In Brief: First Niagara Names Koelmel Chief Exec

Two months after being appointed acting chief executive officer at First Niagara Financial Group Inc., John R. Koelmel has officially been named CEO of the Lockport, N.Y., company and its subsidiary, First Niagara Bank.

Mr. Koelmel had been acting CEO since Dec. 8, the same day he was named president and chief operating officer. First Niagara's board had forced the previous CEO, Paul J. Kolkmeyer, to resign, citing "differences in management style."

In a news release issued late Tuesday, the $7.9 billion-asset First Niagara also said that Mr. Koelmel had been elected to the boards of the parent company and the bank.

Mr. Koelmel, 54, joined First Niagara as the chief financial officer and an executive vice president in January 2004. He remains the company's president but is no longer COO.