CFO spotlight: The power of numbers

Company financial officers are the keepers of spreadsheets and the lords of lockboxes. They bear bad news, but are the first to know when things are looking up.

To recognize Fairfield County”™s best, Westfair Communications Inc., hosts with sponsors TD Bank and McGladrey, the second annual CFO of Year Awards Oct. 2 at Hotel Zero Degrees in Norwalk.

From a pool of 14 nominees that were vetted, judges will announce three winners representing small, medium and large companies.

Last year”™s winners included Babcock & King”™s Brian Feidt; Bigelow Tea”™s Donald Janezic Jr.; and Oni Chukwu, then CFO of Triple Point Technology.

And the nominees are:

Paul J. Brody is CFO of Interactive Brokers Group Inc. in Greenwich.

Brody is responsible for finance and banking relationships, clearing, accounting, financial compliance, credit, and internal administration, as well as certain aspects of new product development spanning the group”™s businesses in North America, Europe and the Far East. Prior to joining the group, Brody spent five years with Mocatta Metals Corp., an international commodities trading firm. He received a B.A. in economics with distinction from Cornell University in 1982.

Eugene Colucci is senior vice president and CFO of Greenwich Hospital.

Colucci controls a $326 million annual operating budget for the hospital and its affiliated divisions. He worked with the CEO in the process that resulted in the alignment with Yale New Haven Health System. He then assumed the additional role of vice president with Yale New Haven Health. Colucci had prior served as CFO and controller of Mount Vernon Hospital in Mount Vernon, N.Y. He has a bachelor”™s degree from Niagara University and an MBA from St. John”™s University in New York. He and his wife Elizabeth have two sons and reside in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Ronald K. Holbert is senior vice president, treasurer and CFO at First County Bank.

Holbert controls all activities related to fiscal management, budgetary planning, general accounting, financial and tax reporting and investment management. He also performs all corporate duties of treasurer. Holbert earned a BS in business administration from West Virginia University in 1978. He skis in the winter and umpires Little League baseball in the summer. He lives in Stamford with his wife. They have two children.

Michael Kramberg is the CFO and managing director of business affairs at the Stamford Jewish Community Center.

He has both hands-on and supervisory responsibility for the areas of accounting and financial analysis, human resources and building operations. Kramberg is a 30-year veteran of the Jewish Community Center movement. Prior to his arrival in Stamford he spent 21 years at the country”™s premier JCC, New York”™s 92nd Street Y. He earned a BS degree in financial operations from the City University of New York. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., he moved to Stamford this past year.

Carol Miller is CFO and comptroller of Integrated Medical Centers L.L.C. and imedcenter.com L.L.C. in Fairfield.

With more than 30 years of progressive health care finance and strategy experience, Miller is responsible for: oversight of patient financial services; maximizing cash flow consistent with sound credit and collection policies while maintaining good rapport with the community; financial reporting with detailed analysis of financial statements and variances from budget; and audits of financial statements and internal controls. She received a BA in accounting from the University of Bridgeport.

Donald J. Morrissey is executive vice president and CFO of Aquarion Water Co.

Morrissey oversees all aspects of Aquarion”™s financial management, strategic and financial planning, rates and regulation programs and risk management. He helped lead Aquarion”™s recent acquisition of United Water Connecticut. He has an MBA in finance and international business from NYU”™s Stern School of Business, and a B.S. in accounting from the University of Connecticut. He and his family reside in Newtown.

Saeed Nasiri is CFO of Greenwich Hospitality Group.

While overseeing financial and operational aspects of the current portfolio, Nasiri performs property evaluation and analysis for potential acquisitions. He has more than 30 years of experience working in independent and chain hotels in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Houston, New York and Connecticut. He is “a hands-on, detail-oriented hospitality executive, proficient in various aspects of operations, sales and marketing, human resources, finance and project development.” He has an MBA in finance from the University of Bridgeport.

Lori Pasqualini is chief financial and administrative officer for Ability Beyond Disability Inc. in Bethel.

Pasqualini is responsible for all fiscal responsibilities ranging from strategic financial planning, capital planning, maintaining banking and lending relationships, and managing government funding supporting Ability Beyond. Prior to joining the organization, she worked in the health care practice of Deloitte and Touche as an auditor in Boston, and also at Bridgeport Hospital as the director of reimbursement. Her undergraduate degree is in economics from Southern Connecticut State University.

Kevin Patti is CFO for Penske Automotive Group.

Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich, Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield, Audi of Fairfield, Porsche of Fairfield, Smart of Fairfield, Fairfield Collision Center, Honda of Danbury and Connecticut Management Co., comprise the group with $400 million in revenue. Patti”™s responsibilities include 24 direct reports, monthly closing processes and all reports to the corporate office.

He has a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the University of Rhode Island. He and his wife, Janet, have two children.

Doug Polistena is CFO of The Amber Room in Danbury.

Since joining the Amber Room, Polistena has personally worked on and completed more than 700 events, including major galas, weddings, bat and bar mitzvahs and corporate functions. Today, Polistena is the director of sales with a primary responsibility for event planning and corporate finance management at Evia Inc. and ARC Properties. A graduate of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., he applied his degrees in marketing and financial management to a career in hospitality, a field he entered in 1997.

James Sidwa is CFO of Capital Partners in Greenwich.

Sidwa manages investor relations, capital raising, financial reporting, audit, tax, treasury, internal controls, SEC compliance and reporting, corporate governance, risk management, information technology, benefits and facilities. Prior to joining Capital Partners, Sidwa worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he provided financial due-diligence consulting services to private equity and corporate buyers and sellers.

He earned his B.S. in accounting at the University of Connecticut in Storrs and is a certified public accountant.

Risa Vine is CFO of Carmel Academy in Greenwich.

Since joining the Carmel Academy senior management team in 2009, Vine has focused on implementing financial structures and controls to assist the school in reaching its “long-term strategic mission to become the premier Jewish day school in lower Fairfield County.” She graduated from Brandeis University with a B.S. in economics. Vine started her career in New York City as a controller at Manufacturers Hanover. Vine later transitioned to the not-for-profit private school industry, working for 14 years at Ezra Academy in New Haven. She lives in Fairfield with her husband and three children.

Alan Webber is CFO and chief operating officer of M.H. DiScala and Co. in Norwalk.

Webber specializes in securing debt and equity financing, analyzing assets and buying and selling real estate assets. He operates the firm under “an innovative strategy” to maximize client real estate investment yields and cash flow through effective and efficient management. Webber earned his degree from the University of Delaware and spent his earlier years in the commercial lending and brokerage fields.

For more information and to reserve a space, contact Holly DeBartolo at (914) 358-0743.