Banking industry veteran Hawryschuk named CEO of Brighton Securities

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Brighton Securities Corp. has named Melissa Hawryschuk CEO and member of its board of directors, effective Dec. 13.  

She succeeds Jai Ramachandran, CEO since 2014, who is leaving to run a fiber-to-the-home startup. 

Hawryschuk — who lives in Victor with her husband and four children — is a veteran of the banking and financial services industry.  

During her 20-plus year career she has led large, diverse teams for global banking institutions including Citizens Bank and Bank of America, the latter of which she spent the past seven years as senior vice president, client management executive in preferred banking.  

At Bank of America, Hawryschuk supported the transformation of multiple lines of business to help streamline the client experience and create a sustainable sales process at the national level with success in driving strong organic growth across multiple markets and regions.  

Hawryschuk took a somewhat non-traditional path to a banking career. While attending graduate school to become an English literature teacher, she worked part-time as a bank teller and immediately took to the industry.  

Since then, she has seen continuous evolution in the industry across all areas over the past two decades.  

“I love the financial services business; I love the people in it and there is nothing more exciting that having the opportunity to step into such an amazing firm with such amazing people,” Hawryschuk said. “I don’t think there is anything that can you prepare 100 percent for the CEO chair as every organization is different — but my experience at some of the world’s largest most prominent, successful banks I think positions me well for the challenge.” 

She believes in leading with a “teammate first” attitude and, as a result, found success in redesigning workforce development programs to drive retention and enhance client satisfaction. 

George Conboy, Brighton Securities’ chairman, said Hawryschuk’s experience managing larger corporate structures will serve Brighton Securities’ well as the firm looks to its next stage of growth.  

“Finding a capable leader to be CEO is always a challenge,” Conboy said. “Melissa’s experience and career trajectory have positioned her to continue the growth that has characterized our firm’s last 10 years.”  

He said the business would continue to focus on two of its biggest growth drivers: the firm’s internal training program and its relationships with outside advisors and smaller firms.  

Conboy also praised Ramachandran for his contributions to the company, noting Ramachandran remains on the firm’s board of directors.  

Brighton Securities is an employee-owned financial services firm, headquartered in Rochester, with branch offices throughout upstate New York and in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and New Mexico.  

Hawryschuk spoke of Brighton Securities’ record of accomplishments and long-term employee commitments to the firm.  

Her first goal is to get to know the business and the team.  

“The company has had great success over the years and there is a solid leadership team in place that should be credited with that success,” Hawryschuk said. “I am hoping to help them build on the strong foundation that they have put in place and build on the rich history of Brighton Securities.” 

The industry is no different than many others who are facing many of the same challenges, she said. The biggest being the competition for talent. It is a challenge she believes will continue to grow. 

She noted the success of a financial services business relies heavily on strong client and employee relationships, something that is especially true today after nearly two years of uncertainty due to the pandemic. Keeping those trusted relationships is crucial, she said.  

To meet the challenge, Hawryschuk said Brighton Securities must be ready to demonstrate the value it can bring to current and new associates, with the focus on building a strong, diverse and inclusive team.  

“This is critical as we drive to our next phase of growth,” she said. “Even though we are small we need to compete for the top talent in this industry. We want to be an employer of choice in the markets we serve.”   

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