community Bank System operates more than 230 branches across upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and western Massachusetts through Community Bank, N.A. With assets of more than $13.8 billion, the banking company is among the nation’s 125 largest financial institutions.