NYSIF Announces Four Appointments to the Board of Commissioners

ALBANY, N.Y., June 30 -- The New York State Insurance Fund issued the following news release:

The New York State Insurance Fund today announced the appointment of four individuals to the agency's Board of Commissioners. The four new Commissioners, Joseph A. Guistino, Charles B. MacLeod, Sheila A. Stamps and Alexis E. Thomas, were first nominated by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and confirmed by the New York State Senate on June 20, 2014, for terms of three years each.

Board Chairman Kenneth R. Theobalds was also confirmed by the Senate and reappointed to another term. Chairman Theobalds has more than 20 years' experience in New York public affairs and has direct responsibility for Entergy's regulatory, state and local government relations in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Michigan. A former congressional staffer and assistant secretary to former New York Governor Mario M. Cuomo, Chairman Theobalds serves on the board of directors of the Business Council of New York State and the executive committee of the Business Council of Westchester and the Westchester County Association. He is past chairman of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland, Inc. His accomplishments have been recognized by numerous organizations including the New York Urban League, the American Red Cross, the NAACP, the Westchester County Board of Legislators and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Westchester. Chairman Theobalds is a graduate of Cornell University, and the Entergy Executive Program.

Commissioner Guistino has been with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the New York Metro office for nearly 20 years, the last 10 of which as a partner. As a Certified Public Accountant, with almost 30 years total experience specialized in the field of forensic accounting, Commissioner Guistino's career has been dedicated to assisting clients in crisis situations. Commissioner Guistino leads the firm's efforts in responding to clients suffering from a catastrophic event, including recent disasters such as Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Katrina and the Japanese tsunami. Commissioner Guistino holds an undergraduate degree in Public Accounting from Pace University. He also holds a Masters degree in Business Management from Dowling College, Oakdale, New York. He is a member of both the American Institute and New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and is an associate member of the American Bar Association - Litigation Section.

For nearly 30 years, Commissioner MacLeod has been the principal and owner of SMM Advertising, a full-service advertising and marketing firm that serves a wide variety of manufacturing, institutional and non-profit clients. In addition to his comprehensive senior-level marketing and management experience, Commissioner MacLeod also has extensive international experience, having completed long term consulting assignments in Belgium and France and university teaching assignments in Taiwan and China. Commissioner MacLeod is also a Senior Instructor in the Global Technology Management Program at Stony Brook University, and a Board member of WSHU/NPR Radio. Commissioner MacLeod holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and a Master of Arts degree from Stony Brook.

With extensive experience in financial services, risk management and investments, Commissioner Stamps most recently served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations at Dreambuilder Investments, LLC, a private mortgage investment company. Prior to Dreambuilder Investments, she served as Director of Pension Investments and Cash Management at the New York State Common Retirement Fund and was a Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Prior to this, Commissioner Stamps served as Managing Director and Head of Relationship Management, Financial Institutions at FleetBoston Financial. Before this, she held a number of executive positions with Bank One Corporation and First Chicago Corporation including Managing Director and Head of European Asset-Backed Securitization and Managing Director and Senior Originator of Asset-Backed Securitization. Commissioner Stamps received her MBA from the University of Chicago and her BS in Management Sciences from Duke University. She also serves on the Board of Directors of IES Abroad and CIT Group, Inc.

Commissioner Thomas serves as Principal and Manager of the Municipal Underwriting and Syndicate Desk at The Williams Capital Group, L.P., where she directs all aspects of senior and co-managed deals for tax-exempt transactions, with a focus on establishing and building the firm's deal management capabilities. Commissioner Thomas previously served as the Managing Director of Fixed Income and Equity Syndicate Department of Blaylock and Partners, L.P. Other previous employment includes high-level positions at WR Lazard, Laidlaw & Luther, Inc.; National Westminster Bank, USA; and Citicorp/Citibank, N.A. Commissioner Thomas holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, a Master of City Planning from the University Of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University. She currently serves as a Deaconess and the Chair of the Trustee Board of the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

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