Mark Connolly (public official)

Mark Connolly
Personal details
Born (1955-09-02) September 2, 1955
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Dartmouth College
Northwestern University

Mark Connolly (born September 2, 1955) is a candidate for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire. Connolly is the former Deputy Secretary of State and Director of New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation.[1] He held this position 2002 to 2009.[1]

Early life, education, and early career

Connolly grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire. Mark and his brother were raised by a single mother who worked as a secretary.

Connolly earned his B.A. in Government and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and received his MBA in Business from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.[2]

Connolly began his professional career in 1984 as an officer at First Chicago. From 1987 until 1991 he served as Vice President and Securities Principal at Chubb Securities Company before serving as a Corporate Vice President of Chubb Life Insurance Company from 1991-1997. Here, Connolly helped develop and manage the Corporate Accounts business unit which handled investment products for the institutional markets.[3] Connolly then served as Vice President at Fleet Boston from 1997-2000 where he worked as a private banker. Before his appointment as Director of Securities Regulation, Connolly served as Vice President - Institutional Account Relationship Manager/Team leader at Wellington Management in Boston.[3]

Connolly's career in public service began when he served as a state representative from Bedford (1977–78) while still in college at Dartmouth College.[4] Mark was proud to represent his Bedford constituents but feared having to drop out of Dartmouth for lack of funds. A fellow lawmaker and her husband, who worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers, stepped up to help. With their help and encouragement, Connolly secured a job monitoring the ecological impacts of oil exploration on the North Slope of Alaska, earning enough to complete his degree.[5]

Connolly also served as assistant secretary of state from 1980–1984 and was a member of Governor Judd Gregg's transition committee in 1988, Governor Judd Gregg's Task Force on State Government Reorganization in 1992, and Governor John Lynch's Transition Committee in 2004.

Deputy Secretary of State and Director of Securities Regulation

Mark Connolly was appointed Deputy Secretary of State and Director of Securities Regulation by the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation in 2002. Connolly reported to Secretary of State William Gardner.[6] The agency has oversight responsibility of securities regulation in New Hampshire and enforcement and oversight of thirty-five million dollar revenue budget, regulatory authority over 50,000 lecensed agents and investment advisors and 1200 broker-dealers. Connolly was Deputy Secretary of State in 2000, filling the position of retired New Hampshire Deputy Secretary of state.

Accomplishments

In Connolly's eight years at the Securities Bureau, he oversaw major securities enforcement cases, including cases against Tyco International, Ameriprise, ING, Pennichuck Corp., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Connolly's successful action against the board of directors of Tyco International was called a pioneering model for financial fraud regulation nationwide. And he won a $20 million settlement from UBS, which had effectively frozen access to affordable student loans for 6,500 New Hampshire students at the height of the financial crisis.[5] These cases netted more than $55 million in securities fines and investor restitution.[7][8]

Honors

Connolly was awarded the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Inc.'s Outstanding Service Award in 2010. NASAA honored Connolly "for his significant contributions to investor protection throughout New Hampshire and North America." In addition, it cited his ""advocacy of state securities regulation, dedication to investor protection and resolute commitment to seeking improvements by all aspects of the financial services industry to ensure that investors are treated fairly and with respect." He was also presented with the association's 2001 Enforcement Award.[7] Connolly was elected to serve on the board of directors of NASAA and also served as that organization's treasurer. He also headed NASAA's Corporate Finance Section.[9]

Recent career

Connolly is a candidate for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire. Currently Connolly is the Principal of New Castle Investment Advisors, LLC. He is the owner of a registered Investment Advisory firm that specializes in customized portfolio management for individuals and companies.[10] He currently serves as a trustee for Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; he is also a trustee of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. He is a former trustee of Child and Family Services in Manchester, New Hampshire and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. He is also the former chairman of the town of New Castle Planning Board.

2016 New Hampshire Gubernatorial Campaign

Mark Connolly announces his campaign for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire at FIRST.

On Thursday, November 5, 2015 Connolly formally announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire at Manchester's FIRST (founded by Dean Kamen).

Personal life

Connolly currently lives in New Castle, New Hampshire. He is engaged to be married to Terri Lareau of Concord, New Hampshire.

Publications

In December 2011, Mark Connolly released Cover-up -- One Man's Pursuit of the Truth Amid the Government's Failure to End a Ponzi Scheme. It offers a first-person account of the controversy surrounding the Financial Resource Mortgage, Inc. (FRM) Ponzi scheme. It underscores the claim by several victims of FRM that some state officials turned a blind eye to the early warning signs of the looming scam and then engaged in deliberate efforts to shift blame when it was revealed. The book includes material relating to key government officials and reveals information not as yet known about the government's handling of FRM. It was released on White Whale Press.[11]

External links

References

  1. 1 2 Barker, Dean (2010-06-05). "NH-Sen: Mark Connolly Considers a Run". Blue Hampshire.
  2. ↑ "State Securities Chief Resigns, Cites Cover-Up Of FRM". WMUR (New Hampshire). 2010-05-03.
  3. 1 2 Barrick, Daniel (2010-02-07). "Ponzi case exposes chiefs' rift". Concord Monitor.
  4. ↑ Surdukowski, Jay (2010-06-06). "A Dinner with Mark Connolly". Blue Hampshire.
  5. 1 2 "About Mark - Mark Connolly". Mark Connolly for New Hampshire. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  6. ↑ "Latin Finance".
  7. 1 2 Feingold, Jeff (2010-09-29). "Connolly honored for securities regulation career". New Hampshire Business Review. Archived from the original on 2012-04-01.
  8. ↑ Barrick, Daniel (2009-12-31). "Bankruptcy prompts call for new rules". Concord Monitor.
  9. ↑ "Mark Connolly, director of the state Bureau of Securities Regulation, has been elected to serve on the board of directors of the North American Securities Administrators Assoc...".
  10. ↑ "The Company". Newcastle Investment Advisors. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
  11. ↑ "Cover-Up: One Man’s Pursuit of the Truth Amid the Government’s Failure to End a Ponzi Scheme". White Whale Press.
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