Civic Association approves ‘strong slate’ of new directors
 
William Kelly
Communications Coordinator
To read this article on our site, click here

The Palm Beach Civic Association welcomed 11 new directors to its roster at its April 17 Annual Meeting.

The 11 have accomplished resumes and come from diverse professional backgrounds, including financial services, investment, property development and management, education, and hospitality and design.

They are Melissa Ceriale, J. Christopher Flowers, Jill Glazer, Peter M. Gottsegen, Leonard Harlan, Reuben Jeffrey III, Michael Kluger, Thomas Quick, Thomas “Tad” Smith, Daniel Stanton and Fran Terwilliger.

They were approved by a vote of the organization’s general members. Civic Association Chairman & CEO Michael Pucillo welcomed the new directors and asked each one to stand for recognition at the Annual Meeting.

“This year, we have a very strong slate of new directors, and we are very excited to have them join the board,” Pucillo said. “I look forward to working with them.”

Melissa Ceriale

As a founding advisory member of the new Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Montefiore Health System, Melissa Ceriale has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and design.

She is also chairwoman of Palm Beach’s Shore Protection Board.

“I am excited and honored to be named as a director to the PBCA,” Ceriale said. “This is an organization of long-standing support and partnership with the Town of Palm Beach and I look forward to contributing in some way going forward.”

Christopher Flowers

Christopher Flowers is the CEO of J.C. Flowers & Co., an investment firm founded in 1998 and specializing in financial services. Flowers was at Goldman, Sachs & Co. from 1979 to 1998, where he led the firm’s Financial Institutions Group.

“My wife Anne and I admire the Civic Association’s ambitions and accomplishments, and I am flattered to serve on the board,” Flowers said.

Jill Glazer

Jill Glazer has served on the Board of Directors at Tulane University since 2009 and is a past member of the Tulane President’s Council.

She and her husband, Avram “Avie” Glazer, are co-chairs of INNOVATE, a publicly held company involved with the programming for the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, which is being renovated and is scheduled for re-opening late in 2024.

Glazer said she’s honored to be a Civic Association director.

“As a longtime resident of this beautiful town, I am particularly happy to be involved in this critically important organization that supports our quality of life,” she said. “No other organization is as connected to our residents or as responsive to our priorities.”

Peter Gottsegen

Peter Gottsegen retired in 2014 as managing partner of CAI Partners, a private equity firm. Before that, he was a general partner of Salomon Brothers and a vice president of Kuhn, Loeb & Co.

He is also a member of the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations.

Gottsegen said it’s important for any citizen to take an active role in the community where he or she lives.

“I have looked over the years at the very constructive role the Civic Association has played in Palm Beach, and I’m excited to become a part of the board,” Gottsegen said.

Reuben Jeffrey

Reuben Jeffrey is chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Americas Holdings and is on the boards of PartnerRe Ltd. and Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. He is a former chief executive officer of Rockefeller & Co.

“I’m honored to be selected as a director of the Civic Association and look forward to contributing to the ongoing work of the Civic Association in its support of the Palm Beach community,” Jeffrey said.

Leonard Harlan

Leonard Harlan has more than 50 years of experience in private equity, real estate finance and development, and investment banking. He co-founded Castle Harlan, Inc., a middle market buyout firm, and founded The Harlan Company, which engaged in real estate finance and development. He is a partner in Harlan Capital Partners in Palm Beach.

Harlan said it’s marvelous to live in a town like Palm Beach, with its great sense of community spirit.

“The Palm Beach Civic Association really is focused on maintaining the core values of this community – a sense of community, quality of life, respect for one another, and a feeling of wanting to do the right thing for the right reasons,” Harlan said. “I’m thrilled to be part of trying to maintain those core values in light of whatever comes down the road.”

Michael Kluger

Reuben Jeffrey is chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Americas Holdings and is on the boards of PartnerRe Ltd. and Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. He is a former chief executive officer of Rockefeller & Co.

“I’m honored to be selected as a director of the Civic Association and look forward to contributing to the ongoing work of the Civic Association in its support of the Palm Beach community,” Jeffrey said.

Thomas Quick

Thomas Quick is president of First Palm Beach Properties, Inc., a real estate holding company based in Palm Beach. He is a retired vice chairman of Quick & Reilly/Fleet Securities.

Quick said he’s honored to have the opportunity to serve as a director of the Civic Association.

“As a staunch advocate for maintaining the high quality of life and safety here in Palm Beach, I look forward to serving alongside the distinguished officers and members of the board,” Quick said.

Tad Smith

Tad Smith is an American businessman, the former president and chief executive officer of Sotheby's, and an adjunct professor at New York University's Stern School of Business.

“The Civic Association is a great organization that, for 80 years, has engaged and supported the wonderful community of Palm Beach,” Smith said. “I am genuinely honored to have the opportunity to serve as one of the Civic Association’s directors.”

Daniel Stanton

Daniel Stanton is a retired executive with Goldman Sachs & Co., chairman of the Palm Beach Retirement Board of Trustees, and a former chairman of the board of The Benjamin School.

More recently, he was involved in the development of The Park, a new municipal golf course in West Palm Beach.

“This has been my primary residence for 19 years, and I’ve done a variety of things here that are community-minded,” Stanton said. “This is a great place to live, though it’s not without its problems. There is a pretty good group of people involved with the Civic Association. I thought I would see if I could help move the needle a little bit.”

Frances Terwilliger

Frances Terwilliger is co-founder and managing partner of Long Island-based Terwilliger & Bartone Properties. She has more than two decades of experience in commercial lending, private banking and real estate finance.

Terwilliger said she’s grateful for the opportunity to serve with the Civic Association.

“It’s a real privilege to live in here in Palm Beach,” she said. “Any way I can work with other civic-minded citizens to protect and preserve this very special quality of life – I’m delighted and honored to do so.”

The Civic Association has 136 directors, 17 of whom serve on the organization’s policy-setting Executive Committee. There are three chairmen emeriti, two honorary directors and two liaison directors.

Mary Robosson, Civic Association president and chief operating officer, said the new slate of directors adds strength and depth to a roster that is already impressive.

“The collective intelligence our directors bring to the Civic Association is superb, dating back to 1944, when a handful of civic-minded Palm Beachers wished to preserve and protect the special qualities of this amazing island,” Robosson said. “We welcome and congratulate the 11 new directors and look forward to their expertise and meaningful involvement, as we celebrate our 80th season with our residents and town.”