Board & Councils

Clayton R. Adams is President and CEO of Mascoma Bank, a mutually owned community bank serving New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. He brings 25 years of executive leadership experience across banking, consumer products, consulting, employee-owned businesses, and nonprofit governance. Clay has led organizations through leadership transition, strategic growth, technology modernization, cultural change, and improved operating performance.

At Mascoma Bank, Clay transitioned from external Board Member to President, CEO, and internal Board Member. During his tenure, he professionalized the Senior Leadership Team, expanded the Bank into new markets including Portland, Maine, and Burlington, Vermont, and oversaw modernization of customer and operational technology platforms. The Bank also attained B Certification, making it one of the first banks in the country to do so.

Before joining Mascoma Bank, Clay served as CEO of Simon Pearce Inc., where he helped stabilize and professionalize a founder-led business and supported expansion into new products, stores, and geographies. Earlier, he served as COO and CEO of RSG, Inc., where he helped transition the company into a 100% employee stock ownership plan and guide significant revenue growth.

Clay holds an MBA from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College. His board and community service includes current and past leadership roles with Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Let’s Build Homes, Vital Communities, Delta Dental of Vermont, the Montshire Museum of Science, and other civic and nonprofit organizations.

Clay has a personal connection to the Appalachian Trail: he thru-hiked the Trail in 1997 and currently serves on the Appalachian Trail Campaign Advisory Council.

Clay lives and his wife, Elizabeth, live less than a half-a-mile from the Appalachian Trail in Hanover, NH.