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YEARS IN BUSINESS

15

LOCATED IN

Massachusetts

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

20

NUMBER OF BOARDING SCHOOLS WE SERVE

Schools

Modern Capital Executive Solutions

Modern Capital Executive Solutions is led by a myriad of expert consultants. With over 75 years of combined expertise, Credit Unions, Healthcare Institutions, Higher Education, Associations, and other High-Performance Non-Profits, have partnered with us to use our expertise to drive yield, supplement retirement, and optimize retention and succession. Our non-profit clients (both management and boards of governance) leverage our expertise to design, implement, and administer: • Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans • Institutional Asset Management • Benefit Liability Management • Independent Consulting • Compensation Consulting

WHY BOARDING SCHOOLS CHOOSE US

There are two main areas in which schools seek Modern Capital’s expertise: 1. Providing Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) options with advantageous key features • Competitive with peer group benchmarks ○ Increases participants’ plan options while minimizing and/or removing their tax obligations • More efficient than 457(f), 401(k), 403(b), and 401(a) plans from an expense, liability and tax perspective • Designed with expense recovery (and possible ongoing income recognition) for the organization • More favorable optics for the organization’s Form 990 2. Overcoming limitations on qualified plan contributions for highly- compensated individuals • Limitations on qualified 401(k), 403(b), and non-qualified 457(f) plans prevent the key talent at nonprofit organizations (executives, key employees, management team, etc.) from maximizing their retirement savings to the degree which they desire • Organizations who are unable to address this issue end up competing for talent • Qualified plan administrators working with independent boarding schools typically do not specialize in out-of-the-box solutions for this issue

OUR MISSION

Protect Human Capital Investment | Sustain Financial Stability
Modern Capital successfully designed a program that met our retention needs, supported our succession planning, and ensured the system’s investment was safe and sound. Throughout the process, they demonstrated their expertise in plan design customization, long term financial impact, accounting rules, and regulatory requirements.
Jason Merkley, President
Modern Capital successfully designed a program that met our retention needs, supported our succession planning, and ensured the organization's investment was safe and sound. Throughout the process, they demonstrated their expertise in plan design customization, long term financial impact, accounting rules, and regulatory requirements. We welcome the opportunity to discuss their work further with any interested organizations.
Tara Seever
Recently we had the pleasure of working with Modern Capital Executive Solutions to develop both a leadership retention strategy and alternative investment strategy for our organization. Led by Mike Miele and Ryan Millman, the process exceeded our expectations—and those of our Board—such that we are pleased to recommend them to other nonprofit organizations.
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WILLIAM GILYARD

Will Gilyard is in his 19th year of working in independent schools. In 2020, he returned to his alma mater Choate Rosemary Hall to take on the roles of Form Dean, and Alumni Engagement Associate. Will joined Choate after nine years at the Kingswood Oxford School (KO), a 6-12 independent day school located in West Hartford, CT, where he served as Dean of Students, an upper school math teacher, assistant football coach, and faculty advisor for the United Students club and Boys of Color group. At Choate, Will is the faculty adviser to Choate Afro Latino Men (CALM), and Girls Who Code (GWC).

Will also serves as a core faculty member and helped create the curriculum for the Institute for New Teachers of Color in Independent Schools, created in 2020, the Interschool Leadership Institute, created in 2013. Will also served as a core faculty member of the Kingswood Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color (KOLIEC) from 2011-2018 and helped create the curriculum for the mentoring/advising circles for institute participants.

Before joining KO, Will was the Head of the Upper School at the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in New York City. He serves on the board of advisors for the IDEAL School, also located in New York City. He is passionate about the role of educators in independent schools, specifically in the lives of students of color. Will has attended numerous workshops, conferences, and institutes related to leadership in independent schools and anti-racist education. Will had the honor of being a member of a think tank for the CARLE institute. 

Will has his B.A. in Psychology from Williams College and his M.A. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Joseph. Will is thrilled to be a part of the TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) team and looks forward to working with energized and focused individuals who are interested in being change agents in the residential life sphere.

Will and his wife, Afton, ALP/Enrichment Teacher in Stratford Public Schools reside in Wallingford, CT with their two sons, William (10) and Maxwell (8).
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RYAN PAGOTTO

Associate Head of School Ryan Pagotto ’97 joined Blair’s faculty in 2002 and is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the School on matters related to student and residential life, including health and counseling services, athletics and co-curricular programs. He runs Monday School Meeting and, among other things, is known for greeting students in the morning at the Clinton Hall doorway and offering freshly picked apples from his office during the month of October. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Ryan serves as a member of the history department and teaches Global Issues. He also authors the monthly e-newsletter From Hilltop to Home, a communication designed to help new boarding-school parents navigate the ins and outs of the Blair experience.

Over the course of his time at Blair, Ryan has served as a history teacher, head tennis coach, a dorm head and Dean of Admission. He completed his undergraduate work at Dickinson College, where he captained the men’s tennis team, and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Columbia University. Before joining the faculty at Blair, Ryan taught at the Taft Summer School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He also spent three summers as program director of the Cambridge Prep Experience at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University.

In addition to his roles in schools, Ryan has served as a faculty member for the TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) Summer Session and is a regular presenter at national boarding and independent school conferences on student and residential life.

Ryan and his wife, Jennifer, performing arts department chair and Director of Instrumental Music at Blair, live in Grullon House with their children, Jack, Will, Ella and Addison, and their dog, Teagan. The Pagottos enjoy opening their home to Blair students, faculty and staff members throughout the year.
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SUSAN BALDRIDGE

Susan served as a professor and leader at Middlebury College for over 25 years, most recently as Executive Vice President and Provost, leading Middlebury’s academic programs across multiple campuses – Middlebury, Bread Loaf, Monterey – as well as study abroad locations around the world. Prior to her Provostship, Susan served as Vice President for Strategy and Planning, Dean of Planning and Assessment, and Dean of the Faculty. She is a tenured Professor of Psychology and taught throughout her time at Middlebury.

Susan began her consulting firm in 2018, advising schools, colleges, non-profits and foundations in the areas of strategy, planning and governance; and coaching senior administrators to build leadership capacity and support change management. This led her to partner with TABS in 2019, in the development of TABS current strategic plan.

In addition to consulting, Susan co-authored the book, The College Stress Test, an analysis of educational markets and tools for helping schools to identify their place within market trends. The book was named one of the best books on higher education in 2020 by Forbes Magazine. Susan has presented extensively on topics relating to human sexuality, social psychology, and the psychology of women and gender. She received her B.S. with highest honors in Psychology, Phi Beta Kappa, at Denison University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology at UCLA.