End of an era at OceanFirst Bank

There are probably some employees of OceanFirst Bank who think John Garbarino has been with the bank since it opened its doors. 

Since the bank came into being in 1902 that is not the case but clearly Garbarino (to use a sports quote) is the “face of the franchise” and has overseen the remarkable growth of OceanFirst into a powerful financial institution and community asset.His 43-year career with the bank is coming to an end as he officially retires as Chief Executive Officer on December 31^st and will be replaced by current president and chief operating officer Chris Maher.

The 65-year old Garbarino grew up in Jersey City but spent summers at the shore and it was his love of the area that led him to OceanFirst in 1971 shortly after graduating from Rutgers.  At that time the bank had just two branches, in Point Pleasant Beach and Brick and just 17 employees.

Garbarino rose through the ranks and was named CEO in 1995, a year before the bank used a percentage of the money it raised during an initial public offering to establish the OceanFirst Foundation…it was a first in the banking industry.   That one-time endowment of over $13 million established the private charity which in turn has awarded more than $25 million in grants to organizations that meet community needs in areas like education, housing, health and wellness and more.

Garbarino has overseen tremendous growth as the small bank he started with has grown to have 23 branches in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties.  He and his wife Penny raised two sons while living in Toms River; both played football at Toms River North.

When their boys grew up and moved out the couple moved to Brielle and also purchased a vacation home in Scottsdale, Arizona where they will spend quite a bit of time together,especially on the golf course. They will return often as John will remain Chairman of the Board plus there are four grandchildren to visit in Baltimore and Philadelphia.

While Garbarino hopes to fine tune his golf game in retirement he’s going to finally pursue something that’s been on his bucket list: learning how to play the piano. For a guy who’s struck most of the right chords in life I would expect he’ll be a skilled pianist in no time.