Verrill director of finance elevated to first-ever CFO

Lisa LaMarche, who first joined Verrill Dana LLP as its first director of finance in 2010, now serves as the firm’s first CFO in its long 160-year history.

LaMarche

As CFO, LaMarche will continue to oversee the financial operations of the firm as well as provide strategic financial insight and leadership. LaMarche was an integral member of the leadership team carrying out Verrill’s three business combinations in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts.

“Lisa is an extraordinary leader who has played a critical role in the firm’s success over the past 12 years,” said K.C. Jones, Verrill’s managing partner. “I look forward to continuing to work with Lisa in her new role, leveraging her strong expertise to position further the firm for the future, with a focus on continued strategic growth, operational effectiveness and enhanced client value.”

Prior to joining Verrill, LaMarche, who is a CPA, spent a decade in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Bentley College, magna cum laude. LaMarche is a member of the National Association of Legal Administrators and formerly served as an officer of the association’s Downeast Chapter.

“I am humbled and honored to join the firm’s C-Suite and be appointed as the firm’s first CFO,” LaMarche said. “The strong capabilities, drive and reputation of our lawyers and management team are remarkable, and combined with the direction provided by our strategic plan, the future is looking very bright.”

Hires, promotions, appointments

Anker

Aaron Anker of Cape Elizabeth, co-owner and chief granola officer of GrandyOats, is one of three new members of the Natural Resources Council of Maine Board of Directors. Six years ago, his granola bakery was one of the first food production facilities in the country to go solar when he and his business partner installed 288 solar panels at the facility in Hiram. The business went completely fossil-fuel free in 2017, earning them an EPA merit award.

Sanders

Josh Sanders is the new senior credit and operations officer at Business Lending Solutions. A highly respected lending professional with over 20 years in the industry, Sanders brings extensive underwriting and portfolio management experience to the fore. Based in Hampden, BLS provides 15 Maine credit unions with a partner that specializes in business lending, including Five County Credit Union Maine Savings Federal Credit Union, based in Portland, and Midcoast Federal Credit Union, with members in Bath, Brunswick and Freeport.

Bergeron

Several promotions at Morgan Stanley Wealth management office in Portland were recently announced: Gary Bergeron and Jeremiah Burns have been promoted to executive director, Eric Blakeman and Lance Prichard have been promoted to senior vice president, and Iain Eldredge has been promoted to vice president.

A Scarborough woman who holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Sociology from the University College Cork in Ireland has been hired as the new project manager at New England broadband consulting firm Mission Broadband. Margaret Brown, who brings more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications, has past senior management roles in customer service, sales support and service delivery.

Heather Robinson has been promoted to executive vice president, chief human resources officer at Camden National Bank. Robinson, who lives in Portland, has been a senior vice president, chief human resources officer since starting with the bank in 2018. She also held several leadership positions in human resources at Fairchild Semiconductor and its successor ON Semiconductor.

Ellen Jordan has recently joined Simons Associates as office manager. Jordan, a resident of Yarmouth, has extensive administrative experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

Open for business

Lauren Lear of Lauren Lear Photography and Krystina Fisher of The Messy Cookie are opening The Photo Kitchen, a photo studio with a commercial kitchen at 1190 Forest Ave., in late February or early March. The space is designed to accommodate photographers, influencers, cooking classes, workshop-based businesses and events. The high-end boutique studio will also serve as an event and workshop venue. Membership applications are now being accepted through photokitchenmaine.com.