Longtime Kearny Bank marketing pro looks back, around, and ahead
September 13, 2023
It all began 4,000 miles from the nearest Kearny Bank branch.
Cedar Grove resident Janet DeSiano – who joined Kearny Bank 19 years ago – was recently elevated to the position of First Vice President / Senior Marketing Manager. Based at the company’s Fairfield corporate office, DeSiano now oversees marketing efforts for the retail banking, private client, and investment services business lines, as well as for the Kearny Bank ChangeMakers program.
“Janet is extremely insightful in terms of communicating information about Kearny Bank, and she’s committed to ensuring our clients receive the most accurate information possible,” says Matt Lindenberg, Kearny Bank Senior Vice President / Chief Marketing Officer. “She interacts regularly with a wide range of people within the company and they all appreciate the dedication and razor focus she brings to every initiative.”
A few years prior to June of 2004, when DeSiano’s career at Kearny Bank began, she was a college student. Before that, she grew up in Elmwood Park. And before that, she was a small child living in Peru.
“When I emigrated to the U.S. with my family, I was just six – I couldn’t speak English at all,” she says. “We moved to Elmwood Park, and I was in the first grade. It was a significant change – very few of my classmates spoke Spanish or came from a Hispanic family.”
As DeSiano settled in, learned the language, and made friends, she also took lessons on hard work and the value of education.
“My parents had good jobs in Peru,” she says. “But here, they needed to take what they could get. They worked nights, they worked multiple jobs. I saw how they struggled, and I realized very quickly that an educational foundation is extremely important.”
After graduating from Elmwood Park Memorial High School in 1996, DeSiano enrolled at Montclair State University to pursue a degree in marketing and international business.
“I’ve always tended to focus on the visual and creative, so marketing was an ideal major for me,” says DeSiano, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2000. “When I graduated, I thought of myself as a marketing person. I had no interest in banking whatsoever.”
But, as is often the case, life had tricks up its sleeve. By 2004, DeSiano was employed by Kearny Bank.
“It was nearly a generation ago I started working here, when we were Kearny Federal Savings and had just recently begun to offer checking accounts,” she recalls. “I’ve seen so many changes, as the company has modernized, rebranded more than once, and eventually acquired full commercial and government banking capabilities. In terms of geography, we’ve gone from a local savings bank in one corner of northern New Jersey to covering almost the entire state, along with Brooklyn and Staten Island, too. It all seemed incremental as it was happening, but now that I look back across nearly two decades … it’s quite amazing.”
Pondering further, DeSiano is both appreciative and excited.
“I’m grateful for the past almost 20 years. I’ve really enjoyed working for Kearny Bank, and I’ve been fortunate to have so much support and so many excellent mentors. These days, I try to take on a bit of a mentorship role related to younger employees. I’m happy to help when I can.”
Married with two sons, DeSiano also notes that Kearny Bank has been an excellent employer in terms of supporting her responsibilities beyond the office.
“I really appreciate that working for this company enabled me to have a family life and spend necessary time with my kids. From the beginning there was flexibility, which was and is extremely valuable.”
DeSiano’s well aware of how far she’s come … and wonders if she was destined to work in a bank after all.
“My parents are super-proud about this promotion, as they are about everything I do. And that’s so nice -- it’s essential to feel you have people, like your family, behind you as you progress through life. As I look back, and think about leaving Peru and coming to New Jersey, and all those things, I was always quite organized and focused. You know, in a way … maybe I did always aspire to a career in corporate business.”
About Kearny Bank
Combining the finest traditions of community banking with the industry’s latest, most effective financial products and services, Kearny Bank provides business and personal clients with the tools for success. Established back in 1884, and now operating from corporate offices in Fairfield, NJ, Kearny Bank’s footprint covers most of New Jersey, along with Brooklyn and Staten Island. Additional information is available at kearnybank.com or by visiting Kearny Bank’s social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.