Pompea College of Business Advisory Board
Josephine Moran '01 M.S., '19 EMBA
Chair
Josephine Moran is president and chief executive officer at Ledyard Bank. Prior to joining Ledyard, Josephine was executive vice president and chief corporate services & consumer lending officer at Provident Bank, senior vice president, regional manager and retirement services program director at Webster Investment Services and executive vice president, and director of retail banking at Columbia Bank. She was named one of the Top Women in Business in Staten Island in 2015.
Chris Bartels '15 M.S.
Chris Bartels, an Associate Vice President at Berk Communications, is a seasoned communications marketing professional with deep experience in the sports industry. Throughout his career, he has partnered with some of the world's leading brands to develop and implement impactful communications strategies. He has led campaigns that have helped brands activate at major cultural moments from the Olympics Games, to CES, to the Super Bowl. He received his M.S. in Sport Management at the University of New Haven and completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University.
Jim Betzig
Jim Betzig is chief executive officer and partner at TrinityPoint Wealth. Jim specializes in working with both institutional and high-net-worth clients; assisting in financial planning, asset allocation, tax-free investing, manager searches and selection and liability management. He also devotes much of his time to advising and serving 401(k) clients. Jim has been named one of Connecticut Magazine's top financial advisors from 2012 through 2016 and a Barron's Top 1200 Advisor for 2016 and 2017.
Cathy Bradley ’86 EMBA
Cathy Bradley is owner and president of Cathy Bradley Enterprises, a consulting firm designed to help Fortune 500 companies transform their businesses to meet strategic business objectives. She also sits on the board of directors of Spoken Communications, a technology firm focused on cloud solutions for the customer contact space.
Mark Caplan '89 M.S.
Mark is a senior tax partner practicing in KPMG's Boston and Hartford offices. He has 35 years of experience in tax planning and structuring transactions for public and privately held clients. Mark serves a broad range of multinational consumer and industrial companies. He advises clients on business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and corporate reorganizations, consolidated returns, as well as accounting for income taxes under U.S. GAAP and IFRS and tax-related internal controls. His experience also includes representing clients before federal and state tax authorities and managing global compliance and reporting projects.
Joseph R. Catapano '89
Joseph Catapano ’89 is vice president and chief accounting officer at Pitney Bowes Inc. He has responsibility for global consolidations, worldwide internal and external financial reporting, including the preparation and review of all SEC filings, coordination of the company’s compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and corporate financial policies and procedures, including the implementation of new accounting pronouncements and SEC rules and regulations. Prior to joining Pitney Bowes, he held finance positions with PepsiCo Inc. and was an audit manager with KPMG Peat Marwick in Stamford, Connecticut.
John Coverdale '85
Dr. John Coverdale has taught graduate-level business courses in human resource management, organizational behavior, conflict resolution, change management, employment law, workplace diversity, and labor relations. Dr. Coverdale completed his undergraduate studies in Business Administration at the University of New Haven and has a Master's Degree in Human Resource Management and Labor Relations from New York Institute of Technology and has received an MBA from Dowling College. After studying law for one year, he returned to Dowling College to complete his doctoral studies and recently received his graduate certificate from Harvard University in Organizational Behavior.
Susan D'Agostino '85 MBA
Susan D'Agostino received her MBA in International Marketing from University of New Haven in 1985 and has been a member of the Pompea College of Business Advisory Board since September 2015. She holds 2 senior level certifications in Human Resources and is currently the Founder and Principal of SLD Consulting Services, a firm providing consulting services in the areas of human resources, contracts, policy and compliance. Prior to starting her own consulting firm, Susan was Senior VP and Chief Administrative Officer for Harris Connect, a firm specializing in affinity programs for non-profits. Earlier in her career, she held management positions for several government contractors and equipment manufacturing firms in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Michael Davis '86 MBA
Michael J. Davis is a former Vice President and company officer of Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company with a market capitalization of over $250 billion. Michael brought a unique blend of leadership development, financial, accounting, and tax expertise to Nestlé. He served as an officer for numerous Nestlé companies, including Nestlé USA Inc., Nestlé Purina Petcare Company, Gerber Products Company, and Nestlé Nespresso USA Inc. As an educator, Michael has served at the University of New Haven as an Executive in Residence for 12 years and most recently as the Executive Director of our Executive MBA program. When he is not at our university, he serves as a Chief Advisor and Tax Strategist for one of the world’s leading tax software companies. Michael was born and raised in Bronx, NY. He and his wife are both alumni of the University of New Haven, and they have two children.
Chris Dewart '04 EMBA
Chris Dewart is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. Mr. Dewart was a member of the executive leadership team since 2010, joining Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. as the President of Central Regional where he managed to increase revenue within the region by double-digit, top-line growth in three years. A proven, performance-driven executive with more than 30 years of experience, Mr. Dewart has served in executive positions at Pitney Bowes Inc., Imagistics International and as President of OCE Printing Division of North America. Mr. Dewart also hold a masters in Military History from Norwich University.
Saul Factor '96 EMBA, R.Ph.
Saul Factor is president at Factor Healthcare Consulting, as well as serving as an Independent Board Member for Richtech Robotics. Prior to founding Factor Healthcare Consulting, Saul was president of Smith Drug Company and Burlington Drug Company, which are part of the J M Smith Corporation. A pharmacist, Factor spent the first several years of his career practicing in both retail and long-term care settings before moving into sales and brand management with PCS and Eli Lilly. He was recruited to RxAmerica, where he was charged with developing the strategy and vision to improve the customer experience, creating a culture that placed the customer at the center of the organization. During his tenure as COO, the company's revenues doubled. Following that success, Factor joined McKesson Corporation as Senior Vice President of Global Generics. Factor was then named President, Global Sourcing and Procurement for McKesson Corporation. Factor is a noted turnaround specialist and has led culture change throughout his career with the belief that the customer must be the focus of a successful organization.
Don Fertman '76
Don recently retired as Chief Development Officer from Subway World Headquarters after a 39-year career in which he helped facilitate the Franchisor’s growth from 166 restaurants in 1981 to over 40,000 locations in 103 countries. Don currently serves as a member of the KAIKAKU Board of Strategic Advisors, assisting in developing the innovative approach of combining AI and robotics in the Quick Service Restaurant Industry. In addition, Don is Chairman Emeritus of The Phoenix Board of Directors, Board Member of Brave Enough To Fail and sits on the Advisory Board of Procure Impact. As Subway CDO, Don was featured in two episodes of the CBS TV show "Undercover Boss" where he openly discussed his recovery from alcoholism. He also participated in a documentary about the Recovery Movement, "The Anonymous People" and was a producer of the Concert To Face Addiction in Washington, DC, an event featuring Joe Walsh, Steven Tyler, Cheryl Crow and others that focused on overcoming the stigma of addiction and celebrating recovery. Don is a founding member of WNHU, the University of New Haven student-run FM radio station.
Alice Gao '94 MBA
Alice Gao is senior vice president and head of cross boarder commercial banking at East West Bank. Prior to East West Bank, Alice was senior vice president and head of commercial banking for ICBC USA N.A., a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organization. In her role, Alice is responsible for leading a multi-functional team to succeed on a global scale by achieving sales and profit targets.
Will Germain '04
Will Germain is managing partner at MCB Science + Health. Prior to MCB Science + Health, Will held the position of senior investment officer at Ventas where he was responsible for originating, negotiating and executing acquisitions and development opportunities. He previously served as Director of Acquisitions and Investments for Lillibridge Healthcare Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ventas. Will also worked at General Electric Capital Corporation where he held various roles in finance.
Sylvie Harton '18 EMBA
Sylvie Harton is currently the Chief Business Strategy Officer at LUMI Global where she leads LUMI's future growth strategy. Prior to her role at LUMI Sylvie was SVP, Strategy & Global head of IR and PR solutions at Notified where she led M&A, strategic partnerships, and P&L for its global IR and PR solutions business.
She draws on 25 years of executive leadership and expertise in organic, inorganic expansion, and turnaround situations with global scope and credibility in IR solutions, PR solutions, ESG & sustainability. She brings a win-win approach to strategic partnership and alliances negotiation. Sylvie is a passionate advocate of bringing the client to the table when making strategic business decisions and a firm believer that strategy is the anchor for sustainable corporate performance that benefits the marketplace, workplace, and the global community. Prior to LUMI, Sylvie held various executive positions with Nasdaq and Marketwired, where she spent a decade growing the organization to its successful exit to Nasdaq. Sylvie is a recent graduate of The Wharton School and the University of New Haven EMBA program. She holds a Law and Finance degree from Université de Montréal and Concordia University in Canada.
Kelly Haskins
Kelly Haskins is Senior Vice President and Director of Community Banking Implementation Management and Operational Risk at Webster Bank. In her role, Kelly is responsible for the oversight of the project portfolio for the Community Bank. Additionally, Kelly manages operational risk and is the primary Community Bank liaison to the Enterprise Risk Management team at the Bank. She joined Webster in 1996 as a Product Manager for Investments (and eventually Insurance & Trust); in 1999 she led an initiative to form Webster's Broker Dealer and Registered Investment Advisor. Additionally, Kelly undertook the lead for due diligence when Webster purchased the Trust Company of CT and Sachem Trust Company. For several years, Kelly managed both Trust and BD/RIA Operations and Technology when the units were combined from a management perspective. Prior to joining Webster, Kelly was an Account Executive at Dean Witter; an Institutional Marketing Associate at G.T. Capital; Trust & Investments Product Manager at Old Kent Bank (now Fifth Third); and a contracted Program Manager with EMC & LPL; Managing Director at Kehrer Associates and Chief Operations Officer for a credit union-owned BD.
Frank Hird '78
Frank Hird is a licensed real estate broker with more than 28 years of experience selling and leasing commercial real estate locally, nationally and internationally. His experience includes representing major industrial and office property owners, investors and tenant/buyers for corporations and nonprofit organizations, new construction development, build-to-suit medial requirements and turn-key lab space development for bio-science companies.
Mary Landsfield
Mary is a Wealth Management Advisor at TIAA. Prior to that, she was a Financial Advisor and Investment Advisor Representative at Barnum Financial Group. Mary’s other experience is in international sales, trade and investment, serving as a Co-Founder of a software company, Skymira, and as a Senior Business Development Manager for the trade arm of the Australian Government, Austrade, both in Los Angeles and New York City.
Gerald R. Longobardi ’01 M.S.
Gerald R. Longobardi is currently the Director of Carrier Solutions at F-Secure Corporation, a Finland-based Cyber Security and Identity Protection firm. Providing protection to over 15 million end users internationally, servicing clients such as: Charter-Spectrum and Frontier Communications. He is also the Founding Partner of The Longobardi Group, a venture capital, tactical opportunities, and advisory firm; directed towards communications, technology, and insurance, based in Connecticut. Gerald has been instrumental in several successful seed round startups and subsequent exits in the communications and insurance sectors. His communications tower portfolio was ultimately acquired by a publicly traded wireless infrastructure company, Crown Castle International. Mr. Longobardi also completed a successful exit in a national insurance carrier, where his firm’s seed stage investment and advisory services at 40,000 lives under management in one state, prior to Mr. Longobardi’s involvement, eventually grew to over 4 million lives on a national footprint, upon exit of his interest in Liberty Dental Insurance Plan. In addition, he remains a limited partner in various commercial real estate projects. All of which have provided him with extensive specialty asset management knowledge and the ground up, hands-on experience required for complex situations.
Kristina Palazzo ’21 M.S.
Kristy Palazzo is a Tax partner with PwC’s Private Company Services practice and is based in New York City. She has 20 years of experience in working on complex transactions and business issues facing both public and privately held multinational companies. Kristy has significant experience dealing with the unique needs of family-owned, private equity backed, and foreign inbound business ventures. She specializes in assisting privately held companies with federal, state, and international tax compliance services, income tax accounting matters, federal and state tax audits, and consulting on US federal and state minimization strategies. Her industry experience includes working with clients primarily in retail and consumer goods, manufacturing and service industries.
Franklyn Reynolds '98 MBA
Franklyn (Frank) Reynolds is president and chief executive officer of UIL Holdings. Prior to UIL Holdings, Frank was president of Berkshire Gas, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A 25-year veteran of the utility industry, Reynolds also served as vice president of gas integration for Avangrid Networks, where he led the restructuring of the Gas Operations and Gas Engineering lines of business. Frank retired from the Army National Guard after serving for 20 years.
Garrett Sheehan
Garrett Sheehan serves as President of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Regional Leadership Council, the regionâs advocate for economic growth. Garrett also serves as President of the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, an affiliate of the Greater New Haven Chamber. Garrett worked on economic development at United Illuminating (UI) in New Haven and for Eversource as a liaison between the company and chief elected officials in 23 towns in Connecticut. Garrett is a licensed attorney in Connecticut and Texas. He served as an infantry officer in the Connecticut Army National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010.
David Sussman
David Sussman is the CEO and Partner of Schmitt-Sussman Enterprises (d/b/a PFP), the nation's largest distributor of individual insurance products sold directly to credit union members. Since launching his career with the company in 1995, David's focus has been on leadership development and the innovation of new distribution channels. As a result, PFP has continued to evolve its customer engagement strategy in concert with the changing behavior of today's consumer.
Simon Wood
Simon J. Wood is Senior Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis and Business Evaluation for IGT, a NYSE global gaming company. Simon is responsible for overseeing IGT’s strategic financial planning and analysis. He is also responsible for the company’s financial management reporting and analysis; business evaluation of long-term investment projects and tracking the company’s performance-based incentive programs.
Simon joined IGT in 2008 and has held financial roles of increasing responsibility in many different business areas, including Products and Services, Interactive, Social Gaming, Betting & Global Operations and the North American Lottery. Previously, Simon worked at Jarden Corporation, a NYSE global consumer products company, most recently as the Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President of the Branded Consumables segment. Prior to Jarden, Simon was the Vice President of Finance for Crunch Fitness, a nationwide health club chain. Simon began his career in public accounting working in both the United Kingdom and the United States and is a citizen of both countries.
Eran Zalsman
Eran Zalsman is the Founder & President of AcadeME an intelligent career development platform that empowers colleges and focuses on bridging the gap between the millennial students, employers and career development centers. In addition to AcadeME, Eran is Partner and CEO of Ashkenazy-Zalsman, an Israeli advertising and marketing agency, one of Israelâs fastest growing agencies. It serves major accounts like the Bank of Jerusalem, Israel Railways, Tel Aviv University, The Israel Federation of Chambers of Commerce and more. Eran has over twenty-five years experience in advertising and marketing has led many breakthrough campaigns for international companies like Yamaha, Motorola, SAP, DHL Toshiba and more. In addition, Eran has extensive experience and expertise in sensory marketing and advertising - a unique method based on the most comprehensive research ever done on that subject at Oxford University in England.
Chair Emeritus
Rich Miller-Murphy '91 MBA
Rich Miller-Murphy is the director of marketing at the New York Blood Center (NYBC), where he focuses on digital communications and hospital demand generation/marketing. Previously, he served as NYBC’s chief of strategy and marketing in the office of the president, as manager of the office of contracts/pricing administration and as vice president and executive director for NY Blood Services. Prior to joining the NY Blood Center, he served as vice president of marketing at Laerdal Medical Corporation.
Emeritus
Craig Douglas '82 MBA
Craig Douglas is a treasury consultant for Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (formerly The Stanley Works). He previously served as vice president and treasurer and an executive officer for Stanley Black & Decker, until his retirement in 2017. Craig spent his entire career with Stanley on a path that has provided him with broad exposure to all facets of accounting and finance within a manufacturing company. Craig was named director of corporate finance in 1991, assuming global responsibilities for the core treasury function. In 1998, he was appointed treasurer with expanded responsibilities for real estate and risk management. He was appointed vice president in 2007 and executive officer in 2009.