Category: Members (Page 1 of 28)

Landis, Steve

A graduate of Beloit College (BA, 1976) and Columbia University Graduate School of Business (MBA, 1980), Steve enjoyed a 36-year career as a fixed-income investment professional. His experience included proprietary trading at a U.S. Treasury primary dealer, managing open- and closed-end mutual funds and institutional portfolios, and serving for 14 years as a principal in an emerging-market debt investment fund. He also managed emerging-market debt portfolios for an institutional investment manager.

A resident of Rowayton since 2016, he previously lived in Larchmont, New York, for 28 years. He and his wife of 45 years, Cynthia (Cindy) Graham Landis, have two married daughters and three granddaughters living in Darien and Rowayton Woods. Cindy, a graduate of Vassar College and Columbia University Graduate School of Business, is a retired real estate professional and former manager of Houlihan Lawrence’s Bronxville office.

An avid and accomplished sailor, he belongs to the New York Yacht Club, Cruising Club of America, Storm Trysail Club, and Norwalk Yacht Club. He previously chaired the New York Yacht Club’s Crossing Committee and served as treasurer and Cruise Committee chair of the Norwalk Yacht Club. His sailing accomplishments include podium finishes in Bermuda races in 2017 and 2018. He is also a former rock climber.

He looks forward to becoming more involved in the Darien community and drawing upon the considerable talents, experience, and interests of its residents.

West, Tim

Tim West has been a resident of Darien since 1998, having previously lived in Rowayton for 10 years. A longtime supporter of Darien youth sports, he served on the board of Darien Youth Lacrosse, coached numerous travel teams, and co-founded the Blue Wave Buddies program for first- and second-graders with Mike Connelly.

Tim graduated from Providence College in 1982, where he met his wife, Margot (née Benedetto). He recently retired following a career in asset management sales that began in 1985.

Tim and Margot have two grown sons, Andrew and Henry, both of whom attended Darien schools and now live in New York City.

Gould, Tim

Tim is one of four boys, all of whom grew up in Darien and attended the Darien public schools. He began at Ox Ridge Elementary School and graduated with distinction before moving on to Middlesex Middle School. At the time, Darien had two middle schools—Middlesex and Mather, which was located on the site of the current Town Hall. Tim graduated from Darien High School in 1981.

He went on to attend Hobart College, graduating four years later. Throughout his youth, Tim was an active participant in local sports, including soccer, wrestling, swimming, and lacrosse.

A longtime Darien resident, Tim is married and has three children, all of whom also attended the Darien public schools.

Tim’s professional career was devoted to Equity Capital Markets and Syndicate, with primary responsibilities that included the origination, marketing, pricing, and allocation of equity and equity-related products to institutional investors.

He spent 23 years at Lehman Brothers, where he ultimately ran the Syndicate desk globally and co-chaired the firm’s Equity Underwriting Committee. He later held similar senior roles at Macquarie and Truist Securities before retiring this year.

Family activities remain Tim’s first priority. In his free time, he enjoys working out, fishing, and golf.

 

Knipp, Peter

Born and raised in Maryland, Peter Knipp attended Princeton University before pursuing graduate studies at the University of Chicago. He began his professional life teaching physics, first at the college level and later in high schools. He subsequently embarked on a second career as a web-development software engineer and has now moved on to what may—or may not—be his final career, as a pickleball instructor.

Peter raised his two daughters in Virginia. One now lives in Seattle, while the other resides in Brooklyn with her husband and their young daughter. Peter is currently single.

After moving to the Northeast in 2009, Peter settled in Fairfield County in 2014 and moved to his current home in Norwalk in 2023. Despite his years in the area, he remains somewhat uncertain about precisely where Norwalk ends and Darien begins. Much of his connection to the Darien community has developed through his enthusiasm for tennis and pickleball, where he has come to know many local residents on the courts.

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Blank, Peter

Peter J. Blank has made Darien his home for more than fifty years while pursuing a distinguished career in creative direction, design, and branding. He earned degrees in mathematics and advertising design from American University, followed by an MFA in advertising design from Pratt Institute.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Peter has worked across a broad range of creative disciplines, including corporate identity, publishing, technology, interactive marketing, and user experience design. He has held senior creative positions at Answerthink and iXL, served as Worldwide Director of Design at Hill & Knowlton, and was Design Director at both Newsweek and Ziff Davis Computer Publications. As Chief Creative Officer at FT Search, he was responsible for strategic branding and marketing communications.

Throughout his years in Darien, Peter has developed a deep appreciation for Long Island Sound, its beaches, the changing seasons, and the familiar gathering places that give the community its character. Sailing has been a lifelong passion, and he has extensive experience in both cruising and racing. He is a member of the New York Yacht Club.

Peter and his wife, Susan, have enjoyed the combination of rewarding professional careers in New York City and the pleasures of life in coastal Connecticut. Together, they have traveled extensively while maintaining their longstanding ties to Darien, where they live with their Wheaten Terrier, Toby.

Shutts, Jay

Born in Buffalo, New York, Jay Shutts moved to Darien with his family in 1960 and has maintained close ties to the community ever since. He graduated from Darien High School in 1977 and earned a degree in Economics and Business from the University of Richmond in 1981.

Jay began his professional career in sales with Procter & Gamble immediately after college. In 1989, he joined the book printing division of R.R. Donnelley & Sons, beginning a long career in the publishing and printing industry. He continues to work with Lakeside Book Company, a successor to R.R. Donnelley. In 2019, he added an entrepreneurial venture to his professional pursuits with the purchase of Frog Hooks by Sternmoor, a boat docking system used at facilities across the country, including the Darien Boat Club.

Jay has been an active contributor to Darien’s civic and nonprofit organizations for many years. He served as President of the Darien Land Trust from 1997 to 2003, a period that included the important acquisition of Mather Meadow. He subsequently served on the Darien Library Board from 2012 to 2018, including two years as Treasurer, and as President of the Andrew Shaw Memorial Trust, which supports Darien Scouting, from 2017 to 2019. He currently serves on the Town of Darien’s Advisory Conservation Commission.

An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Jay enjoys skiing, golf, bicycling, boating, and hiking, and is a regular at the Darien YMCA gym.

His two children, both graduates of Darien schools, have ventured farther afield. His daughter, Kendra, lives in London, while his son, Cameron, resides in San Francisco.

 

 

Sargent, Bruce

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Westfield, New Jersey, where he attended public schools, Sargent has called Darien home for the past forty years. He graduated from Columbia College in 1966 and earned his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1968.

Following business school, he joined Smith Barney in 1968, beginning a career in investment management that has spanned nearly six decades. He remains active with the firm’s successor, Morgan Stanley, where he serves as Senior Vice President and Private Wealth Manager in its Westport office. A Chartered Financial Analyst, he previously served as Chairman of Smith Barney’s Capital Management Division, responsible for institutional investment management, and as a member of the firm’s Corporate Board.

Sargent has been deeply involved in civic affairs in Darien, serving as President of the Darien Historical Society and for more than twenty years as a member and Chairman of the Town Retirement Board. In 2026, he had the distinction of driving the Grand Marshal in Darien’s Memorial Day Parade.

His charitable and conservation interests have included service on the Board of the Inner City Foundation of Fairfield County and as President of Game Conservancy USA. He currently serves on the Board of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, its parent organization in the United Kingdom.

An active club member, Sargent served as President of the University Club of New York from 1987 to 1990 and belongs to several other New York City clubs, as well as Wee Burn Country Club in Darien. His outdoor interests are reflected in his memberships in the Camp Fire Club of America, Mashomack Preserve in New York State, and Ski Club 10 in Warren, Vermont, where he also serves on the Board.

He and his wife, Janet McInerney Sargent, have one son, Matthew, who lives in Darien with his wife, Brenna Kelly, and their son, Win.

 

Lyden, Basil

Basil first became acquainted with Darien during his college summers, when he taught sailing at Noroton Yacht Club. Raised in Larchmont and New Rochelle, New York, he eventually made Darien his permanent home with his family after returning to the United States in the mid-1980s following several years in London.

A graduate of Ohio University, Basil earned his MBA from George Washington University and pursued a career in marketing and sales of enterprise information technology and software to the financial services industry. He retired in 2017.

While attending Ohio University, Basil met his wife, Leslie, a proud Pittsburgh native. Together, they raised three daughters—Kate, Kerry, and Leah—all of whom attended Darien public schools. In a remarkable display of consideration for their parents, all three chose Colgate University, although each has since pursued her own distinct path. The family has grown to include two sons-in-law and five grandchildren.

Basil remains an active sailor, continuing to race Sonars at Noroton Yacht Club, and enjoys winter skiing in Steamboat Springs. Since retiring, he has devoted more time to travel, taken on the continuing challenges of golf and learning French, and serves as a docent at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Lindberg, Robert

Bob Lindberg and his wife Pamela have lived in Darien since 1990. Their 2 daughters went through the Darien school system, K-12. Their oldest daughter lives in Portland, Oregon and is the mother of 2 lovely grand daughters. Their 2nd daughter is a successful architect and designer based in Providence, RI.  Pamela is an artist with a studio in Norwalk.

Bob grew up in Valhalla, NY just north of White Plains. He attended Dartmouth College with aspirations of becoming a physician. Conveniently, New York Medical College moved their campus from Manhattan to Valhalla during Bob’s sophomore year. It was within walking distance of his family home and the chairwoman of admissions moved in down the street. This deus ex machina was instrumental in Bob realizing his career aspiration. After graduating from NY Medical College and completing his residency, plus a 2 year stint in the National Health Service, Bob began his practice in Internal Medicine in Darien in 1986. One attraction to this area was Stamford Hospital which was the most impressive and well run hospital Bob had witnessed in 7 years of training in multiple institutions up and down the east coast.

Bob retired in 2022 from the Stamford Health Medical Group. He is grateful for his wonderful family, community and a stimulating career embedded in an era marked by astonishing advances in clinical medicine. In particular he treasures the experience of developing thousands of long term collaborative relationships that are so unique to primary care medicine. He was mentored by many wise and considerate patients. One consistent piece of advice was ‘When you retire and have more time…join the Darien Mens’ Association.’

 

McCarthy, Mark

Mark McCarthy grew up in Springfield, Mass. He met his wife Leslie while attending graduate school in Chicago. They have lived in Darien for 32 years, and raised their three sons here. All three, Connor (32), Brad (30) and Ryan (27), attended the Darien public schools and were active in Post 53, lacrosse and golf throughout their school years. Today, they live in Manhattan, and Mark’s oldest son Connor is engaged, with a wedding date set for July 2027.

Mark and Leslie spend winters in Bonita Springs, Fla. and are members of the Bonita Bay Club. They are also members of Woodway Country Club, where Mark is an avid golfer and Leslie plays on the tennis team.

He has been a member of the Darien Boat Club for more than three decades and enjoys boating and fishing on Long Island Sound. He’s an avid music fan and plays guitar.  In addition, Mark has been a board member of the Lincoln Center Real Estate Council in New York.

Mark spent most of his career in commercial real estate in New York and recently retired from Shorenstein Properties after 27 years. His responsibilities included real estate acquisitions, dispositions and debt capital markets.

Mark graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a B.B.A., and from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an M.B.A. Mark is also a Certified Public Accountant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andersen, Allan

Allan Andersen was born and raised in Denmark, where he lived until 1997. A competitive swimmer and squash player in his youth, he remains an avid scuba diver today.

He holds a Master of Science in Economics. He began his career in management consulting before finding his calling in high-tech software, focusing on product management and strategy. In 1991, he co-founded a software company with a friend, which was acquired in 1997 by Long Island-based Computer Associates (CA). Following the acquisition, Allan relocated to the United States to support the integration.

It was through the CA acquisition that Allan met his future wife, Ina Ghaznavi, who was part of the deal on the US side. Ina was born in Switzerland to an Iranian family and moved to the United States at a young age. Ina and Allan are passionate about Africa, education, and technology and have traveled to Africa nearly twenty times since 2010, working to bring advanced learning technologies to children in rural communities.

In 2021, they relocated to Darien, Connecticut, to be closer to Riverside, where their three grandchildren live — a move they say they only regret not having made sooner.

For the past eleven years, Allan has focused on advancing artificial intelligence, specializing in automation and conversational AI — technology now widely recognized as Agentic AI.

 

 

 

Baclawski, James

Jim Baclawski and his wife, Rebecca, maintain their primary residence in Amherst, New Hampshire, but have also made Darien a second home. They feel particularly fortunate that all three of their children live here in Darien—Diana Turowski and her husband, Edward; John Baclawski and his wife, Brittany; and James Baclawski and his wife, Christy—along with their nine grandchildren. With their entire immediate family in one town, having a place of their own here was an easy decision, as they spend a great deal of time with family.

Jim was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and attended the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and swam on the varsity swim team. He later earned an MBA from Babson College in Boston and began his career with Pricewaterhouse on the audit staff.

Jim spent the balance of his career in energy finance. He worked at Prudential Capital as a senior lender to investor-owned electric utilities, financing power plants, fuel and utility fleets, and energy projects using a variety of fuel sources. He subsequently worked in energy finance at Heller Financial, later acquired by GE Capital, and as an equity investor with Lakeside Energy. Jim eventually formed his own company, Emerald Renewable Diesel, to develop projects in the renewable fuels sector.

Jim’s primary interest in Darien is family, and he especially enjoys watching his grandchildren participate in Darien sports, including football, lacrosse, basketball, field hockey, and baseball. Jim is joining the DMA to get to know more of the guys in town and take part in the many activities the Association sponsors.

Outside of family, Jim is an avid snow skier and works hard to ski 30 days a year in New England, the Rocky Mountains, and Europe. He is always looking for a ski buddy. During the offseason, he works out at the YMCA to stay in shape for the next ski season.

Jim is also a mediocre tennis player and golfer and has yet to try pickleball—but that may be coming soon.

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