UniBank’s new leadership team: President Christopher D. Foley (left) and CEO Michael W. Welch.

A new and nontraditional leadership team is taking over at a Central Massachusetts bank.

The $1.8 billion asset UniBank, based in Whitinsville, said in a statement released yesterday that it has tapped Michael W. Welch, a former high school headmaster, as its new CEO. The bank also said that Christopher D. Foley, who has been serving as interim president, has been appointed president on a permanent basis.

Welch’s appointment is effective July 15, while Foley will become president immediately.

The two appointments are to replace former president and CEO Sam Pepper Jr., a former Commerce Bank executive who held the role for less than two years before leaving on what UniBank Chairman Timothy P. Wickstrom described as “amicable” terms, according to The Worcester Telegram.

“We are incredibly excited that our new executive team brings together two talented people whose outstanding skills complement one another so well,” Wickstrom said in a statement. “With Michael Welch’s track record of leadership and deep roots in the community, and Christopher Foley’s broad experience in banking, we have a combination that will preserve our values, continue our mission and take us to a new level of growth.”

Welch comes to the job with a long history of running educational institutions and strong ties to Central Massachusetts.

A Worcester native, he graduated from St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury and later returned for 15 years as the school’s headmaster. In that role, he oversaw a successful capital campaign, boosted financial aid and scholarships and dramatically upgraded facilities. He is a graduate of Marquette University and holds two graduate degrees from Boston College.

Welch also worked as a teacher and fundraiser for the Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, one of America’s poorest communities. Most recently he served as special assistant to the school’s president.

“I am excited to come home to the community where I grew up,” he said in a statement. “This is a unique opportunity for me to work with some of the most experienced and dedicated banking professionals in the region. I plan to help strengthen the connections with our customers and build new relationships as we continue to grow.”

Despite a somewhat less traditional banking background than other CEOs, John Andreoli, a UniBank board member, longtime Worcester business leader and coach of St. John football team, is confident that he is the right man for the job.

“I’ve known Michael for decades through St. John’s and the Worcester business community, and I’m confident he has the right skills and talents to lead UniBank into the next phase of its growth,” he said in a statement. “He’s a different kind of leader for a different kind of bank.”

Foley, who has 33 years of banking experience and has been at UniBank since 2000, will continue to run the day-to-day business of the bank.

“This bank is small enough to have personal connections with our customers and big enough to give them all the modern banking tools they need,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Michael to build on what we have already created.”

Foley has been a resident of the Blackstone Valley for 20 years. He is active in the community and serves on a number of nonprofit boards including Milford Hospital Healthcare Foundation and the Blackstone Valley Educational Foundation. He has a bachelor’s degree from Bentley University and an MBA from Suffolk University.