Category: Members (Page 1 of 27)

David Miller moved to Darien on Memorial Day weekend of 2004 and lived in Noroton Bay for the last 22 years. He retired in January 2026 from a 35-year investment banking career, culminating as CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston Investment Bank.  He and his wife Lisa relocated to Paradise Valley, Ariz but will spend summers in Darien.

David married Lisa in California in 1998, where their first two children, Lauren and Michael  were born.  After moving to Darien, Beck arrived!  All three children were raised in Darien. The Millers’ favorite family activities are traveling and eating out. David enjoys golf at Wee Burn Country Club and more recently, pickleball at Cherry Lawn Park and The Sports Haus in Norwalk.

He graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1987  and an M.B.A. in finance in 1988.  Go Big Red!

John Colon is originally from New Orleans but came north to attend Dartmouth College, graduating in 1982. After a brief stint in investment banking in New York, he attended Harvard Business School and subsequently joined Greenwich Associates for the remainder of his career, retiring as a senior advisor in 2021.

John and his wife Deborah moved to Darien in 1991, where they raised their three children, David, Sarah and Michael, all of whom are Darien High School graduates. More recently, Deborah and John joined the down-sizing craze and moved to west Norwalk but can still see Darien from their backyard.

John’s interests include boating, skiing, paddle, pickleball, golfing and a bit of volunteering.

Richard Chu and his wife Tina have lived in Darien for 15 years. Born in Shanghai, China, just after the Second World War, Richard attended primary and secondary schools in Japan run by Marianist missionaries, French Alsatian, Spanish and American brothers who taught classes entirely in English and inspired him to attend college in the United States. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1967 and did graduate work in physics at Stony Brook University before shifting to business school at Columbia University. Richard spent his entire career with Cowen. He focused initially on Japanese equities, and then heading the technology research team in Cowen’s institutional equities and technology banking business — first from New York, then Boston, back to New York, and finally Boston. After more than 20 years in Dover, Mass., Richard and Tina moved back to Fairfield County in 2012 to be closer to their two daughters and four granddaughters, who all live New York City. They were excited by younger daughter Cathy moving her family to Darien in 2027 to be close to all that this incredible town has to offer, including nearby babysitting help on call!

Richard counts as big challenges: being a diehard Red Sox and Patriots fan in Connecticut; being an avid tennis player trying to get back into it after triple bypass surgery last year; and staying atop the constant and mindboggling changes in the technology world.

Mark Wright has lived in the Noroton Bay area of (Darien since 1997. He received a B.A. degree from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

He describes himself as a serial venture capital backed software as a service technology entrepreneur. He served as CEO of private and public companies. Mark is one of a handful of entrepreneurs who put together the essential technical and data analytics framework to enable digital media and online shopping and retailing. Immediately before retiring in Fall of 2025, he headed up the digital technology and Media M&A strategic advisory practice of a digital consulting firm.

His wife Heather is a pastor in Stanwich Church in Greenwich. He and Heather have three adult children, all of whom attended elementary, middle and high school in Darien. Mark’s interests include hiking, current events and next generation digital/data analytics technology.

Colin Dunne spent most of his childhood just a few miles down I-95 in Rye, N.Y. Immediately upon graduating from Williams College in 1977, he tried out life as a teacher and coach at Saint Andrew’s School, a boarding school in Delaware. However, it did not take long for him to move back north to New York City, where he pursued an M.B.A. at New York University at night while working in economic and financial research during the day. Eventually, he took research, trading and risk management stints at Becker Paribas, J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and post-crisis AIG.

While working in New York, Colin moved to Fairfield County, where he ultimately met his wife Meredith. The two married in 1988 and moved to Noroton Bay. In due course, they raised three children — Kevin, Thomas and Julia — moving two more times within town as more bedrooms were needed. Once their nest emptied, Colin and Meredith moved to Rowayton and adopted a now six-year-old Australian cattle dog, Gordon. Since then, they have also welcomed their two-year-old grandson Walter.

Colin is a racquets member at Wee Burn Country Club and plays on its 60+ Fairfield County Tennis Team in the summer. On many summer evenings, Colin and Meredith can be found picnicking on their powerboat or sneaking in nine holes at the Silvermine Golf Course. They also own a condominium in Vermont, which is the family rendezvous point for skiing in the winter and golf in the summer.

Gil Kernan is an executive and entrepreneur with a track record of building and leading financially disciplined, growth-oriented organizations. He brings deep experience in governance, risk management and strategic execution across corporate, nonprofit and family enterprises.

A four-time elected treasurer of Rowayton, Gil is responsible for financial oversight, governance, and internal controls for the town. He was part of the core leadership team that scaled SoundView Technology Group from $4 million to $200 million in revenue, holding P&L responsibility while overseeing compliance, risk management and key institutional relationships. Today, Gil works with and advises organizations on strengthening their financial structure, governance and operational efficiency.

Gil and his wife Kim, who co-owned the House of Needlepoint store in Darien for 15 years, lived in Darien from 1992 to 2010 and now live in Rowayton. Their son Peter lives in Hood River, Oreg., with his wife and two young children. Their daughter Avery lives in Seattle, Wash. Gil coached Peter’s Little League baseball team and hockey team and coached Avery’s basketball team. Gil was a longtime member of the Darien Boat Club. Even after moving from Darien, Gil has been a volunteer for the Darien Land Trust, chainsaw in hand to help with cleanups after storms.

Jim Sullivan and his wife Michelle have lived in Darien for 35 years. They raised three sons, all of whom attended Darien public schools. Two of their sons are married and Jim and Michelle have two grandchildren, with another due in August. Their third son is single and lives in Palo Alto, Calif.

Jim coached numerous town baseball and basketball teams while his boys were in school. He and his family have been active parishioners at St Thomas More Parish, where he served for many years on the Parish Finance Council and as its chair for his last three years on the Council. He was a member of the church building committee during a two-year total renovation and expansion and assisted in budgeting, fundraising and oversight for the project. In addition, Jim served on earlier building committees overseeing the renovation of the parish school building and multipurpose building. Jim was active in the parish youth group, working on several Appalachia home building projects, where funds were raised and high school students and parents would travel to Appalachia to build homes for needy families. He continues to volunteer at the New Covenant House in Stamford with meal preparation for the needy.

Jim graduated from Fairfield University with a degree in finance. His career began in 1980 at NBC News at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. Jim’s career continued at a variety of media companies, culminating at a private equity firm, Triumph Holdings, LLC, where the team acquired, operated and sold media companies. Jim is an avid golfer and skier, enjoys running and working out and is a novice woodworker.

After 20 years in Darien — where two of his four children came up through the public schools — Steve Yavner recently made the short move to Norwalk, staying deeply rooted in the community he loves. He remains an active member of both the Darien Chamber of Commerce, the Darien Community Association and the Darien YMCA.

Steve is the founder of Spark Your College Story, Inc., where he is a college advisor, essay coach and SAT/ACT tutor, helping students find and tell the stories that get them into college. Three afternoons a week, you’ll find him at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, working one-on-one with middle and high school students across a wide range of subjects — because he believes every student deserves a great mentor.

Before launching Spark Your College Story, Steve built a remarkable career in media and education. He spent nine years as a sports anchor and reporter in West Palm Beach and at CNN in Atlanta, ran the CBS newsroom in Miami for eight years and was an executive producer in Boston and Philadelphia. He later brought that real-world experience into the classroom, teaching journalism and communications for 12 years at the University of Miami, Fairfield University, and Central Connecticut State University.

Steve and his wife Phyllis — a psychotherapist with a private practice in Darien — are the proud parents of Christopher, Emily, Caroline and Evan, and grandparents to grandson Jack. A native of Brookline, Mass., Steve spends his downtime on the golf course or out on the water on board his boat, Phyllisity.

Thomas (Tom) MacDonald was born and raised in Wisconsin. He obtained his undergraduate degree (B.S. in economics and mathematics) and law degree from the University of Wisconsin. Following his graduation from law school in 1981, Tom practiced corporate and securities law in Minneapolis for eight years and served on the board of directors of Golden American Life Insurance Company, an issuer of mutual fund-backed variable annuities. In 1989, Tom joined Seward & Kissel, a mid-sized law firm in New York City. He represented hedge funds, mutual funds and other clients in the money management industry. For health reasons, Tom retired from the firm and from the practice of law in 2002, although he continued to consult for the firm and former clients for some time after that.

After joining Seward & Kissel, Tom moved from Minnesota to Darien with his wife Debra and their two children, Kimberly and David, then ages 5 and 1, respectively. In 2017, Tom and Deb moved from Darien to a condominium in downtown Stamford. While in Darien, Tom was active in coaching youth basketball and football. He spent 10 years on the board of directors of the Darien Junior Football League. He helped to found the Fairfield County Football League and served on its board of directors. Tom also volunteered for At Home in Darien. He and his family were long-time members of the Middlesex Club and St. Thomas More Parish. Tom had been an active squash player, runner, cyclist and downhill skier but now enjoys more sedate activities such as reading and spending time with Deb and their two grandchildren. With Deb having recently retired from Stamford Hospital, Tom and Deb now plan to spend time traveling.

Peter Riordan moved with his family to Darien in 2008 after growing up in Stamford and living in the Washington, D.C. area for 14 years. He has been deeply involved in the Darien community, having served as a Scout leader (cubmaster, assistant scoutmaster and district chairman), and he has served the town of Darien as a member of the RTM. He is currently serving on the Advisory Commission on Coastal Waters and the DarienTV Advisory Board. Peter is an active member and elder of Noroton Presbyterian Church and has served that church in several roles.

Peter has worked in the broadcast industry for 40 years and has worked for a number of companies, including Connecticut Public Television, HBO, Discovery and Amazon Web Services (Media & Entertainment business unit). Many of his professional roles have been focused on operations, technology strategy and change management.

Peter and his wife Kalie have been married for 30 years. Kalie grew up in Darien and attended Holmes and Middlesex schools before attending King Low Heywood school. Kalie is the director of Noroton Presbyterian Nursery School and the Noroton Presbyterian Child Care Program. Their adult children Gillian and Luke were both born in Silver Spring, Md., and attended Holmes and Middlesex schools and Darien High School. Gillian is a volunteer and past officer at Noroton Heights Fire Department. Luke served at Post 53 through high school and college and is looking forward to post-collegiate participation in the program.

William (Bill) Waters was born and raised in Glen Ridge, N.J., attended North Carolina State University and graduated with a double major in accounting and business administration. Bill is a CPA and retired partner of Berdon LLP in New York City, specializing in commercial real estate.

He and his wife Ginny, a former professor of Japanese studies, have one daughter, Jessica, and a six-year-old grandson.

Bill and Ginny seem to have made a hobby of moving from house to house in the New York metropolitan area — from New Jersey to several homes in Rye, Manhattan, Greenwich and, since 2020, Rowayton. The Rowayton/Darien/Norwalk location is by far his favorite due to the proximity and easy access to shopping, restaurants, parks, the seaside, and Silvermine Golf Club, where he loves to meet up with people and enjoy a round of golf.

Robert (Buddy) Kretzman and his wife Clare recently moved from North Stamford to Darien. They have been Connecticut residents since the early 1980s, with a brief stint in Chicago for Buddy’s career.

They have been married 43 years, have two adult sons: Matthew, who lives in Darien with his wife and three children aged nine, eight and four; and Christopher, who lives in New Canaan with his wife and daughter Bryce, age three. Buddy is blessed to spend much of his time with family, enjoying their activities, watching Darien junior football, travel soccer, town basketball, baseball and cheerleading. Buddy and Clare have a small house on Long Island, in which they spend much of their summer. Buddy and Clare walked the Camino de Santiago, hiked in the national parks in Utah and Colorado and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, thankfully before the recent hostilities.

Prior to Buddy’s retirement in 2013, he served as the chief legal and administrative officer of Revlon, with responsibility for global legal, human resources, compliance, security, real estate and facilities and licensing areas. After retirement, he served on Revlon’s board of directors. He graduated from St. John’s University in 1974 and from St. John’s University School of Law in 1977.

After retiring, Buddy took numerous courses at Fairfield University, focusing primarily on religious studies across numerous faith traditions. He is a certified spiritual director and supervisor serving at the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Fairfield University and chairs the Murphy Center’s advisory board.

He also serves on the board of directors of Food Rescue US, a non-profit organization that secures fresh food from restaurants and food stores and uses unique software applications to efficiently distribute it to food banks and homeless shelters nationally. Its dual mission is to address food insecurity and mitigate the environmental impact of food waste.