Catherine Smith, the Connecticut-based chief executive of U.S. retirement services for ING, is expected to be named the new commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development this afternoon, according to an e-mail she sent to all U.S. employees of ING.
The Courant has obtained a copy of the e-mail.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is scheduled to make the announcement at 2:30 p.m. at the state Capitol.
ING, with major offices in and around Hartford, describes itself as "a family of companies" that "offer a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes annuities, retirement plans, life insurance, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, employee benefits, and financial planning."
ING's U.S. administrative headquarters is in Atlanta, while its executive headquarters is in New York City. ING Group headquarters is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
A highly paid corporate executive who worked for Aetna for 17 years before switching to ING when Aetna sold its financial services division, Smith, 58, will be taking a major pay cut to accept the position with the Malloy administration. She currently manages 3,000 employees
A registered Democrat, Smith has been a regular contributor to some of the highest level Democrats at the federal level, including all three U.S. senators who have served from Connecticut most recently - Chris Dodd, Joe Lieberman, and Richard Blumenthal. In the 2008 presidential election, according to public records, she made at least seven separate contributions to candidate Barack Obama that totaled more than $4,000.
In the prior presidential race, she contributed to U.S. Sen. John Kerry in the race against incumbent President George W. Bush.
She also contributed to Lieberman during his 2006 campaign against Democrat Ned Lamont and to U.S. Rep. John B. Larson in his 2008 campaign. Besides contributing to the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, she contributed to then-Attorney General Blumenthal during his 2010 race against Republican Linda McMahon. Before Blumenthal's race, Smith contributed to Dodd at least four times in 2007 for a total of $4,000.
Smith contributed to ING's political action committee, which in turn gave contributions to Blumenthal, Democrat Jim Himes of Greenwich, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, among others. On the Republican side, the PAC contributed to Gov. Rick Perry in Texas, Marco Rubio in Florida, and John Boehner in Ohio.
The following is Smith's e-mail message to all U.S. employees of ING:
Dear Colleagues,
It is with very mixed emotions that I must tell you that I am leaving ING for a position with the state of Connecticut.
As most of you know, I've been with this organization for a long time. I have deep roots here, strong relationships, great affection for ING employees and an abiding confidence in the company's future. Thanks to your amazing dedication and hard work, we have built something special both within Retirement Services and throughout the entire U.S. enterprise. We've achieved great things, and there are many more great achievements to come.
So it's really hard to leave at this juncture when I believe so many good things are coming together and we are gaining real momentum. As you can imagine, it had to be something really special to make me consider leaving. And that opportunity presented itself. I have accepted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's offer to become the new commissioner of Economic and Community Development for the state of Connecticut. It's a tremendous chance to become integrally involved with one of this state's highest priorities, which is to improve the economy and help create more jobs. I was honored to be offered this new challenge, and I'm very excited about getting started in April.