Oz Griebel

Richard Nelson "Oz" Griebel (born June 21, 1949) is a banker, lawyer, and was a Republican primary candidate in the 2010 Connecticut gubernatorial election. He is currently on leave from his position as CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance. He resides in Simsbury, Connecticut.

Professional

Griebel is a former teacher and coach at Worcester Academy. He went on to serve as CEO at BankBoston Connecticut from 1993 to 1999. Beginning in 2001, Griebel served as President and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, leading the economic development efforts of the Hartford region. Griebel sat on the corporate boards of MacDermid, Inc., Tallan, Inc., and World Business Capital. Griebel was named by the Hartford Courant and Hartford Business Journal as “Business Person of the Year" in 1995 and 2001, respectively.

Political career

Griebel announced his candidacy for governor of Connecticut on January 28, 2010.^[1] After declaring his candidacy, Griebel met with thousands of Republican activists and participated in several debates and forums. Some of Griebel's opponents had focused on the fact that as a Republican candidate, Oz had made numerous donations to Democratic politicians, and as a result of this, his legitimacy as a Republican candidate for Governor had been under scrutiny. His campaign's first television commercial began airing on April 23, 2010.

In the Republican primary, held on August 10, 2010, Griebel lost the gubernatorial nomination to former Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley.^[2]

Education

Griebel graduated in 1971 with a BA in English from Dartmouth College, where he played baseball and football. Griebel also earned a JD from Suffolk University in 1977.^[3] His Dartmouth baseball team represented New England in the 1970 College World Series.

Civic participation

Griebel has served on the boards of the Annual Fund of the United Way of the Central Naugatuck Valley, Bradley International Airport, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board, Junior Achievement of Central Connecticut, the Mark Twain House, Northwest Catholic High School, Riverfront Recapture, the University of Hartford, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Waterbury Foundation, and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Personal

Oz Griebel and his wife Kirsten live in Simsbury^[4] and have three grown children: Stephanie, Paul, and Chris (AKA Bruce, AKA Chuck).^[5]

References

External links

• MetroHartford Alliance
• Oz Griebel's campaign website