Month: December 2019 (Page 1 of 3)

Jay Kolinsky was born in 1941 in New York City and graduated from Roosevelt High School, Yonkers, NY. He at- tended the University of Alabama and the Ford- ham University School of Business and went on to serve in the United States Coast Guard Reserve.

Jay has invented, manufactured and marketed a wide variety of products. His first was a noise limiter circuit for short wave receivers.  In 1969, he invented the electronic siren that makes the “whoop, whoop” sounding sirens still in use today. His company, Kolin Industries, makes siren and alarm systems sold in over 50 countries. Five of his early prototypes are on display at the Smithsonian Institute.

In 1979, in response to the leak at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, he designed a multimillion dollar siren evacuation warning systems used today in all four nuclear power plants in New York State. Each system can be heard over 300 square miles.

In 1980, Jay founded Malm Chemical Corporation that markets pure carnauba auto waxes and polishes. He invented an ergonomically shaped hand tool used to apply auto waxes and polishes called the “Kolinsky Speed Waxer.” He also invented “Big Stop,” an engine disabling device used to prevent auto theft.

Jay is a member of the Business Advisory Board of Westchester Community College and is a former president of the Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club. He also enjoys flying and has a pilot’s license. He and his wife Ulla live in Pound Ridge, N.Y. Their home has a solar system designed by Jay.

Jack Neafsey was born in 1939 in Woodside, N.Y. He grew up in Greenwich, CT., graduating from high school there in 1957 where he played varsity football and basketball and served as president of the student council. In 1961 he graduated from Cornell with a BA in English and an MBA in 1963.

Jack joined Esso Research and Engineering Co., Linden, NJ in 1963 in finance and planning and later joined Sunray DX Oil Company,
Tulsa, OK. When the company was bought by Sunoco, he stayed with Sunoco serving as executive vice president and director responsible for Canadian operations including its tar sands program. He then served as chief financial officer of Sun Coal Company responsible for real estate and leasing operations. Upon leaving Sun, he was chief executive officer of an investment bank and then went on to do a number of private equity deals. He is currently chairman of Alliance Resources, the second largest eastern underground coal company.

Jack and his wife Rilla live in Darien and have three children and six grandchildren. He is a member of the Wee Burn Country Club, the Blind Brook Club, the Cape Cod National Golf Club and the Cornell Club of New York City. He is a trustee of the Naval War College, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Cornell University and a member of the Board of Overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College. He enjoys golf, swimming, sailing and history.

Todd Meck was born in Omaha, NE. in 1950 and grew up in Lincoln, NE. and Windsor Locks, CT. where he graduated from high school and was class president, captain of the basketball team and was named to the Connecticut Boys State leadership program. He received a B.S. degree from Hobart College in 1972 and was a George F. Baker Scholar and a member of Kappa Sigma.

Todd joined Connecticut Mutual Insurance in Hartford, CT. in 1972 in product development and marketing and became a corporate officer. In 1978 he joined Towers Perrin as a managing principal. The company provides human resource and financial consulting. He retired from Towers Watson in 2010 and is a member of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries.

He and his wife Susan live in Darien and have two children, three stepchildren and six grandchildren. He is a member of the Country Club of Darien and enjoys golf, skiing, tennis and travel.

Howard Johnson was born 1942 in Oak Park, IL, and graduated from the Oak Park – River Forest high school. He received an A.B.degree from Brown University in 1964 and was a member of the sailing team and the Sigma Chi fraternity. He graduated  Georgetown University Law School in 1968 with a J.D. degree where he served on the Moot Court, was a research assistant and received the American Jurisprudence Prize in Taxation.

In 1968, Howard began his career as a law clerk with the U.S. District court, Illinois. In 1970, he joined the firm of Martin, Craig, Chester & Sonnenschein, where he became a partner. From 1977 un- til retiring in 2002 as a senior international attorney, he was with the office of general counsel, Texaco, Inc., in White Plains, N.Y. He worked on alternative alternative energy projects in the United States and Germany as well as the acquisition and operational aspects of oil and gas properties in Asia, Russia and Africa.

Howard is a member of the bar in Illinois, New York, Texas and Connecticut. While working at Texaco he served as an adjunct professor at the Pace University School of Law and was a university fellow at Columbia University.

Howard and his wife live in Rowayton and have one child and two grandchildren. He is a member of the Brown Club, the Darien YMCA, the Rowayton Yacht Club, Trout Unlimited, the Crystal Lake & Watershed Association and the American Associa- tion of Individual Investors. He enjoys fly fishing, reading, sailing and spending time in northern Michigan during the summer.

Harris Hester is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the Harvard Business School’s AMP program. He started his business career as a salesman for the Arrow Shirt Company and later moved to the company’s New York offices.

After holding several management positions, he was named president of Arrow in 1982. A few years later he became president and chief operating officer of Cluett Peabody. After leaving Cluett in 1994, he purchased Gitman and Company. In 1997, he sold Gitman and purchased the Forsyth Shirt Company which he sold in 2015. He currently runs a consulting firm, Opti Partners.

He and his wife Betsy lived in Darien for 40 years and currently live in the Getner Farms Association. They have four children and 5 grandchildren.

Currently president of Getner Farms, he is the former president of the Tokeneke Club, a former vice-chairman of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association and former consultant to the U.S. Trade Representative.

Robert (Spike) Reed was born in 1944 in White Plains, NY, grew up in Chappaqua, NY, and graduated from Horace Greely High School in1962. He received a B.A. degree in economics from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1966 and was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. To pay college expenses, Spike washed dishes and bartended. He also sold Fuller brushes door to door for two summers and was the highest earning part-time salesman in the tri-state area.

Spike joined the advertising agency Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample in media planning in 1966 and three years later joined the account management team working on ad campaigns for Cheerios, Skippy peanut butter and Bounty paper towels. He was named management director of the Wendy’s ham- burger account, creating the “Where’s the Beef?” campaign. Later, he created the “Pizza! Pizza!” campaign for Little Caesars. In 2006, he joined Executive Media Network as director of marketing and sales for airport and airline media properties where he became the top revenue producer for digital signage networks until retiring in 2014.

He and his wife Mary Anne live in Darien and have two children and two grandchildren. Spike is a member of the Silvermine Golf Club and Wee Burn Country Club. He enjoys skiing, golf, gardening, travel and photography.

James Goll was born in Plattsburgh, N.Y., in 1960 and was an army brat, growing up in Plattsburgh, California, Guam, Japan, Nebraska and Wisconsin. He graduated from Homestead High School in Mequon, Wis. He received a B.A. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1983 and an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago in 1987.

Jim worked for PPG Industries from 1983 to 1985 in its Ultra-Violet & Curable Coating Division while obtaining his graduate degree and then joined PaineWebber Industries as managing director in the Investment Banking Division until 2000. In 2001, he joined Bank of Montreal/BMO Capital Markets as managing director in the Debt Capital Market/Leveraged Finance Group, retiring in 2019. J

im and his wife Debra live in Darien and have three children. He belongs to the NRA and Wee Burn Country Club. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, bowling, gardening and relearning golf.

Sponsored by Jim Demark