(Updated, Jan. 25)
PROVIDENCE – James G. Connolly, who served as president of Citizens Financial Group Inc. for 15 months before resigning last June, died on Thursday. He was 49.
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Connolly’s family will hold visiting hours on Monday and Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Alfred D. Thomas Funeral Home, 326 Granite Ave. in Milton, Mass. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston on Wednesday at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to either the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.
Connolly’s death was confirmed Friday by a family member who answered the telephone at the Connolly home in Medfield, Mass. He leaves his wife, Maureen, and two sons, James and Colin.
The family member, who said she was Maureen Connolly’s sister, said the family did not yet know the cause of Connolly’s death. “We don’t know what happened,” she said. “He was out of town.” It was later reported that Connolly died of a heart attack.
Connolly’s death was separately confirmed by his company, NBH Holdings Corp., in a statement sent Thursday to investors. “We are deeply saddened by this news as Jim was not only a dear friend of ours but a highly respected professional colleague in the industry and a loving husband and father as well,” the statement said.
Connolly became president of Citizens Financial in March 2008 following the departure of President and CEO Stephen D. Steinour. Ellen Alemany became Citizens’ chairman and chief executive officer at the same time.
Connolly had joined Citizens two years earlier as vice chairman of the bank’s corporate financial group, and had gone on to lead the commercial markets division. Before joining Citizens, he worked at Bank of America and Fleet Bank.
“Jim was a valued partner at Citizens,” Alemany said in a statement released late Friday. “His insights, wisdom and sense of humor helped us keep our focus. Jim will be remembered for his integrity, honesty and compassion. He was a consummate professional, and his focus on our customers and colleagues has made Citizens a better place. Our hearts go out to Jim’s family. We have lost a remarkable person.”
Connolly’s reason for resigning last June was not explained by Citizens. Vice Chairman Robert D. Matthews Jr. took over his responsibilities in leading the company’s commercial banking division.
“At this unique time in history, I have an opportunity of which I want to take advantage,” Connolly said in a statement at the time.
In October, Connolly and eight other veteran bank executives announced the creation of a new company, NBH Holdings, which they intended to register as a bank holding company. Connolly was president and CEO of the new firm, which had offices on Federal Street in Boston, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.
“The current recapitalization of the U.S. banking industry provides a unique opportunity for NBH, and we appreciate the confidence that our investors have placed in us,” he said in a statement at the time.
Executives at NBH – short for National Bank Holdings – said they had raised $1.15 billion and planned to use the money “to build a leading community banking franchise focusing on serving the needs of retail and business customers,” according to a news release. The group was advised by FBR Capital Markets Corp. and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a major New York law firm.
A spokesman for Sard Verbinnen & Co., a public relations firm used by NBH, declined to comment on Connolly’s death or the firm’s future plans.
Connolly graduated in 1978 from Boston Latin School and earned his bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University in 1982. He was a member of the Boston Latin School Association’s board and an overseer of the board of the public television station WGBH-TV in Boston.
An earlier version of this article said James G. Connolly died on Wednesday, based on a statement from his company. NBH Holdings later corrected the statement to say he died Thursday.
