Meet the CEO of America's Most Exciting Bank - at least as he's branded it

Berkshire Hills Bancorp chief Michael Daly eschews suits and demands rock music at meetings. It's an unconventional style meant to energize the bank's 1,900 employees

To Michael Daly, who runs Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., banking is too often blasé.

So Mr. Daly has adapted an unconventional rulebook meant to energize and empower his 1,900 employees. Suits are not allowed. Rock music must be played at every meeting. 

And ziplines are an acceptable form of transportation: Mr. Daly once arrived at an employee town hall on one, slinging $100 bills to the crowd below.

“We’re not boring,” says Mr. Daly, a wiry 57-year-old who is never at a loss for an inspirational anecdote, whether it’s from President Theodore Roosevelt or crime boss Whitey Bulger.

In an industry built on numbers,