The Latest: Week of September 5, 2025

The Latest is a roundup of the comings and goings of the movers and shakers in NH's business community

2 hours ago

Morgen Connor,

HEALTH CARE

Elliot Health System has appointed Brian Frechette to the role of VP, clinical service operations, and Charlotte Brown-Zalewa to VP, marketing and communications. Frechette has spent over 22 years with The Elliot with a clinical background in physical therapy. Brown-Zalewa is a newcomer to the health system, bringing over 20 years of health system strategy, marketing and communications skills to the role.

Elliot Health System has been named the Best-In-State health care employer by the Forbes list of America’s Best-In-State Employers 2025, in collaboration with Statista.

The award recognizes Elliot Health System as the first employer in the health care category and the top New Hampshire-based company.

For the fifth year, Concord Hospital Health System (CHHS) was recognized by Forbes as one of New Hampshire’s Best-In-State Employers for 2025. As a teaching organization, CHHS provides specialty training in medicine, clinical practice and nursing at its hospitals and more than 60 outpatient locations serve more than 250,000 New Hampshire residents.

Southern New Hampshire Health has named Shannon Levesque as the organization’s first chief people officer. She brings more than 25 years of experience leading human resources programs, including time spent as the interim division vice president of human resources for the Community Hospitals division at Beth Israel Lahey Health and in other previous roles at Exeter Health Resources, Boston Children’s Hospital and Baystate Health.

REAL ESTATE

Commercial real estate leader Colliers announced the sale of an industrial property in Berwick, Maine, for $1,900,000, according to the Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds. The property, located at 2 Industry Drive, includes two industrial buildings totaling 24,280 square feet on 8.43 acres. Andrew Ward and Tim Braseth of Colliers represented the seller, Mick Construction Corporation, in the transaction and assisted the buyer, Two Industry Drive, LLC. The deal was partially financed by Strafford Economic Development Corporation of New Hampshire. At the time of sale, the property was 76% leased to four tenants. The buyer will use the site to support the expansion of their business, a portable container storage company based in Portsmouth.

Three leased multifamily buildings located at 251 Pine Street, 118 Beech Street, and 124 Beech Street in Manchester have been sold for $3,425,000, totaling 19,896 square feet, according to the Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds. The portfolio consists of a mixed-use building at 251 Pine Street containing nine residential units and one office unit, and two 6-unit buildings at 118 Beech Street and 124 Beech Street. The portfolio features a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units and were 100% occupied at the time of sale. Andrew Robbins, senior associate with Colliers in New Hampshire, represented the seller, Select Capital, LLC, and assisted the buyer, White Barn Real Estate, LLC.

NONPROFITS

The Front Door Agency introduced three new members to its board of directors: Sue Beaubien, VP of retail services at Bellwether Community Credit Union; Rebecca Lammare, a Massachusetts and NH-based attorney; and Stephen Lynn, VP, Nashua branch leader for Fidelity Investments.

The Reuse Network — a nonprofit which diverts usable furniture and equipment out of American landfills to help those facing disaster or poverty — surpassed a milestone of providing over 2 million items organizations here and abroad. At the end of July 2025, The Reuse Network shipped over 86,000 items to areas in need.

No Brain Is the Same is a new NH-based nonprofit organization with the mission to bridge the gap in understanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical kids in grades K-8. Through engaging education, the organization teaches children, families and communities about what it means to be neurodivergent, fostering empathy, compassion and inclusion to help reduce bullying in schools and beyond. Schools, educators and community groups interested in bringing this program to their peers can visit www.nobrainisthesame.org to learn more.

Local nonprofits who wish to apply for a grant from the Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund at New Hampshire Charitable Foundation can now submit an application by October 15 at mvsb.com/community-involvement.

The MVSB Fund awards annual grant-based contributions to nonprofits that enrich and improve the quality of lives of residents in the Bank’s service areas. Grants generally range from $1,000 to $10,000 and are awarded to nonprofits and public agencies based in the Lakes Region, Plymouth and Mount Washington Valley and Seacoast communities.

The Nash Casino has awarded a combined $1.2 million to eight New Hampshire nonprofit organizations, accumulated from the combined revenues generated by games of chance and historical horse racing machines in July. Recipients include: Souhegan Scholarship Foundation, Lions Camp Pride NH, Pink Revolution Breast Cancer Alliance, Craig P. Hutchinson Memorial Scholarship, Greater Nashua Council on Alcoholism, Ancient Order of Hibernians – Manchester, VFW Post No. 8641, and the Nashua International Sculpture Foundation.

Back in May, the New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) appointed Dan Lyons to its board of trustees. He is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley with the Market Square Group in Portsmouth, and is a graduate of Brewster Academy and Marist College, where he earned a degree in finance. He is an avid boater and sailor and crews on a 48-foot vessel that competes in the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet, participating in classic yacht regattas and other sailing events.

EDUCATION

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) announced that its board of trustees has approved a five year contract extension for President Lisa Marsh Ryerson through June 2030. Ryerson, who was appointed to a two-year term that began on July 1, 2024, became SNHU’s sixth president after serving two years as university provost, and six years on SNHU’s board of trustees. The New Hampshire Higher Education Union (NHHEU), IBEW Local 2320, has reached a tentative agreement with the Community College System of NH (CCSNH) for full-time faculty members, after a bargaining process that focused primarily on compensation, health insurance and contract language about workload. The majority of the NHHEU, IBEW Local 2320 membership and the CCSNH board of trustees approved the nearly two-year contract agreement, which will expire on June 30, 2027.

LAW

Drummond Woodsum shared that 84 of its attorneys have been recognized in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers in America across its multiple practice areas in the Portland, Maine; Manchester and Lebanon, NH; and Flagstaff, Ariz., markets. Those NH attorneys named include:

Demetrio F. Aspiras III, Mark T. Broth, Anna B. Cole, Meghan S. Glynn, James A. O’Shaughnessy, Keriann Roman, Matthew R. Serge, Shawn Tanguay, Gerald M. Zelin, Matthew Decker, Luke Webster, and Milliana Zonarich. Meghan S. Glynn was also recognized as a Lawyer of the Year.

Shaheen & Gordon, P.A., recently welcomed attorney Emma M. Sisti to the firm’s Concord office and attorney Hannah K. Neumiller to the firm’s Dover office. Sisti was previously the deputy director of 603 Legal Aid and served for 15 years as an attorney with the NH Public Defender. Neumiller is a recent graduate of UNH’s Franklin Pierce School of Law, with experience in handling personal injury, workers’ compensation, criminal defense and civil litigation cases. Thirty-six Shaheen & Gordon attorneys were recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. Best Lawyers honorees include: Ronald L. Abramson, Stephanie K. Annunziata, Lauren Breda, James M. Callahan, Joseph A. Cherniske, Tracey Goyette Cote, Christine M. Craig, Steven M. Gordon, Cathy J. Green, Timothy M. Harrington, Crystal M. Maldonado, Jeffrey L. Manganaro, Heather V. Menezes, Francis G. Murphy, D. Michael Noonan, Sean T. O’Connell, Jared P. O’Connor, Andrew J. Piela, Brian M. Quirk, James D. Rosenberg, William H. Shaheen, Benjamin Siracusa Hillman, Randall E. Smith, Alexander E. Spadinger, and Laura T. Tetrault. Attorneys named to the Best Lawyers Ones to Watch list include: Kirsten J. Allen, Olivia Bensinger, Leah Cole Durst, Teresa Farley, Jocelyn Frawley, Samantha J. Heuring, Austin M. Mikolaities, Brittani L. Pelissier, Julianne M. Plourde, Danielle Pomeroy and Lyndsay N. Robinson.

Fifty-one of McLane Middleton’s attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America for 2026 with an additional 10 attorneys included in the “Ones to Watch” category. NH-based attorneys named to the list include: Peter D. Anderson, John Bentas, Steven M. Burke, Patrick C. Closson, Alexandra S. Cote, Michael A. Delaney, Laura B. Dodge, Christopher M. Dube, Steven J. Dutton, Bruce W. Felmly, Benjamin Folsom, Joseph A. Foster, Beth L. Fowler, Wilbur A. Glahn III, Dennis J. Haley Jr., Scott H. Harris, Thomas W. Hildreth, John E. Hughes, Linda S. Johnson, Jack B. Middleton, Barry Needleman, Maragaret “Peg” O’Brien, Jennifer L. Parent, Christoper R. Paul, John E. Rich Jr., Mark C. Rouvalis, Richard A. Samuels, Cameron G. Shilling, Ramey D. Sylvester, Michael B. Tule, Jeremy T. Walker, Rebecca Walkley, Robert A. Wells, Mark A. Wright, William V. A. Zorn, Sabrina C. Beavens, Viggo C. Fish, Thomas B. Getz, Gregory H. Smith, Patrick O. Collins, Anthony Delyani, Denis P. Dillon, Mary Susan Leahy, Michael J. Quinn and David Wolowitz. Ones to Watch from NH offices include Jack D. Hepburn, Sean M. Leonard, Brandon M. Vallie, Joshua Weijer and Steven Yannacone.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

St. Mary’s Bank recently welcomed Ken Mauser to its strategic planning team as director of operations and technology. Mauser brings more than 20 years of experience in IT to the role, where he will oversee operational and technology functions across the credit union.

TIME recently released its inaugural list of America’s Top Venture Capital Firms, where Manchester-based Alumni Ventures was ranked No. 20 in the country. In partnership with Statista, TIME ranked 350 venture capital firms that are “at the forefront of catalyzing innovation, supporting emerging startups and driving the next generation of economic growth.” Founded in 2014, Alumni Ventures helps startup companies gain capital to empower the next generation of innovation.

Altair Group, a boutique tax, assurance and advisory firm, has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. Altair Group ranked No. 4233, marking the firm’s first appearance on the list.

Tuesday Perkins has joined Ledyard Bank as a commercial relationship manager in the bank’s Commercial Banking Team. Previously, Perkins was a lender relations specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration for 5 years at the Concord, NH, district office. Prior to that, Perkins worked with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for 13+ years.

TECHNOLOGY

Unified Office, a Nashua-based communications technology company offering voice, messaging, business analytics, AI, and IoT-based solutions, announced that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named their TCNIQ AI Analytics Platform as a 2025 CUSTOMER magazine Voice AI Technology Excellence Award winner. The award honors innovative solutions that use AI to elevate voice-driven experiences, improve customer engagement and deliver meaningful business results.

Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais announced the official launch of a new AI-powered Chatbot on the City of Manchester’s official website, following a three-week soft launch that allowed the system to learn and improve. The Chatbot is said to provide fast, personalized assistance that helps people find the information they need without unnecessary delays. Residents can interact with it in multiple languages, 24/7. The City encourages residents to try the new Chatbot by visiting www.manchesternh.gov.

AUTOMOTIVE

Contemporary Automotive — a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and FIAT dealership in Milford — has appointed Zachary Clingan as its new finance manager. He previously served as a sales manager at McGovern Automotive Group.

Jennings named new CEO for NH Electric Co-op

The board of directors of New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) has appointed Michael Jennings as president and chief executive officer, after serving as Interim CEO since January 1. He initially joined NHEC in 2019 as director of engineering and was promoted to vice president of engineering and operations before later being promoted to vice president of energy delivery. In 2001, he was recognized as a Co-op Rising Star by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. NHEC board chair Bill Darcy comments that, under Jennings’ leadership, “we’ve maintained some of the lowest electric rates in the state, expanded access to high-speed internet in rural communities, and made smart investments in technology. Mike has been instrumental in driving these efforts forward, and we’re confident he’ll continue to lead with vision and integrity.”