Mary E. Noons
President and Chief Operating Officer
Mary was named President and Chief Operating Office in April 2023, becoming the first female to serve in this position in Washington Trust’s 222+ year history. In this role she oversees several key business lines, including the retail lending, retail banking, wealth management and marketing. She also leads Washington Trust’s strategic planning process, inspiring the leadership team with a forward-thinking, process-driven approach to ensure initiatives, programs, and capital expenditures are fully aligned with corporate objectives for continued growth and profitability.
Mary joined Washington Trust in 1992 and most recently served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Lending Officer. She played a key role in the retail lending division’s successful growth and expansion of the Bank’s mortgage operations from Rhode Island into the greater New England region. Under her leadership, the retail lending division generated record-level mortgage origination and improved both team and customer satisfaction through new product offerings, staff optimization, process improvement, and technological enhancements.
Mary holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and is a graduate of The Connecticut School of Finance and Management. She is also an alumna of Leadership Rhode Island.
A Rhode Island resident, Mary is very active in the communities that Washington Trust services. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Academic Decathlon and is active with the Women United group at the United Way of Rhode Island. She serves on the Mortgage Markets Committee and the Climate Change Task Force with the American Bankers Association and on the Mortgage Committee with the Rhode Island Bankers Association. Previously, Mary served on the Freddie Mac Community Lender Advisory Board for more than 12 years and was involved as a mentor with Mentor RI.