Robert H. McCooey, Jr.
2015 Grand Marshal
Professionally, Bob co-founded The Griswold Company, Incorporated in 1988 and served as Chief Executive Officer until December 2006. During that time, he served on multiple industry boards including the Board of Executives of the NYSE and testified on four different occasions in front of Congress regarding the structure of the US Capital Markets. In 2006, Bob joined NASDAQ as a Senior Vice President heading up NASDAQ's Capital Markets efforts. Over the succeeding 8 years, he has been responsible for New Listings (IPO) business, International Corporate Client business and is currently responsible for Global Relationship Management within NASDAQ's Corporate Client Group. In this role, Bob has traveled to Ireland to work with emerging growth companies and evangelize about the benefits of the US Capital Markets to companies looking to grow their footprint beyond Ireland. Bob has also worked with Enterprise Ireland on their US initiatives and has assisted their portfolio of Irish companies.
Bob McCooey has been deeply involved in the community. He served for over a decade on the boards of Iona Preparatory School, the Holy Cross Leadership Council and St. Vincent's Hospital, Westchester. Bob also serves on the board of directors of Youth INC, a NYC non-profit that serves thousands of children each year and is a past board member of the Resurrection School Foundation. Bob and his family have also donated their time and financial resources to the POTS soup kitchen in the Bronx. He has been a youth soccer coach in Rye and a CYO basketball coach. Bob is a Eucharistic Minister and a Knight of Malta.
Kevin J. Plunkett
2014 Grand Marshal
On January 1, 2010, Kevin became Deputy County Executive having been appointed by County Executive Rob Astorino. Kevin started his career in the Westchester County District Attorney’s office, followed by more than 30 years in the private practice of law. For many years, a significant part of his law practice involved representing Westchester County municipalities such as Village Attorney, Corporate Counsel or Special Counsel.
In addition to serving on four Governor’s Judicial Screening Committees, he has served on the New York Thruway Authority, the Taconic State Park and Historic Preservation Commission, the Board of Visitors of Pace University School of Law, and the Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley.
Kevin is deeply committed to giving back to the community. He has served on the boards for a number of not-for-profits in areas such as the arts, conservation, environmental protection education and citizens with developmental disabilities.
James P. Hynes
2013 Grand Marshal
Principal, Hynes Capital Resources
Jim Hynes is a telecom pioneer and avid supporter of educational initiatives in the Sound Shore area and beyond.
He has been active in Iona College affairs since his graduation in 1969, having taken leadership roles in raising funds and in generously giving to all of Iona’s needs. Jim was a Director of the Alumni Association throughout the 80’s culminating in a two-year term as President. He joined the college’s legal Board of Trustees in 1996 and continues to actively serve in the position of Chairman of the Board. In 2006, the Hynes Athletics Center on the Iona campus was dedicated in recognition of his leadership support to the college’s capital campaign.
Prior to running his own investment company, Mr. Hynes served as as Group Managing Director at Fidelity Ventures for a decade. At Fidelity, he focused on the areas of Telecommunications and Technology and helped his group achieve some of the most outstanding returns in the venture business.
In operating roles, Mr. Hynes co-founded and directed the establishment of COLT Telecommunications, the first competitive telecom company in Europe. Also in the area of local and long haul telecom services, he personally directed the establishment and served as Chairman of MetroRED Telecom in South America and Mexico, as well as KVH Telecom in Tokyo.
In early 2003, he co-founded Inteliquent (IQNT), formerly Neutral Tandem, Inc. (NTI), to address the only remaining monopoly provided service in the U.S. telecom market. He served as CEO until the company’s IPO in 2006 and remains Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Hynes holds a BA and Doctorate (Honorary) from Iona and has an MBA from Adelphi University. He is also on the North American Board of the SMURFIT Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin in Ireland. Mr. Hynes is also a Trustee of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. He resides in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife, Anne Marie.
Jim Killoran
2012 Grand Marshal