Brian Conroy '82, H'13, P'20

Brian was a four-year boy at Avon. He was a dedicated student, classmate, mentor, and athlete. His natural leadership ability and its impact on the Avon community was demonstrated by his selection as class warden and, despite never starting a single varsity game during his first three years on campus, being voted captain of both the varsity football and baseball teams during his senior year. At graduation in 1982, he was recognized with the F. Reed Estabrook Award and the Order of Old Farms for his devotion and service to Avon.

Brian went on to attend Dartmouth College, where he majored in religion and walked onto the football and baseball teams, ultimately earning varsity letters in each. Post-graduation from Dartmouth, he coached football at Princeton University and then joined Goldman Sachs. His determination and ability to innovate, transform, and push boundaries—all enhanced and encouraged at Avon—earned him Chief Executive positions in both the global brokerage and global asset management businesses at Fidelity International, based in London, as well as the global electronic trading firm, Liquidnet.

Brian was able to forge an impressive 34-year career in financial services based on the lessons he learned at Avon. His core tenets of leadership, passion, and balance, built on the gift and grace he developed as an Avon Old Farms student, helped him achieve the highest levels of excellence in his field. Brian was an early advocate for and proponent of using technology to usher in a new era of electronic equity trading, which eventually all but replaced traditional human-centric, physical floor-based trading. He was also knowing throughout the industry for his ability to turn around underperforming businesses and fix problems while inspiring his teams to chase excellence and aspire to be better.

Although his professional life took him across the globe, Brian remained unwaveringly connected to Avon. Brian and his wife, Laurie, were married in the Avon Old Farms Chapel, which cemented her connection to Avon as well. He is a member of Avon’s Board of Directors and has served for three intervals, including a role as Board Chair from 2011-2015. He was awarded an honorary degree from Avon in 2013.

Brian’s son, Paden ’20; brother, Michael ’85; and two nephews, Aidan ’22 and Joseph ’13, are all Avon Old Farms graduates.