Connolly, Jim
Keeping an Eye Out for Fellow Citizens
It's possible to see the church in Southie that Jim Connolly attended as a kid from his office. "Its not that far really," says the President of Citizens Financial Group modestly from the 38th-floor office on State Street.
But the scene from the height and heart of the financial district in downtown Boston, with its panoramic view of the city in its splendor on a beautifully sunny fall afternoon, is a world away from where he and his family grew up.
It may also be beyond the wildest dreams of where Connolly's grandfather Michael thought his grandson would end up. Orphaned at 12 and on a boat at 17, the teenager left Galway in 1918 to make a better life in America.
But nothing comes easy, and the Galweigan would work on the railroads as a laborer for over forty years. He married, started a family, and one of his sons was James Connolly, Jim's father. A sheet metal worker by trade, work was sometimes hard to come by.
Eventually, he found a job with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and worked there for close to 25 years.
Something that gives Jim Connolly pause for thought, in these of all times, are the words of his grandfather on his deathbed. "As my grandfather was dying, he said he could die in peace safe in the knowledge that his son had a full-time job with a pension and could take care of his family.
"When you keep that perspective, there are a lot of other things that you can do. I have achieved a lot, and a lot of good things have happened to me, and I have worked very hard to appreciate them."
Connolly, whose mother and sister still live in South Boston, is proud of where he came from. He went to Boston Latin School and today acts as a director on the Boston Latin School Association.
Knowing well the value of a good role model during one's formative years - he cites the positive influence of his high school football coach Paul Costello, a clean-living guy who helped players both on and off the field - he is also the chair of a not-for-profit organization called MA Mentoring Partnership.
"It is a group that focuses and promotes mentorship here in Massachusetts. It tries to create an environment for mentees to find mentors as there is a lot of need for good mentors," says Connolly.
"I'm pretty passionate about that. I really feel that for a kid from South Boston like I was, whose parents couldn't afford a private education, to have access to a good public education is very important. While I was blessed to have terrific parents who were great role models, I also recognize that there are people who do not have that, and having someone to guide them early in their life is very important to me."
Connolly was a football player both in high school and in college. A defensive end, Connolly was recruited by Harvard, and though he didn't break into the team, was on the roster during the duration of his studies at the Ivy League school.
A few years after graduating he met a girl from Long Island studying at Northeastern University in Boston. Jim and Maureen have been married 21 years and have two sons, James Michael (15) and Colin Patrick (12).
Not only a football man, Connolly is also a Red Sox fan, and the disappointment of his team not winning the AL pennant this fall was tempered by the fact that he got to attend the World Series in a semi-official capacity, since in 2003 Citizens agreed to a 25-year naming rights deal for the Phillies field: Citizens Park, which opened in April 2004.
Still, he maintains that a Red Sox/Phillies World Series would have been great for business as Red Sox Nation makes up a big part of the bank's customer base!
After college, Connolly first worked at a computer distribution firm and then combed the country for three years with a small management consulting company before getting into banking. A series of high-level executive positions with Fleet and Bank of America led to him joining Citizens as Vice Chairman of the Commercial Markets Group in 2005.
In March of this year, he was named President of Citizens Financial Group. The group is the ninth-largest bank in the country, employs 23,500 people and has revenue of over 6.4 billion dollars.
Though the dire situation facing the banking industry has been well documented, Citizens has shown its resilience. As their spokesman Mike Jones told the Boston Globe on October 8, "We are in a position of strength. We've hired personnel and we are lending."
Connolly gives the air of a man who keeps his eye on the bigger picture. "There are many hardships I have endured growing up that give me perspective on any economic hardship or a market downturn," says the 48-year-old, who feels that his customers will really get to see the benefits of being members of Citizens now. "We are a very healthy bank, so I think they feel good about us. I think that we are the type of bank that has been focused on service and on the customer experience. I think that in this type of environment we shine."
This November, Connolly chaired the Boston American Ireland Fund dinner, where former Maine Senator George Mitchell was honored for his contribution to peace in Northern Ireland. Delighted to accept the Chair, Connolly did so on condition that some of the money earned would stay in Boston.
"We are helping three charities here, the Irish Emigration Center, the UMass Boston peace and reconciliation program run by Padraig O'Malley - who took the peace and reconciliation program that was in Northern Ireland and used it in Iraq - and a campaign for Catholic Schools in Dorchester."
The desire in Connolly to give back to the community, both in a professional and personal capacity, is something that burns strong in him.
"Most banks, not just Citizens, are involved in community activities. Part of it is good business for us because we are a reflection of the community. We are a bank, so we want to make sure that the community we operate in is dong well. It's not just a nice thing to do - it is a business thing," he says.
In a first-of-its kind initiative, Citizens has just introduced Green$ense, where they actually pay their customers to use less paper, giving them ten cents every time a paperless payment is made. Customers can even get a Green$ense debit card made of recycled plastic. One year's participation in the program can save up to 171 pounds of greenhouse gases and 6.6 pounds of paper.
Being prominent and active in the community means that Citizens Bank must have its own house in order first, and that is something Connolly is acutely aware of.
"If you were to read the headlines about any bank or any company that actually got into trouble, they are not going to be financially strong enough in the community and other places. One of the personal responsibilities I feel as President of the company is that we continue to do well, so that we can in turn do good, and that is something we focus a lot here at Citizens."
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