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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 5, 2025 37 Movers & Shakers Law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP announced it has hired Gerard (Rod) N. Saggese III as a partner in its litigation department. With over 25 years of practice, Saggese focuses on commercial, general civil and intellectual property litigation. He has represented clients from a broad range of industries before trial and appellate courts on the state and federal level, as well as before administrative bodies. Saggese, who previ- ously was a partner at Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC, will be based in Carmody's Stamford office. East Hartford-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union has appointed Simeon Chapin as its first-ever chief community officer. In this newly created position, Chapin will shape and lead functions supporting American Eagle FCU's community engagement in Connecticut and western Massachusetts. In his career, Chapin has held lead- ership roles integrating social impact and business strategy. Most recently, he served as the head of social impact at New England Federal Credit Union, where he designed and led partnership strategy. Prior to that, Chapin served as community impact officer at Vermont State Employees Credit Union and as the founder and presi- dent of the VSECU Foundation. Ives Bank President and CEO Martin G. Morgado has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council. Members of the council serve three-year terms and are representa- tives from commercial banks, thrift institutions and credit unions with assets under $10 billion. They provide information and insight to the New York Fed from the perspective of community depository institutions. Morgado has been with Danbury- based Ives Bank for 24 years, serving as president and CEO since 2016. He is currently serving as vice chair of the board of the Connecticut Bankers Association. Hartford-based BDC Capital Corp., an economic development organi- zation that provides financing and investment capital to companies in New England, has named Dennis Breitrick its newest SBA 504 busi- ness development officer. In his role, Breitrick will focus on new business development for SBA 504 loans in Connecticut and western Massachusetts. Prior to BDC, he was a senior business relationship manager with KeyBank. Prior to that, he was employed by M&T Bank, People's United Bank, United Bank and JPMorgan Chase Bank. Law firm Stites & Harbison PLLC has hired attorney Nancy Kennedy. Kennedy has joined the firm's intellectual property and technology service group in Hart- ford as a partner. Kennedy has extensive experience managing domestic and international trademark, copyright, trade dress, domain name and other internet law matters. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, Kennedy was a partner at Cantor Colburn LLP. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she earned her law degree. New Britain-based medical component manufacturer AVNA Inc. has hired Robert "Chip" Harvill as a senior business development executive. In this role, Harvill will lead efforts to cultivate new partnerships and business opportunities across AVNA's growing portfolio of medical device manufacturing capabilities. The lifelong Virginia resident has held key roles in engineering, operations sales and business devel- opment at several major medtech manufacturing firms, including Mill- stone Medical and Cadence Inc. Employment and labor law firm Littler has named Sean M. Fisher as a special counsel in its New Haven office. Fisher has substan- tial experience representing clients in employment matters, including federal and state discrimination law claims, restrictive covenants, common law duties of loyalty, and trade secret theft. He previously worked for Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman LLP, where he served as legal director and firm counsel. REGISTER TODAY! SUPPORTING SPONSOR PRESENTING SPONSOR SCAN BELOW TO SEE FULL LIST OF HONOREES & TO REGISTER JUNE 12 | 5 PM - 8 PM FARMINGTON GARDENS TIME TO CELEBRATE THE HONOREES!! Gerard Saggese Simeon Chapin Nancy Kennedy Sean Fisher