Trustee News

A Warm Welcome

Kevin Bogardus ’89 was appointed to the Board of Trustees in June. Bogardus has a proven track record of building successful businesses from scratch in Asia, most recently leading Chubb China, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NYSE-listed, $74 billion market capital Chubb Ltd.

During his junior year at The Frederick Gunn School, Bogardus spent a year abroad in Rennes, France, as part of the School Year Abroad program run by Andover, Exeter and St. Paul’s schools. He graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Tufts University, where he double majored in international relations and Asian studies. He has lived in several countries in Asia for 28 years and Shanghai for the past 16 years. He began his career as the chief representative for Winterthur Insurance Company in Shanghai and Beijing. From 1996 to 2009, Bogardus served as Taiwan CEO and Hong Kong and Mainland China Managing Director for AON Benfield. From 2009 to 2015, he served as Chief Advisor to Huatai P&C Insurance Co., Ltd., where he led a team of ACE advisors focused on underwriting, claims, distribution, financial planning, and execution. He became managing director of the ACE Division of Lloyd’s China in Shanghai in 2015, and since 2016 has served as Country President and Vice Chairman of the Board of Chubb Insurance Co. Ltd., in Shanghai. He is also board member for Chubb Insurance Hong Kong.

In 2019, Bogardus was honored with the Silver Magnolia Award in recognition of his contributions to Shanghai’s Kevin Bogardus ’89 development. Fluent in three languages, English, Chinese, and French, he serves as vice chairman of both the Beijing Foreign Investment Association and the Shanghai Association of Foreign Investment. He is a founding member of the Shanghai Global Reinsurance Committee and has been a featured speaker at numerous seminars and conferences, including the 2021 Chinese People’s Political Consulting Conference. He and his wife, Christina, have two boys, Conrad, 11, and Nolan, 8.

Fond Farewells

The Board of Trustees has expressed its admiration and gratitude on behalf of the entire Frederick Gunn School family to these three Trustees, who retired from the board this past year.

William T. Tolley P’08 ’14 served for nine years as a Trustee and valuable member of numerous committees, including finance, investment, enrollment, and the governance committees. He has been a loyal Frederick Gunn School parent, friend and supporter. He retired from the Board in April. Tolley brought a steady hand, thoughtful commentary, and valuable insight into matters of progress and growth. He proved to be a thoughtful leader of the Finance Committee, helping to establish policies and processes to help ensure financial sustainability for the School. As treasurer of the Executive Committee, he will leave a lasting impact on the William T. Tolley P’08 ’14

work of those committees and the constituencies they serve. Tolley received an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and has had a successful multi-disciplinary executive career in finance, manufacturing and engineering. These experiences have enriched his contribution to The Frederick Gunn School as a wise counselor and a respected voice among his fellow Trustees. He and his wife, Chris, live in Southbury and are the parents of Andrew ’08, and Jared ’14.

Roy Simpson, Jr. ’68 retired from the Board in April, having served for six years as a Trustee and valuable member of numerous committees, including the Strategic Plan Steering Committee and the Governance Committee, and served as the Chair of the Long-Term Campus Planning Committee. He brought a steady hand, thoughtful commentary, and valuable insight into matters of progress and growth. His contributions to the Students and Faculty Committee and as a critical member of the Arts and Community Center Building Committee will leave a lasting impact on our campus and on those committees and the constituencies they serve. Simpson graduated from Principia College and Vanderbilt University Law School, and has had a successful career as Partner for Colson Investments and as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Colson Services Corporation. These experiences enriched his contribution to The Frederick Gunn School as a wise counselor and a respected voice among his fellow Trustees. He has served the school as a loyal Frederick Gunn School alumnus, friend, and supporter. Cynthia Urda Kassis P’19 retired from the Board at the end of March, having served for four years as a Trustee and a valuable member of the Governance Committee, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, and the Legal Task Force, and chair of the Students and Faculty Committee. Kassis has been a loyal parent, friend and supporter of the School. Kassis has spent 37 years working at Shearman & Sterling, representing borrowers and lenders in project, finance and joint venture transactions worldwide. She has extensive experience in the energy, infrastructure, mining, and general manufacturing industries, as well as in power and infrastructure restructurings. Kassis is ranked as a leading lawyer in project finance by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Chambers Latin America, IFLR 1000, Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer?, Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers in Project Finance, The International Who’s Who of Project Finance Lawyers and The International Who’s Who of Mining Lawyers. She was also named “Dealmaker of the Year” (2008) by The American Lawyer. Kassis received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, her master’s from the University of Notre Dame and her J.D. from American University. She and her husband, Jay, live in Washington, Connecticut, with their son, Michael ’19, a sophomore at Connecticut College.

Roy Simpson, Jr. ’68 Cynthia Urda Kassis P’19