NEW BRITAIN, CT – Central Connecticut State University is proud to announce that Richard A. Leone, CEO of COCC, has been appointed as the American Savings Foundation Endowed Chair in Banking and Finance at CCSU.

Leone, who earned a B.S. in Accounting at CCSU in 1984, has more than 25 years of experience at COCC – a financial technology company based in Southington – the past 15 years as CEO.

Leone’s one-year term as the American Savings Foundation Endowed Chair will involve teaching an upper-level course in finance, encouraging research, curriculum development, and interaction between academia and outside institutions, bringing in special lecturers, and working with faculty and students on research projects.

“We’re extremely pleased that Rich Leone is willing to give back to his alma mater and share his incredible experience with our students,” says Ken Colwell, dean of CCSU’s School of Business. “As the American Savings Foundation Endowed Chair, Rich will provide a wealth of real-world knowledge – insights into the financial industry, the rapidly evolving technology trends, his success in creating a culture of strong customer service at COCC. They’re the kind of lessons not found in textbooks and will prove invaluable to our students.”

Under Leone’s leadership, COCC revenues tripled while becoming the premier provider of technology solutions to banks and credit unions throughout the northeast. In addition to its well-established reputation for responsive customer service, COCC is consistently rated as a “top workplace” in the state. In 2015, Leone was recognized as a “top leader” in the midsized companies category by the Hartford Courant Top Workplaces program and, in 2017, COCC was named the Number 1 Top Workplace in Connecticut in the midsize category.

Leone is the fourth to hold the endowed chair since it was created in 2003 with grant from the American Savings Foundation, a permanent charitable endowment that provides grants to local nonprofit organizations and college scholarships to area students. Since its inception in 1995, the Foundation has contributed more than $54 million in total grants and scholarships in central Connecticut.