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.