DR Bank is the growth engine for financial ambition – powering lending, payments, and banking with institutional-grade services and modern agility. DR Bank is built by operators, trusted by innovators, and designed for what’s next.
Originally founded over two decades ago as Darien Rowayton Bank, the team at DRB has grown from these roots to establish a national presence. Led by entrepreneurs, the Bank designed, built, and sold a national digital lending Fintech, developed an industry leading commercial banking practice, and established itself as a leading fintech sponsor bank. All while never losing sight of its founding commitment to deliver best-in-class customer service.
At DRB, we unite operator expertise, white-glove service, and rigorous compliance with a mindset built for the modern professional. Every client relationship is personal. Every decision is intentional. And every partnership is a commitment to empowering the next generation of financial ambition.
Jason Hardgrave is CEO of DR Bank. He has extensive experience in both Retail and Commercial Banking, as well as in developing and launching new and innovative digital financial solutions and partnerships.
Previous roles prior to DR Bank have included running significant product lines for Santander Bank N.A., including Deposits, Payments, FinTech Partnerships, Consumer Lending and Credit Card. In addition to these areas, Jason has also held leadership roles in Business and Corporate Banking. Jason also has a background in Financial Services strategy consulting and was one of the founders of Novantas, a strategic consulting firm, and worked at First Manhattan Consulting Group.
Jason holds both an Undergraduate degree and Graduate MBA degree from Tulane University.
Leidy began her career at Deloitte, where she spent eight years auditing clients in the financial services sector—including private equity firms, hedge funds, and investment banks. After Deloitte, Leidy joined a registered investment firm, where she was responsible for SEC financial reporting and supporting the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley controls.
For the past eight years, Leidy has held progressive leadership roles at DR Bank, including Financial Reporting Manager, SVP of Reporting and Accounting Policy, and SVP Controller before being appointed CFO.
Leidy holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.
Syd Ally is the Chief Operating Officer of DR Bank. Prior to this role, Mr. Ally was instrumental in developing the Bank’s Laurel Road brand for digital lending and served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Consumer Lending Executive. He also served as the interim Chief Financial Officer of the Bank. He has over 30 years of banking experience which includes: President & CEO, Quantum Auto Group; SVP/GM, Consumer Lending - Washington Mutual Bank and SVP/Strategic Planning & Finance Director, Consumer Lending - The Dime Savings Bank of New York.
Mr. Ally holds an Undergraduate degree from Pace University and a Graduate MBA degree from St. John’s University.
Rob Herrmann has 30 years of experience in credit and lending and has been employed with DR Bank since November 2010. For the first seven years of his employment at the Bank, Rob served as the Bank’s Chief Lending Officer. In December 2017, he was named Chief Credit Officer. He previously held credit and lending-related positions with People’s United Bank, Citibank, Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation, and First Fidelity Bancorporation.
Rob earned undergraduate and graduate (MBA) degrees from the University of Connecticut. He also received formal credit training from First Fidelity Bancorporation.
John Barbalaco is a seasoned banking executive with over 20 years of banking experience. As the EVP, Chief Banking Officer, John is responsible for the generation of new deposit and loan business for DR Bank.
Previously, John held commercial lending roles at Provident Bank, Hudson Valley Bank, and Union State Bank.
He earned his BS from Fordham University Gabelli School of Business and his MBA from the University of Connecticut.
Derek has over 15 years of compliance and risk management experience in the banking industry. Derek joined the Bank in July 2020.
Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Henderson was at Metropolitan Commercial Bank for three years where he was the VP, Corporate Compliance Governance which monitored regulatory compliance for the Bank. Prior to Metropolitan, Derek was a manager in Ernst and Young’s Financial Services Risk Management practice focused on consumer regulatory compliance matters for his clients in the banking industry.
Derek earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Syracuse University. Derek is a Certified Public Accountant in New York and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.
Mike Jones is the Director of Capital Markets at DR Bank. Mike joined the Bank in May 2024.
Prior to joining the Bank, Mike was a Senior Manager on the capital markets team at Affirm, a leading Fintech in the BNPL space. At Affirm, Mike led financing activities across the forward flow and warehouse finance verticals.
Prior to Affirm, Mike was an Associate in the ABS Banking group at BofA Merrill Lynch, structuring and originating asset-backed securities as well as providing warehouse financing for specialty finance companies. Mike began his career in the Municipal Banking & Finance group at BofAML, structuring bonds for state-based student loan and housing finance agencies.
Mike holds a dual degree in Mathematics and Economics from Cornell University.
Gary Lieberman is Chairman of the Board of DR Bank. He has over 35 years of experience building and restructuring businesses in the financial industry. In addition to his role at DR Bank, Mr. Lieberman serves as the Chief Investment Officer of LH Private Consumer Credit, a joint venture with Lighthouse Investment Partners that specializes in consumer credit opportunities. Previously, Mr. Lieberman was the founding member and CEO of West Side Advisors, LLC (an SEC registered investment advisor established in 1997), as well as the founder of the Laurel Road digital student lending platform ($4.5 billion in originations over 5 years and subsequently sold to Key Bank).
Mr. Lieberman has served on the board of directors for the Brooklyn Nets and the Riverdale Country School. He has also served on the board of Urban Dove, a last chance public charter high school. Additionally, Mr. Lieberman founded, in conjunction with the Riverdale Country School, The Bronx Connection, a program for inner city students and their families affording access to cultural, academic and athletic programs. Mr. Lieberman has also served as an executive producer on many documentaries primarily related to marginalized communities which have premiered at Sundance, Tribeca and various other international film festivals.
Mr. Lieberman received a B.A. from Emory University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Ms. Carlton is President and Founder of Springboard – Partners in Cross Cultural Leadership, LLC, a leadership and organizational consulting firm which assesses organizations for inclusive culture, conducts diversity, equity and inclusion audits and develops related training in the corporate sector. Founded in 2003, Springboard’s clients and Ms. Carlton’s speaking engagements include American Express, JPMorganChase, PepsiCo, 3M, Moody's, Boeing and Medtronic among others. Prior to Springboard, Ms. Carlton had an impressive 22 year career as an investment banker, holding senior positions at JPMorganChase and Morgan Stanley. Ms. Carlton serves on multiple boards including Columbia Threadneedle Investments Mutual Funds, where she chairs the Governance Committee, Evercore (NYSE: EVR) where she is on the Audit Committee, and New York Presbyterian Hospital where she is a member of the Executive Committee and chairs the People Committee. Ms. Carlton earned a B.A. from Williams College and was elected President of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.B.A. from Yale School of Management.
Ms. Connor is the owner and founder of Equity Capital Real Estate, the top Mortgage Default Asset Sales firm in Northern California, and one of the top residential real estate brokerage companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ms. Connor and her team perform all services related to bank asset recovery and loss mitigation including asset management, eviction, contractor remodel and field management. Ms. Connor is co-founder, co-owner of La Maison Properties Inc., a private mortgage fund specializing in short term investor real estate financing in Northern California. Ms. Connor is a member and frequent conference speaker and panelist for REOMAC, the nation’s Mortgage-Default/Servicing Industry trade association. Ms. Connor served for several years on the REO Advisory Board for First American Corporation, a Santa Ana, California based diversified real estate and financial information services firm. A native of Oakland, California, Ms. Connor earned her bachelor’s degree from University of California at Berkeley.
Mr. Harper’s diverse business experience includes financial services, general management and management consulting. He was a partner at First Manhattan Consulting Group, a specialty management consulting firm, where he specialized in strategy, organization, marketing and productivity improvement and counseled major financial institutions in the Unites States and abroad. For the past 15 years he has been a director of the Harvard Business School Club of Connecticut Community Partners where he provides pro-bono consulting to nonprofits and supports its management workshops and scholarships for leaders of nonprofits in Connecticut. He is a director and the treasurer of the Connecticut Rise Network, a collaboration with educators that leverages data and shared experience to improve outcomes for high school students across the state. Mr. Harper has an undergraduate degree from John Carroll University and an MBA from Harvard.
Mr. Mayer is currently an active private investor and Managing Member of Cambridge Way Ventures, LLC, a company that invests in early stage consumer products and technology companies. Mr. Mayer’s career spanned 40 years in leadership positions in large financial services institutions. Most recently he was Senior Managing Director at Cerberus Capital Management where he was a founder and Executive Chairman of FirstKey Holdings, LLC. At FirstKey, he oversaw the entity’s activities in residential and commercial mortgage origination, loan transaction management and single-family rental and residential property management. Prior to these roles, Mr. Mayer was at Deutsche Bank AG, where he ran the Corporate Finance and Markets divisions in the US and Canada and at UBS Investment Bank, where he led the global sales and trading of all fixed income and currency products. Mr. Mayer had a 19-year career at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., where he played a significant role in the growth and expansion of the firm’s global fixed income franchise and sat on the company’s Operating Management and Executive Committees. Mr. Mayer has vast philanthropic interests and is a Founding Board Member and Chairman of Harlem Village Academies, a high performing public charter school network. Mr. Mayer received his BA in Business and Economics from the State University of NY College at Oneonta.
Mr. Kettenmann served as President of DR Bank from 2008 to 2021. He retired in 2021 after a 49-year career in banking.
Prior to joining DR Bank, Mr. Kettenmann was an Executive Vice President at The Dime Savings Bank of New York where he led the effort to build a national consumer lending business. Earlier, Mr. Kettenmann was a Senior Vice President at Chase Manhattan Bank where he held management positions in commercial lending, consumer lending, international banking and technology. Mr. Kettenmann has been an active member of the American Bankers Association and the Connecticut Bankers Association.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. High has more than 45 years of banking experience. He previously served as Partner of Patriot Financial Partners L.P., a $900 million private equity firm that primarily invests in Banks and Bank Holding Companies. Prior to joining Patriot Financial Partners LP, Mr. High served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Harleysville National Corporation from 2005 through 2008 and Chief Financial Officer during 2004 his initial year at Harleysville. From 1998 through 2004, Michael was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Progress Financial Corporation. In these capacities, he was responsible for Finance, Asset/Liability Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Investor Relations, Operations, Risk Management, Facilities and Human Resources. Prior to joining Progress, Mr. High was Senior Vice President of Finance at CoreStates Financial Corp. following the merger in 1996 between CoreStates Financial Corp. and Meridian Bancorp where he was Senior Vice President of Finance. In a prior position, Mr. High was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with Meritor Savings Bank. He began his career in the Philadelphia office of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand).
Mr. High is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Pennsylvania (currently inactive) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the Smeal College of Business Administration at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Mr. High’s professional affiliations and activities include: member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, former Board members of Howard Bancshares, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, Elderlife Financial Services, Rock Hall, Md., Equity Bancshares Inc. Wichita, Kansas and current board members of CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. Hilton Head, SC. DR Bank, Darien, Conn. and Penn State Great Valley Advisory Board.
Mr. Honold has over 25 years of experience in the financial services sector. Prior to joining Patriot, he served as a Senior Portfolio Manager at Turner Investments. Mr. Honold’s primary responsibilities included managing the firm’s financial-services focused hedge fund as well as research and security selection for banks, asset managers, insurers, brokers, REITs and financial technology companies for the firm’s diversified equity portfolios.
Prior to joining Turner, Mr. Honold held the position of Senior Research Analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods where he covered southeast regional banks as part of the team that helped rebuild the firm after 9/11. Mr. Honold began his career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as an Analyst in the Bank Supervision Group.
Mr. Honold received a B.A. degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross. He is a CFA® charterholder.