Supporting Groton Businesses

Robert Boris is a father, economist, & self-proclaimed “computational folklorist”.

Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Groton Economic Development Commission, Chairman of the Mystic Chamber of Commerce foundation, & President of Groton’s Command Technology — a global supplier of cloud computing software.

He holds a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics, as well as a Bachelor’s in linguistics from Syracuse University.

I am a retired professor of marketing and former business dean and interim vice president of academic affairs. A Michigan native, after high school I served for four years as an enlisted man in the United States Coast Guard and later earned my undergraduate degree and PhD at Michigan State University. Over more than thirty years I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses dealing with marketing strategies, retailing, channels of distribution, and business ethics among other topics. I have also worked with government lawyers in the prosecution of multilevel marketing (MLM) style pyramid schemes. My wife, also a Michigan native, and I have been married 52 years and decided to spend our retirement years in Mystic. We have son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in Westerly, RI and another son in the Seattle.

Because business plays a critical economic role in the community, I was pleased to be selected to serve on the Economic Development Commission (EDC). Communications between the Town of Groton and the businesses large and small are critical to advancing the interests of the entire community. I hope to help strengths those communications.

George Mathanool is managing partner for Connecticut Overseas Ventures & Enterprises. His interests and activities span international ventures and private equities, and he has several private interests and key IP stakes within digital security, payments and trusted transaction technologies within Asia and the European Union.

Mr. Mathanool was among the pioneers of Identrus LLC, where he served as general representative for the Far East region. Identrus LLC was regulated by the U.S. Federal Reserve and was collectively owned by a consortium of 60 Tier 1 banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, HSBC, Barclays, RBS, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, ING Group, Deutsche Bank, KEB, Mizuho, Mitsubishi, ANZ, Westpac and Standard Chartered.

Identrus, together with its consortium of banks, redefined domestic and global policies and capabilities for digital identity standards, secure transactions, funds transfer, trusted e-banking, international legal frameworks and open standards for e-market commerce. Such efforts provided the roots to transition traditional bank services onto the Internet, and the foundational standards to evolve global banks and related services into the World Wide Web.

As a seasoned banker and tech evangelist in AsiaPac, Mr. Mathanool promoted e-banking startups and the nascent concept of e-trust and privacy across central banks to break ground for the electronic transactions, cybersecurity, online risk management and international e-payments. He initiated several stages of highly complex programs to deliver frameworks for non-repudiation in e-commerce, e-banking and e-government, and the wider adoption of smartcard technologies across Asia, the Pacific region and Europe, together with local banks, their vendors and key partners, including IBM, PWC, Ernst & Young, Entrust, Deloitte, Gemplus, SWIFT, PayPal, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Verisign, Norton, RSA, and Intel.

Mr. Mathanool was elected to the Information Systems and Security Association’s (ISSA) International Board of Directors, and has served as vice president for International Developments & Relations. Within ISSA, Mr. Mathanool oversaw global alliances and governmental relations. He also served as co-chair for ISSA/ISO 27000 WGs, liaison for the Liberty Alliance Project, chair of its Chapter Mentorship Development Program, adviser to its Singapore Chapter and regional director for South America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Hello Groton residents! I'm Pantea Umrysz, excited to join the Groton Development Commission. As a devoted mother to two adorable toddlers and a passionate small business owner, Groton holds a special place in my heart, where my family calls home, and where our future unfolds.

My commitment to our community stems from a deep desire to contribute positively to its growth and prosperity. Whether it's enhancing local opportunities or advocating for better infrastructure, I'm dedicated to helping Groton continue to be the best it can be for current and future generations.

My journey as a parent and entrepreneur has equipped me with resilience, creativity, and a drive to effect change. Now, as a member of the Groton Development Commission, I eagerly embrace the opportunity to channel these qualities into tangible actions that benefit our town. Every step forward, no matter how small, brings us closer to our collective vision of a vibrant and thriving Groton.