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Pathfinder Bancorp Q4 profit rises more than 70 percent
OSWEGO — Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBHC), the bank holding company of Pathfinder Bank, reported net income of $4.3 million, or 69 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up 72 percent from $2.5 million or 41 cents, in the fourth quarter of 2023. The latest quarterly results included a benefit of about $1.4 million […]
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OSWEGO — Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBHC), the bank holding company of Pathfinder Bank, reported net income of $4.3 million, or 69 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up 72 percent from $2.5 million or 41 cents, in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The latest quarterly results included a benefit of about $1.4 million from a gain on Pathfinder’s previously announced sale of its insurance agency, net of taxes and transaction-related expenses.
For the full year 2024, Pathfinder earned net income of $3.8 million, or 60 cents a share, down from $9.3 million, or $1.51 per share, in 2023.
Pathfinder Bank is a New York State–chartered commercial bank headquartered in Oswego with 11 full-service branches located in its market areas of Oswego and Onondaga counties and one limited-purpose office in Oneida County.

KeyBank parent company names new new chief risk officer
Mohit (Mo) Ramani is the new chief risk officer (CRO) at KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) — parent company of KeyBank, the No. 2 bank ranked by deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York region. He started in the CRO position on Jan. 23, the banking company announced. Ramani joins Key from Truist Financial Corporation,
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Mohit (Mo) Ramani is the new chief risk officer (CRO) at KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) — parent company of KeyBank, the No. 2 bank ranked by deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York region. He started in the CRO position on Jan. 23, the banking company announced.
Ramani joins Key from Truist Financial Corporation, where he has served in increasingly senior roles since 2016, most recently, as deputy CRO. Prior to joining Truist, Ramani served in a variety of leadership roles with firms such as Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Bank of America, N.A. Ramani brings with him a proven track record of leading transformative change in risk management platforms and practices. Additionally, he has a reputation for forging internal partnerships across lines of business and corporate functions while maintaining strong, independent challenge, and support from regulators, KeyCorp said.
“I am very pleased to welcome Mo to Key,” Chris Gorman, chairman and CEO of KeyCorp, said in the announcement. “I am confident that with Mo’s leadership, experience, and expertise we will continue to elevate our risk management practices and culture, further enabling strong, profitable growth for Key.”
Ramani will serve as a member of Key’s executive leadership team, reporting to Gorman. As CRO, Ramani will lead a team of risk-management professionals as well as oversee all aspects of the risk-management function at Key.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial-services companies, with assets of about $187 billion as of Dec. 31. Its roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany. KeyBank has a network of about 1,000 branches and about 1,200 ATMs in 15 states.
Oneida County hotel business indicators were mixed in January
UTICA — Oneida County hotels registered a mixed month of business performance in January, as indicated by three key benchmarks. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) edged down 1.2 percent to 44.9 percent in the first month of 2025 compared to the year-ago month, according to a report from STR,
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UTICA — Oneida County hotels registered a mixed month of business performance in January, as indicated by three key benchmarks.
The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) edged down 1.2 percent to 44.9 percent in the first month of 2025 compared to the year-ago month, according to a report from STR, a Tennessee–based hotel-market data and analytics company.
Revenue per available room (RevPar), an important industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, rose 3 percent to $55.79 in January in the Mohawk Valley’s largest county versus January 2024.
Average daily rate (ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, increased 4.2 percent to $124.13 in Oneida County in January 2025, compared to the same month a year before.

Lockheed Martin’s suburban Syracuse plant wins $23.5M Navy contract modification for submarine work
SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) recently was awarded a $23.5 million modification to a previously awarded delivery order under a contract from the U.S. Navy to exercise options for engineering support of submarine electronic-warfare systems on new construction and in-service submarines. Work will be performed in the Lockheed Martin facility in the town
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SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) recently was awarded a $23.5 million modification to a previously awarded delivery order under a contract from the U.S. Navy to exercise options for engineering support of submarine electronic-warfare systems on new construction and in-service submarines.
Work will be performed in the Lockheed Martin facility in the town of Salina, and is expected to be completed by February 2026, according to an early February contract announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Fiscal 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds totaling $8.57 million (85 percent); fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds of $1 million (10 percent); and fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds totaling $500,000 (5 percent), will be obligated at the time of award. Of that amount, $500,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. is the contracting authority.

United Airlines to ofer two flights a day from Syracuse to Denver
SYRACUSE — United Airlines this summer plans to expand its daily, nonstop service to twice daily from Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) directly to Denver International Airport (DEN). When the daily service was initially announced in 2019, it was “lauded as a big win for both business and leisure travelers in Central New York,” the
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SYRACUSE — United Airlines this summer plans to expand its daily, nonstop service to twice daily from Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) directly to Denver International Airport (DEN).
When the daily service was initially announced in 2019, it was “lauded as a big win for both business and leisure travelers in Central New York,” the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority (SRAA) said in its Feb. 14 announcement.
The current daily service departs SYR around 8 a.m. (Eastern time), arriving in DEN just before 10 a.m. (Mountain time). The return flight leaves DEN at about 6 p.m. (Mountain), landing at SYR just after 11 p.m. (Eastern).
The newly added daily service will include an additional inbound flight departing DEN at about 9:40 a.m. (Mountain), arriving at SYR just after 3 p.m. (Eastern). It will also include an additional daily outbound flight departing SYR at 4:15 p.m. (Eastern) and arriving in DEN just after 6 p.m. (Mountain).
“Increased connectivity to and through Denver is a great addition for all our travelers, but especially for our semiconductor industry travelers,” Jason Terreri, SRAA executive director, said in the announcement. “The twice daily service provides convenient one-stop options into Boise, ID and the Bay Area. I would also like to thank Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and all our elected officials who have advocated for this increased service for our region, ensuring Central New York is a leader in the chip manufacturing space.”
In a separate announcement that same day, the office of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said the lawmaker last year called United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, urging the airline to add a second daily flight for the route.
“I called United Airlines CEO last year and told him how important it is to improve access between Central New York and the West Coast, and I’m thrilled he heeded my calls,” Schumer said. “With Micron making historic investments in Onondaga County, this new daily flight is a critical step to connecting this region to the West Coast and other critical high-tech hubs.”
A second daily flight to Denver has been a “Syracuse airport priority for years” since its existing flight is fully booked almost every day. The senator said this new flight will improve connectivity to key West Coast and international markets.

New York home sales rise more than 3 percent in January 2025
ALBANY — Realtors in New York state sold 7,625 previously owned homes in January, up 3.1 percent from the 7,395 existing homes they sold in January 2024. However, pending sales fell almost 5 percent in the first month of the year, foreshadowing declines in closed home sales in the next couple of months, the New
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ALBANY — Realtors in New York state sold 7,625 previously owned homes in January, up 3.1 percent from the 7,395 existing homes they sold in January 2024.
However, pending sales fell almost 5 percent in the first month of the year, foreshadowing declines in closed home sales in the next couple of months, the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) said in its January housing report issued on Feb. 21.
“Housing sales improved for the second consecutive month despite interest rates continuing to hover near seven percent,” NYSAR said to open its report.
NYSAR cites Freddie Mac as indicating interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage have hovered between 6 percent and 7 percent for most of the last two-and-a-half years. In January, rates settled in at 6.96 percent, on average. By comparison, a year ago at this time, the average interest rate stood at 6.64 percent, NYSAR said. Freddie Mac is the more common way of referring to the Virginia–based Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
The inventory of homes for sale in New York state totaled 22,876 in January, down 3.2 percent from the January 2024 figure of 23,640.
The months supply of homes for sale at the end of January stood at 2.6 months, unchanged compared to the year-prior month, per NYSAR. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered a balanced market, the association says.
New listings in New York rose 0.5 percent to 9,125 in January from 9,078 in the year-earlier period.
Pending home sales in the Empire State totaled 6,520 in January, a drop of 4.9 percent from the 6,855 pending sales in the same month in 2024, according to the NYSAR data.
Amid continued tight home supply, home prices in the state continued to rise in the latest month. The January 2025 statewide median sales price was $425,000, up 6.25 percent from the January 2024 median price of $400,000.
All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York, and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.

Keenans donate $1.25M for continued support of Le Moyne entrepreneurship education
SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College says Tim and Kathleen Keenan have donated an additional $1.25 million that will help pay for the ongoing initiatives of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity for the next five years. “This commitment will ensure that the important work being accomplished through the center will not only continue
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SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College says Tim and Kathleen Keenan have donated an additional $1.25 million that will help pay for the ongoing initiatives of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity for the next five years.
“This commitment will ensure that the important work being accomplished through the center will not only continue but will expand over the next few years,” the Keenans said in the Le Moyne announcement. “The center’s breadth of activities and overall impact on students, businesses, community organizations and other entities throughout the region has been truly remarkable to witness.”
Since its founding in 2013, the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity has “become engrained in the entrepreneurial landscape of the region,” offering curriculum, programming and educational opportunities for “individuals of all ages,” Le Moyne College said.
In October 2022, the Keenan Center’s mission and goals were enhanced with the opening of a 2,700-square-foot facility on Le Moyne’s campus. The center was built to standards established by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is “one of the most unique facilities of its kind found on a college campus in the country,” per the announcement on the Le Moyne website.
The Keenan Center’s activities have included helping hundreds of entrepreneurs — from the campus to across the community — develop business models, network, and grow their businesses.
The center also has a program called Keenan Innovators, which is led by expert STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) coaches that introduces cohorts of middle schoolers to the power of inquiry, technology and problem solving.
Its activities also include Dolphin Tank, which is an annual event showcasing Le Moyne students who have started innovative and growing ventures, in competition for $50,000 in funding.
The Keenan Center also has initiatives involving drones with partnerships, education, and other activities that have established the center as a “vital cog in the region’s position as a national leader” in the drone industry. In 2024 the center announced a partnership with NUAIR. The nonprofit NUAIR is short for the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance.
The Keenan Center’s activities additionally include Maker Faire Syracuse where engineers, artists, scientists, and crafters become “makers” who build and show hobbies, experiments, artwork and more.
“The Keenans were one of the first donors to respond to Mike Madden’s
$7.5 million gift that established the Madden College of Business and Economics,” Jim Joseph, dean of Le Moyne’s Madden College and VP for advancement and innovation. “Their long-standing commitment and support have helped elevate the reputation and offerings of the Madden College on the regional and national stage.”

SU offering academic programs to current, former baseball players in MLBPA partnership
SYRACUSE — Both current and former professional baseball players will get the chance to pursue academic programs at Syracuse University (SU) as part of the school’s partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). Under their agreement, SU will offer “market-relevant and industry-specific” online degrees, certificates, and credentials, as well as a range of
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SYRACUSE — Both current and former professional baseball players will get the chance to pursue academic programs at Syracuse University (SU) as part of the school’s partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).
Under their agreement, SU will offer “market-relevant and industry-specific” online degrees, certificates, and credentials, as well as a range of non-credit professional development and executive education-training programs, courses, and workshops, per Feb. 25 the SU announcement.
The university describes the partnership as “responsive to the MLBPA’s desire to expand opportunities for career growth to its thousands of players.”
“This partnership reflects our collectively held value that higher education should be achievable for everyone, regardless of the demands of their profession or personal circumstances,” Jeremy Jordan, dean of David B. Falk College of Sport & Human Dynamics, said in the SU announcement. “For athletes and professionals with unpredictable schedules, our online programs offer the perfect balance of flexibility, robust academic support and real-world applicability — all without compromising their careers.”
Jordan had the initial discussions with the MLBPA inspired the creation of this new initiative, SU noted. The MLBPA represents the 1,200 players on major league 40-man rosters, as well as about 5,500 minor league players.
These educational opportunities will be accessible through a number of formats, including online, on campus, and at Syracuse’s Study Away sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. SU says it will also offer an online academic English program to prepare non-native English speakers for success in their non-credit programs, courses, and workshops.
This new partnership creates opportunities for players to pursue objectives that include skill development and post-career readiness; research and innovation; practical experience; and networking opportunities, per the Syracuse University announcement.
The partnership will “align market-relevant” curricula and programming with players’ post-career aspirations and needs, “ensuring they acquire meaningful skills and knowledge.”
In addition, SU and the MLBPA will collaborate on research projects that inform “progressive and advanced programming” for professional athletes. These efforts may lead to the development of new technologies, products, or processes that could benefit the MLBPA and other professional athletic organizations.
The partnership will also provide Syracuse University students with opportunities for internships, co-op programs and hands-on projects with the MLBPA. This practical experience will enhance learning, make students more competitive, and serve as a potential pipeline for talent to the MLBPA and other professional athlete associations, the university contends.
Players will also have access to networking opportunities with professional mentors associated with Syracuse in sports, broadcasting and business, to aid them in post-playing career development and job opportunities.
“The Major League Baseball Players Association is thrilled to partner with Syracuse University to provide our members with exceptional educational opportunities,” Chris Singleton, MLBPA special assistant for player resource programs and a former major league outfielder, said in the SU announcement. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting players both on and off the field, ensuring they have access to world-class academic resources that empower their personal and professional growth.”

SUNY Oneonta, UB partner to help future Oneonta students pursue pharmacy degree
ONEONTA — Qualified students at SUNY Oneonta will have the chance to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and a doctor of pharmacy degree in seven years, rather than eight. SUNY Oneonta forged an agreement with the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The collaborative 3+4 agreement guarantees space for qualified
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ONEONTA — Qualified students at SUNY Oneonta will have the chance to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and a doctor of pharmacy degree in seven years, rather than eight.
SUNY Oneonta forged an agreement with the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The collaborative 3+4 agreement guarantees space for qualified SUNY Oneonta biology majors in UB’s PharmD program, offering a “streamlined path” to a pharmacy degree, per the Feb. 12 Oneonta announcement.
By accelerating program completion, the initiative helps students save time and money while addressing the growing workforce demand for pharmacists, Oneonta added.
“SUNY Oneonta is excited to secure this exciting new opportunity for our students,” Tracy Allen, dean of SUNY Oneonta’s School of Sciences, said in the school’s announcement. “Working together, SUNY Oneonta and the University at Buffalo can proactively and efficiently address a workforce need, improve the health of our communities and provide relevant educational experiences for our students.”
Under the program, students will complete three years of undergraduate study at SUNY Oneonta, then apply to the UB pharmacy program. Once accepted, students will have their first-year pharmacy courses applied toward completion of their bachelor’s degree at SUNY Oneonta.
Rather than taking four years to complete a bachelor’s degree and another four years to complete the doctor of pharmacy degree, students will complete both programs in seven years.
The pharmacy program will guarantee spaces each year for qualified SUNY Oneonta students.

VIEWPOINT: Trump Signs Executive Order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”
On Feb. 5, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The executive order states that “[i]n recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” a situation that the order states has denied women and girls equal athletic opportunity. The executive
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On Feb. 5, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The executive order states that “[i]n recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” a situation that the order states has denied women and girls equal athletic opportunity.
The executive order states:
“Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
This executive order follows another order signed by President Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government,” which sets more broadly the federal government’s position that there are two immutable biological binary sexes, male and female, and that the executive branch will enforce all sex-protective laws accordingly.
Effective Feb. 5, 2025, the executive order directs the Secretary of Education to:
• Enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to “affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities and all-female locker rooms,” including through regulations and policy guidance; and,
• Prioritize Title IX enforcement actions against educational institutions and athletic institutions composed of, or governed by educational institutions that deny women an equal opportunity to participate in athletics by “requiring them, in the women’s category, to compete with or against or to appear unclothed before males.”
The executive order also directs all executive departments and agencies to review grants and educational programs and “where appropriate” to “rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order.”
The executive order may be challenging for educational institutions, particularly those with transgender female students currently participating on girls and women’s teams. Additionally, in jurisdictions with state or local laws, including New York State, that extend rights based on gender identity, the executive order conditions federal funding on actions that may be inconsistent with state and local laws. College and university leadership should consult with legal counsel about the impact of this executive order on their athletic programs.
Kristen J. Thorsness serves as of counsel in the Rochester office of the Syracuse–based law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC. She concentrates on athletics regulation, specifically gender equity in athletics (Title IX). Thorsness brings a unique perspective to her work. She is an Olympic gold medalist (1984) as part of the first U.S. women’s rowing team ever to win Olympic gold. Thorsness is a former Division I collegiate rower, and she won three World Championship silver medals as a member of the U.S. national rowing team and multiple U.S. national championships. Contact her at: kthorsness@bsk.com. This article is drawn and edited from Bond’s Higher Education Law Report blog.
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