Hartford Stage has change at the top

New president elected; West Hartford mayor among board additions

Hartford Stage has a new president and several new board members, elected at the annual meeting June 23. Jack Sennott has been elected president of the theater’s board of directors. Sennott is the chairman, chief executive officer and president of CapSpecialty, which provides specialty insurance for small businesses. Sennott has served as the board’s vice president and has also chaired its finance committee.

He succeeds David R. Jiminez, who has served for the past three years.

Shari Cantor, mayor of West Hartford, is one of seven newly appointed board members. The others are: Connecticut Public Broadcasting President/CEO Mark G. Contreras; Anne D’Alleva, dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut; John Doran, director of accounting at Travelers Insurance (and a former member of the board’s young professionals team Stage One); The Very Reverend Miguelina Howell of Hartford’s Christ Church Cathedral; Dr. Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, professor of History and Latinx Studies and campus director of the University Connecticut — Hartford; and Bill Thompson, who recently retired from being principal actuary at Milliman.

According to Hartford Stage Managing Director Cynthia Rider, the theater’s board “is a critical governance body of the organization that helps support, guide and holds fiduciary responsibility of the organization. Hartford Stage has been most fortunate to have a broad and active board of directors that works tirelessly through various committees providing insight, knowledge and connections to the betterment of the theater. They are passionate ambassadors of the work and a key component of Hartford Stage’s success.”

In a statement, Sennott said, “I am thrilled and honored to be elected as the next president of Hartford Stage. Over the past fifteen months, the team has done remarkable work through the Raise the Curtain campaign to make the theater’s re-emergence possible.”

Hartford Stage board bylaws say presidents can serve a total of three years: an initial two-year term plus a one-year extension. Other board positions are one-year terms that can be extended. New board members serve an initial two-year term, followed by two three-year terms, for a total of eight years.

In other board changes, Elease Wright has become the vice president as well as chair of the board’s human resources committee, while Devon C. Francis will continue to serve as treasurer (as well as finance committee chair) and Michael Nicastro will continue as secretary.

Hartford Stage management associate Scott Bartleson explains that the board of directors is “all-encompassing,” with several different classifications.

The officers and governing board are the most active decision-makers and get involved in major planning issues at the theater, including search committees and fundraising. Past board members remain connected as “life directors,” “honorary directors,” “ex officio” or “past presidents,” all listed on the theater’s website.

There is also the “Stage One” initiative, which Bartleson says “shows young professionals what it means to be on an arts board.” Some board members have been recruited through Stage One.

At last week’s annual meeting, former board president Walter Harrison was elected as a life director. Harrison has been on the board since 2002 in various capacities, including heading the 2018 search committee that brought Melia Bensussen to Hartford Stage as its new artistic director.

Two members are returning to the governing board after having served as honorary board members: Tom Richards, the global leader for strategy & business development at CIGNA and pastry chef Esther Pryor.