Michael Connelly, Investment Banker and Carlyle Group Senior Advisor, Passes Away at 55

Business Wire, Dec 11, 2007

Issued by the Family of Michael J. Connelly

NEW YORK -- Michael J. Connelly, an investment banker who specialized in communications transactions, died December 9, after a lengthy battle with cancer. A resident of New York and Greenwich, CT, he was 55.

Mr. Connelly worked at The Carlyle Group, first as a Managing Director and then as a Senior Advisor to the private equity firm's New York Telecom & Media Group. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2002, he held a number of senior positions over three decades at Credit Suisse First Boston, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, The First Boston Corporation and The Bank of Boston.

At Carlyle he played important roles in a number of recent investments including the Nielsen Company, Insight Communications, AMC Entertainment and Pan Am Sat. "Michael was a great friend and a great asset to everyone inside and outside Carlyle," said William E. Conway, one of Carlyle's founders. "We will miss him greatly."

During his lengthy career in banking and investment banking, Mr. Connelly worked closely with the late Steve Ross as he built a number of companies into Time Warner Inc. He was also instrumental in taking Russian mobile phone operator Vimpel Communications public. The company went on to become the first Russian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr. Connelly was born in 1952 in Cincinnati, OH. After graduating from Georgetown University in 1974, he obtained his M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. While at Georgetown, he was a founder of the student corporation, a bus-transportation company for students, and the student pub. He went on to serve on the Georgetown University Board of Regents and the Board of Overseers for Georgetown University Business School. In 2006 he received the John Carroll Award, the highest honor bestowed by Georgetown's alumni association.

He was also a former chairman of the Parents Fund of St. Paul's School, Concord, NH and was a former vice chairman of the Wall Street Alliance, an association of Georgetown University alumni involved in the financial sector.

When not working, Mr. Connelly was known for his love of golf and The New York Times crossword puzzle.

Mr. Connelly is survived by his wife Anne, whom he met when they were students at Georgetown; two daughters, Meredith Connelly of Washington, DC and Jennifer Garcia-Alonso, who resides with her husband Raul Garcia-Alonso in New York, and five siblings, Rosemary Freed, Maryellen Thinnes, Marianne Goldrainer, John Connelly and James Connelly.

Calling hours will be 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 12 at the Leo P. Gallagher & Son funeral home, 31 Arch Street, Greenwich, CT. Services will be at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, December 13 at St. Ignatius Loyola Church, 980 Park Avenue, New York City.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mr. Connelly's name to Save the Children, 54 Wilton Road, Westport, CT 06880; www.savethechildren.org.