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42 n e w h a v e n B I Z | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m C-SUITE Pioneering entrepreneur Highsmith honored T H E L O O P One of Connecticut's most accomplished African-American business leaders has been honored by a regional business group for his long and distinguished career. e Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) inducted entrepreneur and philanthropist Carlton L. Highsmith into the GNEMSDC Hall of Fame at the group's 2018 Business Conference & Expo Sept. 21 in Foxboro, Mass. In 1983, Highsmith founded Specialized Packaging Group (SPG) in New Haven as a package design and package engineering firm. He grew SPG to become one of the most successful manufacturers of paperboard packaging in North America, designing and producing packaging for some of the world's largest consumer-products compa- nies including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Clorox and Unilever. In 2009, SPG was recognized as the largest minority-owned firm in Connecticut, with annual revenues in excess of $180 million. e company ranked as high as No. 26 on Black Enterprise Magazine's BE 100, an annual list of the largest and most successful black-owned businesses in the United States. Aer nominally retiring in 2010, Highsmith merged SPG with PaperWorks Industries to form the third-largest vertically integrated recycled paperboard packaging company in North America. Highsmith was a major funder of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (ConnCAT) and has chaired its board since 2012. He is also a trustee of Quinnipiac Uni- versity, the Yale New Haven Health System and the Community Foun- dation for Greater New Haven. "GNEMSDC established the Hall of Fame to recognize individ- uals who have advanced the goals of economic inclusion and minori- ty business development, as well as to pay tribute to those who have contributed in meaningful ways to the social and economic ad- vancement of their communities," said Peter Hurst, GNEMSDC's president and CEO. "Highsmith, our inaugural inductee, is an entre- preneur, servant leader and a role model for all whether a minority business enterprise or an affiliate of a corporation. When the history of shrewd entrepreneurs guided by character and ethics is written, his life's work will fill volumes." Incorporated in 1975 to provide increased procurement and busi- ness opportunities for minori- ty-owned companies, the GNEMS- DC is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. Longtime Access Health CT director James Michel has been named chief executive officer of the state's health-insurance exchange. Michel joined Access Health CT in March 2013 as operations man- ager. In June 2014 he was named director of operations, director of finance in 2017, and interim CEO Carlton L. Highsmith: 'His life's work will fill volumes.' in June of this year. Michel replaces Jim Wadleigh, who le Access Health in April. Michel holds a BS in accounting from Brooklyn College and an MBA from the University of Hartford. Beth P. Beckman DNSc has been named the inaugural chief nursing executive for the Yale New Haven Health System. In this new role, she will be responsible for developing and overseeing the system-wide integration plan for key components of nursing, including nursing practice, staffing, education/development and communication. Beckman was most recently vice president and chief nursing officer (CNO) of Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) in Dallas, Tex. since 2016. Beckman earned her Doctor of Nursing Science degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, master's in nursing from Arizona State University and BS in nursing from the University of Arizona. Veteran banker Jerry McDermott has joined KeyBank Business Cap- ital to support asset-based lending for middle-market companies in KeyBank's eastern region including Connecticut, western Massachu- setts, Albany and Syracuse, N.Y. McDermott joins KeyBank from JP Morgan Chase, where he was responsible for Connecticut market-middle market business development. Before that he per- formed comparable roles with TD Bank and GE Capital. McDermott is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Commercial Finance Associa- tion, the Financial Executives Net- work Group, and the Turnaround Management Association. He holds a BS in finance from Central Con- necticut State University. e Gateway Community College Foundation has inducted Jeffrey A. Klaus as a Corporate Honoree into its 2018 Hall of Fame. Connecticut regional president for Webster Bank, Klaus, a native New Havener, has been active in the community in improving urban public school education. He was appointed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to serve on the state's Educational Cost Sharing Commission, and serves as a founding board member of Amistad Academy. He is a former Board of Directors member for the Gateway Foundation who currently serves on college's President's Executive Council. In recognition of his dedication to education and the college, Klaus was presented with GCC's annual President's Award at the school's 24th commencement ceremony in 2017. Pearce Real Estate has named Wesley Krombel a commercial sales associate. Krombel has professional experience in commercial, investment and resi- dential leasing. He studied business management at Southern Con- necticut State University. n Send appointments and mew hires to news@newhavenbiz.com. A P P O I N T M E N T S James Michel Jerry McDermott Beth P. Beckman Jeffrey A. Klaus Wesley Krombel

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