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Akhil Johri retired from United Technologies Corporation (UTC) after 32 years of service across multiple divisions and Corporate Headquarters. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from January 2015 through November 2019, Akhil was one of the key executives driving the strategic transformation of UTC from a conglomerate into three focused global leaders in aerospace & defense (RTX), elevator (Otis), and HVAC & fire and security (Carrier) industries.

Akhil currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Cardinal Health and the Boeing Company. He is also an Operating Advisor at CD&R, a private equity firm based in New York City and London. He serves on the Board of Hartford Promise, a non-profit organization with large-scale college scholarship and college success program for Hartford, CT public school students.

Akhil’s wife of 40 years, Shashi, is the Director of Library Services at Westminster School, Simsbury, CT and they have two children and two grandchildren.

Presentation slides: Old Guard Oct 14 2025

Mark Scheinberg     President—Goodwin University

Mark E. Scheinberg is the founding President of Goodwin University, where he has provided the foresight, inspiration, and leadership that have transformed a small, career-focused business school into a nationally recognized, community-based, nonprofit organization of higher education, dedicated to serving those whom he calls “the undiscovered students” — working adults, first-generation college students, and learners from various backgrounds pursuing emerging careers.

Mark has dedicated himself to enriching the broader community through several leadership roles and assistance to: Accrediting Commission of Independent Colleges and Schools, Capital Region Workforce Development Board; CT Employment and Training Commission; Metro Hartford Alliance; and CT Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Mark’s work has been recognized by a wide range of community, educational, and entrepreneurial organizations and has received many awards and recognitions.  Mark has five children and 12 grandchildren, who together form the center of his life.

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Sean Scanlon began his term as Comptroller in 2023, succeeding Natalie Braswell.

The son of a police officer and small business owner, Sean attended Guilford public schools and worked his way through high school and Boston College. After graduating, Sean returned to Connecticut with the goal of helping others. He began working as an aide for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy where he helped the Senator fight for gun safety and better health care, as well as addressing constituent concerns. In Guilford, he worked with neighbors to organize successful grassroots campaigns to build a new high school and institute a full-day kindergarten.

In 2014, Sean was elected State Representative for Connecticut’s 98th District. In the House, Sean became a champion for health care reform, a passion rooted in his own life experiences coming from a family that was often uninsured or underinsured.

As chairman of the legislature’s Insurance Committee, Sean wrote and passed legislation protecting people with pre-existing conditions from insurance discrimination, established the lowest monthly co-pay cap for insulin in the nation at $25, prevented insurance companies from covering mental health differently than physical health, required health insurance plans to cover ten “Essential Health Benefits,” and created Connecticut’s first prescription drug price transparency law.

During his fourth and final term, Sean served as Chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee where he led the fight to create tax relief for working families like the one he grew up in and worked with Governor Lamont to pass the largest tax cut in state history.

Outside of the legislature, Sean previously served as Executive Director of Tweed-New Haven Airport, where he secured a $100 million public-private investment deal, brought in a new air carrier, and created over 100 new community jobs.

Sean lives in Guilford with his wife Meghan, who is the President & CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, their two young sons Jack and Declan.

Ned Lamont was sworn into office as the 89th governor of Connecticut on January 9, 2019. He began his second term on January 4, 2023.

Lamont got involved in public service shortly after college, founding a weekly newspaper in a town hit by the loss of its largest employer. Covering town meetings and the Board of Selectmen, he helped to bring voice and transparency to a community working to recover from job losses and reinvent itself. Later, as a member of both the Greenwich Board of Selectmen and the Board of Estimate and Taxation, Lamont worked in a bipartisan effort to safeguard a multimillion-dollar budget and deliver results for constituents. For four years, Lamont also served as Chairman of the State Investment Advisory Council, overseeing a multibillion-dollar state pension fund.

Lamont started his own company, taking on the large and established giants of the telecom industry. Under his vision and stewardship, the company grew to serve over 400 of America’s largest college campuses and 1 million college students across the nation.

As a volunteer teacher, Lamont sought to give back to his community by volunteering at Harding High School in Bridgeport. In an effort to spark entrepreneurship, Lamont taught students about the inner-workings of small businesses, bringing in local businesspeople to share their own experiences, and helping to place students in local internships. Lamont is on the faculty of Central Connecticut State University as an adjunct professor of political science and philosophy, where he also helped to found a popular business start-up competition. In early 2009, he helped lead an initiative to bring together Connecticut leaders from across the business, nonprofit, and labor sectors to unite in a strategy to create new jobs in the state.

As a candidate for United States Senate in 2006, he stood up for his convictions and challenged the political establishment. Taking on long-time incumbent Joe Lieberman for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate, Lamont campaigned on the platform that wars in the Middle East were draining resources and attention that could be better focused on pressing domestic issues like the economy, education, and healthcare. As a private citizen, he fought for the issues in which he believes, serving on the boards of Mercy Corps and the Conservation Services Group, non-profits which seek to make a difference in the humanitarian and renewable energy fields, respectively.

Lamont was born on January 3, 1954, in Washington, D.C. to Camille Helene and Edward Miner Lamont. The eldest of three children, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and served as president of the student newspaper, The Exonian. After graduating Phillips Exeter in 1972, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Harvard College in 1976 and a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management in 1980.

Lamont married his wife Annie on September 10, 1983. They have three children: Emily, Lindsay, and Teddy.

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“Shanah Tovah U\’metuka”

Note— You are encouraged to invite your partner to this meeting.  Even better – ride your bike!

You, too, can bike all over the world!

Join Judy and Terry Schmitt as they seek to convince you that, no matter how old you are, you can enjoy an amazing vacation in wonderful places all over the world.

Judy and Terry have gone on three recent bike trips: in New Zealand, in Maine, and in the Netherlands.  These trips were all arranged through one company, Vermont Bicycle Tours (or, VBT, for short), but there are several companies out there that do the same thing:  create a wonderful vacation that combines some physical activity (biking) with a great deal of comfort, exploration, and wonderful food.

Even if you haven’t bicycled in decades, you can still consider a trip like this.  You do not have to be a “hard core” bicyclist to go.

Terry and Judy will show you some pictures from their recent trips, but mostly will try to convince you that, if you like the outdoors and you love to travel, this kind of trip might just be for you!

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West Hartford Town Manager: Rick Ledwith

Rick Ledwith is the Town Manager of West Hartford, Connecticut, a full service municipality with a population of 64,083. West Hartford is an award-winning community known for its diversity, excellent schools and municipal services, and great quality of life. West Hartford has operated under the Council-Manager form of government since 1919, the first municipality in Connecticut and one of the first in the country to adopt this form of government.Rick has worked for the Town of West Hartford since 2001 in several capacities. Prior to being appointed Town Manager, he served as the Executive Director of Human Resources, where he has worked extensively with every municipal department as well as the West Hartford Public Schools.

Rick and his wife Tara have lived in West Hartford for 27 years and are proud to have raised three children in town.

West Hartford Police Chief:  Vernon Riddick

Vernon L. Riddick Jr. is the Police Chief of West Hartford since 2018 and has been in public safety for 29 years.  Prior to joining the West Hartford Police Department he served 24 years in the City of Waterbury, CT Police Department where he spent his last five years as Chief.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Tufts University and his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Post University.

Currently, Vernon is Vice-President of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and is a member of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council that oversees training and certification for police officers in the State of Connecticut. Chief Riddick is the President of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and an Adjunct Instructor at the University of New Haven.

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