Delaware-based WSFS Bank, the primary subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed WSFS Financial Corporation, has made twin appointments to its legal and compliance functions. Brionna Denby has joined the bank as senior vice president and general counsel, and Michael Dzielak has joined as senior vice president and director of financial crimes.
In her new role, Denby reports to chief legal officer Lisa Washington and is the primary adviser on matters related to litigation, transactions and regulatory issues.
Denby previously was senior counsel at Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, where she was a member of the law firm’s white-collar defense and internal investigations, government law and regulatory affairs, student defense, Title IX and scientific misconduct practice groups. She was also a member of the firm’s women’s initiative, strategic recruitment and diversity committees.
During her legal career, Denby has also held positions including deputy attorney general at the Delaware Department of Justice and trust compliance officer at The Bryn Mawr Trust Company of Delaware (formerly known as Christiana Trust Company of Delaware), a subsidiary of WSFS.
Washington says in a statement: ‘We’re thrilled to welcome someone with more than a decade of experience and Brionna’s strong legal acumen to the team and look forward to her contributions as we continue to evolve and expand our legal department, risk management division and practices.’
Dzielak reports to WSFS chief compliance officer Patrick Killeen. He now leads the company’s financial crimes unit’s efforts to detect and deter crimes and to limit the effects of these crimes on customers and the bank.
Before joining WSFS, Dzielak spent more than 20 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), most recently as a special agent on the white-collar crime squad. In that role he was responsible for investigating financial fraud and corruption. He was also a leader of global and national criminal investigations in the financial institution fraud, money laundering, government fraud, healthcare fraud, public corruption, civil rights and child exploitation areas.
Before the FBI, he worked for Cross Country Bank (now Applied Bank) and MBNA America Bank in auditing roles.
Killeen says in a statement: ‘Mike brings more than 20 years of experience to the team, working at the [FBI] where he investigated financial fraud and corruption reaching across the US and the world. He will play a key role in our efforts to protect our customers and company.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
