PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo is nominating six people to serve on the board of the R.I. Commerce Corp.
They are: Bernard V. Buonanno III, Mary Jo Kaplan, Mary Lovejoy, Michael McNally, Donna M. Sams and Vanessa Toledo-Vickers.
The names will be submitted to the Senate for confirmation.
“Rhode Island’s comeback depends on reigniting our economic engine,” Raimondo said in a statement. “Our coordinated economic strategy will be executed by a talented team of professionals with broad experience, under Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor. I’m incredibly grateful to these nominees for bringing their diverse experience to the board to help create conditions that will jump-start our struggling economy, create jobs and expand opportunity for all Rhode Islanders.”
“I also want to thank Jerauld Adams, Shannon Brawley, Maeve Donohue, Elizabeth Francis, Roland Fiore and Stanley Weiss for their dedicated commitment to this board and great work on behalf of our state,” added Raimondo.
Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor said he is looking forward to working with the board members to “help Rhode Island make waves and make progress.”
The R.I. Commerce Corp. works with public, private and nonprofit partners to create the conditions for businesses in all sectors to thrive, according to information from the governor’s office.
Buonanno, of Providence, is a managing director of Nautic Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on manufacturing, health care and business services.
Kaplan, of Providence, is an executive at Loomio, an international social enterprise tech startup for collaborative decision-making that is active in more than 85 countries and recently opened its first U.S. office in Providence.
Lovejoy, of Barrington, is vice president and treasurer of the Providence-based Textron Inc.
McNally, of Barrington, recently retired as one of nine members of Skanska’s senior executive team responsible for the company’s $20 billion global construction and development operations. He was president and CEO of Skanska USA.
Sams, of Providence, is owner/partner at Centered Change LLC in Providence.
Toledo-Vickers, of Richmond, is director of operations at the Academy for Career Exploration in Providence, a career and technical education public charter school in Providence.
