African American News

Two Webster Board Members Honored

Savoy Magazine lists Morse, States among “2017 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors”

WATERBURY, Conn.Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE: WBS)is pleased to announce that Laurence C. Morse, Ph.D., and Lauren C. States, both members of the Webster Financial Corporation board of directors, are featured in Savoy magazine’s fall issue as two of the “2017 Power 300: Most Influential Black Corporate Directors.” An African-American culture, business and lifestyle magazine, Savoy will highlight the top African-American board members in its fall issue available Nov. 10.

“Larry and Lauren have contributed greatly to the growth and progress of Webster,” said Webster BankChairman and CEO Jim Smith. “We are inspired by their remarkable achievements, their deep experience and rich understanding of community, all of which make them deserving of this notable distinction.”

Morse and States are joined on the list of influential directors by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is the subject of the magazine’s cover story, and other luminaries such as former U.S. Surgeon Gen. Regina Benjamin, former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, and former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union William Kennard.

“We continue to be inspired by these accomplished executives, their distinguished careers and the corporations that demonstrate inclusive board composition in Savoy,” said L.P. Green II, CEO & Publisher of Savoy Magazine. “We offer congratulations and appreciation to the directors recognized in Savoy’s Most Influential Black Corporate Directors edition for their leadership.”

Morse, a director since 2004, is a co-founder and managing partner of Fairview Capital Partners, Inc., a West Hartford, Connecticut-based investment management firm established in 1994 that oversees venture capital funds, some of which provide capital primarily to minority-controlled companies.

Morse also is a director of the Institute of International Education, a member of the Board of Trustees of Harris Associates Investment Trust (which oversees the Oakmark Family of Mutual Funds), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Howard University. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and is a former director of Princeton University Investment Company. He also is a former director and chairman of the National Association of Investment Companies, a private, not-for-profit trade association that represents 52 private equity and specialty finance investment firms.

He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University, having spent his junior year at The London School of Economics and Political Science as a Luard Scholar. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Princeton University and has been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.

States is the former chief technology officer for corporate strategy at IBM. As a senior executive on IBM’s Integration and Values Leadership Team, States led the company-wide transformation responsible for the reshaping of IBM’s skills development for its enterprise-wide, 38,000-plus sales force. She has been a Webster director since 2016.

States serves as trustee for the International House in New York. She is a director of Clean Harbors, Inc., a publicly held company headquartered in Norwell, Mass., and serves as a director for ScriptEd. She is a member of the Dean’s Executive Council and an executive-in-residence at Northeastern University’sD’Amore-McKim School of Business.

She was inducted into the Women in Technology International, Women in Science and Technology Hall of Fame in 2014. She earned the CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight from the National Association of Corporate Directors. In 2016, she was named one of the 40 Women Leading Tech Around the World by Silicon Republic.

She holds a bachelor’s in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Webster Bank is a leading regional bank living up to consumers, businesses and the community since 1935.

About Webster
Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank, National Association. With $26.4 billion in assets, Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, financial planning, trust, and investment services through 167 banking centers and 338 ATMs. Webster also provides mobile and Internet banking. Webster Bank owns the asset-based lending firm Webster Business Credit Corporation; the equipment finance firm Webster Capital Finance Corporation; and HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank, which provides health savings account trustee and administrative services. Webster Bank is a member of the FDIC and an equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com.

PHOTOS: Laurence  C. Morse Ph.D,  Lauren C. States

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