For Immediate Release
Dec. 9, 2009

 

CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF BICRON ELECTRONICS IN CANAAN

ELECTED TO CHAIR CBIA BOARD

Peter B. Kent, chairman and CEO of Bicron Electronics in Canaan, was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) yesterday. He will serve a one-year term, succeeding Samuel S. Bergami Jr., president and CEO of Alinabal Holdings Corp. in Milford.

CBIA’s board also elected Ramona Carlow, president of AT&T Connecticut, as vice chairman.

“We are very pleased to have Peter and Ramona lead our board,” said John R. Rathgeber, CBIA president and CEO. “As Connecticut businesses struggle to recover from the recession, their experience and knowledge will be critical in leading the board in advancing policies to restore fiscal responsibility in state government and promote a state business climate that will allow businesses to grow and create good jobs.”

Peter B. Kent

Kent worked in all areas of the business before becoming vice president of sales at Bicron.  He was named president and CEO in 1989 and chairman in 2003. Prior to joining Bicron Electronics in 1972, Kent worked at G&C Merriman Co. in Springfield, Mass.

Kent received a B.A. degree from the University of Vermont. He attended the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College; the Business School at Stanford University (Executive Program for Smaller Companies); and Northwestern Connecticut Community and Technical College. He also participated in programs offered through the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), the American Management Association (AMA), and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

Kent currently serves on the board of directors at the Canaan Community Trust and CBIA’s Manufacturers Advisory Council. He has served on the board of the Transformer Association, an industry trade association, since 2004, and currently serves as the organization’s immediate past president.

He is a trustee of the Bicron Foundation, and a past board member of Sharon Hospital, Manutech Inc., the Canaan Foundation, the Northwestern Hills Partnership for Progress, and the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce.

Kent received the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce “Person of the Year” award in 1995, for community involvement, contributions to the business environment, and overall improvement in the quality of life in northwest Connecticut.

He lives in Lakeville with his wife, Alice, and has two children.

 

Ramona Carlow

Carlow has more than 15 years of telecommunications expertise, beginning that aspect of her career at the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control. She joined the company as a policy consultant in 1996 and became part of the regulatory group the following year.  She was promoted to vice president of regulatory and external affairs in 2003 and was named state president in January 2007.

She performs extensive volunteer service in her local community, serving on the New Haven Regional Leadership Council and the boards of the Connecticut Science Center, the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, and the Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation. In addition, she is currently chairing area events for Network of Strength and Junior Achievement.

Carlow is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Trinity College, with a B.S. in political science, and an honors graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. Her earlier legal experience includes serving as a law clerk at the Connecticut Supreme Court and as an associate at the Hartford law firm of Robinson & Cole.

She lives in Cheshire with her husband, Brian, and their two teenage daughters.

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CBIA is the state’s largest business organization, with 10,000 member companies.

Editor’s Note:  High resolution JPEG photographs are available by contacting Nancy Andrews, CBIA Media Relations Manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com.

For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com.

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