Senior Officers

Michael J. Reynolds has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1/1/2020. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as chief business officer where he provided executive leadership for credit and financial services operations. Mike joined Farm Credit in 1990. He serves as the chair of the board of Farm Credit Financial Partners (FPI), a service company owned by Farm Credit East and other ACAs. He is also active in other workgroups within the Farm Credit System, including the Farm Credit System’s Presidents Planning Committee, a national leadership group. Mike is a graduate of Hartwick College with a degree in management and accounting.  

Briana S. Beebe serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She leads all of Farm Credit East’s operations, credit analyst function and human resource programs, including benefits, recruiting, employee engagement, training, compensation and many other special projects. Briana joined Farm Credit in 2003 and served as loan officer in the Middleboro office before transitioning into human resources in 2010 and most recently to operations in 2023. She serves on the CoBank, ACB Retirement Trust Committee. She serves as director of the board of Farm Credit Financial Partners (FPI), a service company owned by Farm Credit East and other ACAs. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in animal science/ag business. She is also a graduate of LEAD New York and Farm Credit’s Leadership Development Program. 

Dario Arezzo serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Services Officer. He oversees Farm Credit East's tax and accounting programs, business consulting, payroll and crop insurance business unit. Dario joined Farm Credit in 2012 and was a senior tax consultant before becoming retail financial services leader in 2023. He assumed his current role in 2024. Dario is also a significant contributor to Farm Credit’s Knowledge Exchange department on matters of policy as they relate to federal and state taxation. Dario holds a BS from Cornell University, J.D. from Albany Law School and a LLM from New York University. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™.

Janice P. Bitter serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. She oversees the ACA's communications, marketing, Knowledge Exchange, change enablement and public relations efforts. Jan began her Farm Credit career as a loan officer in 1982, later serving as branch manager and then regional manager. She assumed her current role in 2024. Jan is past president of the Farm Financial Standards Council, which promotes uniform financial reporting in agriculture. She served as treasurer of the New York Agricultural Land Trust and volunteers at the Northeast Dairy Challenge and other ag and community groups. Jan holds a BS in agricultural economics from Cornell University and an MBA from Syracuse University.

Alena C. Gfeller serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. She leads the legal and compliance departments and serves as the standards of conduct officer. As head of the legal/compliance departments, she is charged with strategic executive leadership, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, acting as liaison to the board of directors, supervision of outside counsel, providing support on complex and innovative loan issues and assisting with all facets of the Association’s legal and governance needs. She joined Farm Credit East in September 2016, having previously been a partner and member of the executive committee at Murtha Cullina, LLP. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and received her law degree from Widener University School of Law.

Andrew N. Grant serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He leads the financial, treasury, accounting, internal controls, and asset-liability management operations of the Association. Prior to assuming his current position, he was chief financial officer of Farm Credit of Maine and has held several positions since joining Farm Credit in 1995. Andrew serves on the CoBank, ACB Retirement Trust Committee, which oversees the defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans for the Association and several other Farm Credit employers. He is a graduate of Husson University and holds both a BS in management accounting and a MS in business.

Ryan Hrobuchak serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. He is responsible for measuring and monitoring organizational risk and reports operational performance against the association’s risk appetite to management and the board. He also coordinates matters with the federal examiner, the Farm Credit Administration. Ryan joined Farm Credit in 2008, initially as a loan officer, and has served in several roles throughout his career. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Morrisville State College and is a LEAD New York graduate. Ryan also maintains a certified fraud examiner designation. 

Bill Kohler serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. He leads the technology team, which aims to build and maintain a strong IT organization that is structured to best support the business and drive customer satisfaction. Additional focus areas include AI and innovation, security, platform enhancements and new product development that will help the cooperative better serve employees and customers. He joined Farm Credit East in 2024 with more than 25 years of experience in technology leadership. Bill holds a BS from The King’s College.

David H. Pugh serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer. He provides strategic oversight and leadership to all lending and appraisal functions and their teams. Dave also coordinates relationships with strategic partners, including Farm Credit Leasing and AgDirect. Dave started with Farm Credit in 1986 as a loan officer and has served in several varied credit delivery and leadership roles. Most recently, he served as chief experience officer where he led Farm Credit East’s digital transformation. Dave holds an AAS in animal science from SUNY Morrisville and a BS in agricultural economics from Cornell University. He is also a graduate of LEAD New York, Class VIII.