Host: Jim Phillips
Author: Webmaster (Page 29 of 99)
John McIntire left the island of Cuba as a child and came to the United States. He graduated from Princeton University in 1979 with an A.B. in economics. Thereafter, John had a 25-year career as an international investment banker in New York and London. He retired in 2004 as a partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co, where he spent 12 years focused on Latin America, including being Goldman’s CEO for that region.
Since then, John has been an active investor in and advisor to early stage companies, primarily in Latin America. In addition, he co-founded and serves as chairman of the Cuba Emprende Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that sponsors the largest entrepreneur training program on the island. Since 2012, the Foundation has supported programs which have graduated 8,000+ entrepreneurs and supported 6,000+ small businesses. John travelled in Cuba over 20 times between 2004-16, and was a member of the official U.S. delegations that visited the island in August of 2015 and March of 2016.
John is a member of the executive committee of the policy-oriented Cuba Study Group and chair of the Cuba Working Group of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. John and his family have lived in Darien since 1991.
Kevin was born and raised in Indiana. He grew up on a small family dairy farm and his parents kind of wanted him to take over the reins, but they balanced that desire with strong encouragement to go where he wanted or needed to go. That “where” started at Indiana University (’83), took him to a Ph.D. program at the University of Rochester, where he met his delightful wife of almost 36 years (she was his T.A. in Mathematical Modeling), and eventually to Yale Law School (’91) and a career as a New York tax attorney. Muddy shoe to white shoe, and he would say he was happy, and lucky, for every bit of it.
Kevin and Madeleine’s son was born three weeks after Kevin graduated from YLS, so he studied for the New York Bar exam with an infant on his lap much of the time, moments he cherishes, but may have contributed to their son becoming a lawyer too. Why their youngest is also a lawyer, but the middle child earned her Ph.D. and became a consultant, is less easily explained. Kevin commuted to New York for many years and became a tax partner at Kirkland & Ellis, where he practiced until retiring in 2016. He enjoyed the puzzles presented by tax law, where he specialized in private equity investments, but doesn’t miss the commute at all. Nor does he miss the difficult balance of providing client service and trying, mostly successfully, to not miss any band concerts, dance performances or swim meets. (There were many “3:00 meeting out of the office” entries on his calendar, but late, late, late nights afterwards, involved.) He now finds ample time to volunteer, ride his bicycle, play paddle, ski at their Vermont home and learn to play pickleball and bridge.
Kevin and Madeleine have lived in Darien since 1993, having moved from Norwalk very shortly after their second child was born. They have three children, all of whom benefitted from attending Holmes, Ox Ridge after their first move within Darien, Middlesex and DHS. The kids are now married or engaged, and Kevin and Madeleine couldn’t be happier to have the in-laws they have. Having strongly entertained the notion of down-sizing and moving to Stamford or Rowayton, COVID living arrangements with their kids who were fleeing or relocating from various urban areas made them glad they have space for all, when needed, in the lovely town of Darien. Their children are currently located in New York and the Boston area, so Kevin and Madeleine are unlikely to leave Fairfield County any time soon. Kevin looks forward to getting to know more of his fellow townsmen than he ever could have done while standing on the Noroton Heights platform, waiting for the “lawyers, advertisers, and sometimes ladies who lunch” train (i.e., not the 5:45) every morning.
HIKING
LARSEN WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
FAIRFIELD, CT
APRIL 27, 2023
10:00 AM
The Larsen Sanctuary is owned and run by the Connecticut Audubon Society and was a gift from Roy and Margot Larsen in the early 1960s after the construction of I-95 eliminated about half of Audubon’s sanctuary in coastal Fairfield. It consists of 155 acres of varied terrain with little elevation change, several ponds and streams and very well maintained trails. We will be hiking about 3 miles which we should complete in about two hours as there will be many places to stop and observe wildlife. What you say, “wildlife on a DMA hike?” yes indeed there is here. We saw birds, turtles, a snake and an active beaver pond during our pre-hike. There is a pair of nesting Barred Owls on the property and the center also has a birds of prey compound which we may be able to see as well. This should be a terrific hike!
The Sanctuary is located at 2325 Burr Street in Fairfield which is north of the Merritt Parkway. Google “Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary”. There is plenty of parking, a nature store and bathrooms. NO DOGS permitted on this hike but please bring spouses and/or friends!
There will be NO LUNCH after this hike so that hikers will also be able to attend the Current Affairs meeting at 2:00 that afternoon.
PS-The director of the Fairfield region of Connecticut Audubon is Amy Barnouw, the daughter of John Schlachtenhaufen, who guided us on our pre-hike! Thank you Amy!
Trip report:
The forecast for today was occasional showers with a probability of rain of about 50% during the hike two hour window of 10-12 am. However, at about 8:30 the skies opened up in Darien which apparently had a sobering effect on many DMAers desire to hike. Your hiking captains, Robert and Dave, were not deterred and headed up to Fairfield ready to push ahead.
As it turned out, five other DMAers were not deterred either and the seven of us set out pretty much on schedule to tour the spectacular Sanctuary. The weather was just fine for a hike, cool but no rain. We set out on the main trail and detoured for a one mile trip through Deer Meadow (no deer!) before resuming on the main path which then took us past two beaver ponds and into the forest of giant trees and many streams and ponds. We hiked 3.2 miles in under 2 hours.
The overcast weather kept more than hikers inside, most wildlife stayed away too! We did see two Canada Geese, a few birds and a squirrel. Thanks to all who turned out!
The next hike is scheduled for Monday June 5 at a site TBD. We will hope for a better forecast!
Dave McCollum
Robert Plunkett
May 12, at 10 a.m. Visit to the “New” Bruce Museum, Greenwich.
Organized by Jan Selkowitz, the trip to the Bruce Museum is scheduled for Friday May 12. It has been fully booked since the second day announced. We do have a waitlist. The group will meet at the museum at 10 a.m. where admission stickers will be distributed. We can wander around the museum until 11 a.m. when we meet our docents who will accompany us to several exhibits. At noon we will gather for lunch in a private conference room. Since the trip to the Bruce is short, people can drive alone or arrange to carpool with others.
The “new” Bruce Museum has just reopened after a major $60 million addition and renovation. This should be a fine outing to a local treasure. Jan Selkowitz: jankarlselkowitz@gmail.com
Your host: Jan Selkowitz
Your host: David Mace
Jon Bigelow was born in Mineola, NY, then moved to Darien as a child. After graduating from Darien High School and Brown University, he launched a career in healthcare publishing and communications. He began as a medical writer and editor, working on a series of practical and widely-read clinical journals for physicians, and eventually rose to become President of Cliggott Publishing.
Then he joined with a private equity sponsor to acquire, and serve as President and CEO of, a group of businesses in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, which he brought together as KnowledgePoint360 Group. This grew to become the largest privately-held medical communications firm, providing publication planning, launch strategy, market access strategy, digital services, commercial benchmarking, and workflow solutions.
Since selling KnowledgePoint360, Jon has divided his time among serving as Executive Director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, serving on boards at two companies and an ocean sciences laboratory, and consulting and speaking on healthcare policy and communications. He has long been active in the First Congregational Church of Darien and in community organizations.
Jon and his wife, Mariann, split their time between Wilton and a summer cottage on the Maine coast. Mariann is an editor and tutors high school juniors and seniors in writing skills. Their son, James, is a software engineer and product manager in Manhattan. Jon spends free time running, hiking, sea kayaking, traveling, and reading.
Per is a seasoned entrepreneur and C-suite executive with a 40+ year track record in private equity, investment banking, risk management, commodity trading, and insurance. As an entrepreneur he has founded or led several startup companies over the past 13 years, raising over $30 million in private equity for the various ventures. Most recently, Per was CEO & CFO of Presidium USA, Inc., a private equity backed chemical technology company. At the end of 2022, he led a management buyout of Presidium’s chemical business through a new company (Novellus Resin Systems) he established in partnership with Presidium’s former CTO. While launching the new venture takes some of his time, Per offers fractional CEO/COO/CFO consulting services to startups and early stage ventures in his spare time.
Per holds a BA in Economics from Colgate University and has been a long-time alumni mentor in Colgate’s student entrepreneurship program Thought into Action. Per is a past Board President of Person-to-Person (P2P) and remains active as a volunteer and Board Emeritus.
“An award-winning writer of absorbing, sophisticated fiction delivers a stylish and propulsive novel rooted in early 20th century New York, about wealth and talent, trust and intimacy, truth and perception. In glamorous 1920s New York City, two characters of sophisticated taste come together. One is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; the other, the brilliant daughter of penniless aristocrats. Steeped in affluence and grandeur, their marriage excites gossip and allows a continued ascent — all at a moment when the country is undergoing a great transformation. This is the story at the center of Harold Vanner’s novel Bonds, which everyone in 1938 New York seems to have read. But it isn’t the only version. Provocative, propulsive, and repeatedly surprising, Hernan Diaz’s Trust puts the story of these characters into conversation with the “the truth”-and in tension with the life and perspective of an outsider immersed in the mystery of a competing account. The result is an overarching novel that becomes more exhilarating and profound with each new layer and revelation, engaging the reader in a treasure hunt for the truth that confronts the reality-warping gravitational pull of money, and how power often manipulates facts”–
The Wanderers first Spring Wandering is upon us. This Thursday March 30 we head to Torrington in the Naugatuck Valley. This area was one of the industrial hubs that helped to create Connecticut’s initial prosperity and is now a modern scenic venue.
Travel to Torrington will be by carpool from the DCA (274 Middlesex Road, Darien) leaving at 8:30 am. Please arrive at the DCA some minutes before. The ride is approximately 75 minutes up Rte. 8 off the Merritt Parkway. All are welcome.
The DMA’s annual spring picnic at Weed Beach is scheduled for Wednesday, June 15 (Thursday, June 16 in the event of inclement weather). A sign-up sheet for the picnic will again be available at this coming Wednesday’s general meeting at the DCA; the cost will be $40 per person. Please contact Alex Garnett if you are willing to assist with the preparations and/or clean-up.
DMA members can also confirm their plans to attend with Jan Selkowitz or Alex Garnett by email. Members should either deliver their checks in person at the DCA or mail them to the Darien Men’s Association, c/o the Darien Community Association, attn.: Marilyn DeMaio, 274 Middlesex Road, Darien, CT 06820 (and email Jan or Alex that you have done so).
Frank DeLeo will have a sign-up sheet at this week’s Wednesday meeting for the Long Island Boat Trip he has organized for May 30. It is limited to 40 people, and the list is filling up fast. Please bring your checkbook and pay when signing up. The fee is $40 per person. We will cruise the Sound along with two docents to help us better understand the Sound’s history and eco-system.
