A veteran state administrator and former chief financial officer for the University of Connecticut, Richard D. Gray, has been named deputy state treasurer.
State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier also announced that her deputy since May 2012, Christine Shaw, now will serve as chief compliance officer for the treasury.
Both appointments took effect on July 10.
Gray, who served six years as UConn’s vice president for administration and CFO, left under an unexpected separation agreement in March 2014. It provided him with six months’ of pay and stipulated that any legal claims against UConn were settled.
For a decade before that, Gray was executive director of the quasi-public Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority.
“Rich is financially savvy and brings managerial strength and a value-added perspective to the work of the Connecticut Treasury,” Nappier said. “His considerable experience and expertise in overseeing institutional finance — notably at our state’s flagship university and CHEFA — complements many of the Treasury’s core duties, such as the issuance and management of the state of Connecticut’s bonded debt.”
Gray, who will earn $166,116 per year, said, “I am grateful to Treasurer Nappier for this opportunity. I am eager to work with her to maintain — and improve — the high standards and outstanding professionalism that the Treasury has shown under her leadership.”
This is Gray’s second stint as Connecticut’s deputy treasurer. He also served as deputy treasurer and as assistant treasurer of debt management in 1998 under then-Treasurer Paul Silvester.
Silvester served just under three years in prison after admitting he took cash kickbacks in exchange for placing millions of dollars in state investments.
Nappier’s office wrote in its announcement that Gray “proved his mettle…during the scandalous administration of the former treasurer.”
Nappier said that, “When all was said and done, Rich’s strength of character kept him from the center of the activity that led to the scandal. Equally important was his constructive volunteer assistance during the transition to my administration, and how he ably demonstrated his understanding of fiduciary responsibility — the importance of acting in good faith with high standards of integrity and commitment to transparency — a hallmark of my administration.”
Gray holds a bachelor of arts degree from UConn and a master’s in business administration from the University of New Haven.
Shaw has served 16 years in the treasurer’s office, including the last three as deputy treasurer. She takes over as head of the compliance function after the retirement of longtime Director of Compliance Shelagh McClure.
Shaw also has served as the treasurer’s chief of staff and in various other senior-level positions.
“Christine’s wealth of experience in Treasury management, intellectual leadership and background — she holds both a Juris Doctor and an MBA — bodes well for the essential task of ensuring that the Treasury’s compliance and ethics program is a critical component of effective risk management for sustainable, positive financial performance,” Nappier said.
Shaw will earn $155,767 per year, the same salary as McClure earned.