Entrepreneur and National Banking Leader Frank Sorrentino to Deliver Stevens’ Graduate Commencement Address
Founder of ConnectOne Bank and leading entrepreneur will deliver the commencement address to Stevens’ graduate class
(Hoboken, N.J. – March 18, 2019) – Stevens Institute of Technology’s President Nariman Farvardin has announced today that local entrepreneur Frank Sorrentino, chairman and chief executive of ConnectOne Bank, will deliver the 2019 Graduate Commencement address on Wednesday, May 22.
In 2005, Frank Sorrentino launched ConnectOne Bank when he realized that the banks in his community were lacking the financial features and superior client service he was looking for to support his construction business. To help solve this problem, he decided to build a bank that would always put the client at the forefront of its business model.
Under Sorrentino’s leadership, ConnectOne Bank has grown across the New Jersey and New York area with over $6 billion in assets and 29 locations. In February 2013, ConnectOne Bank became the first bank to go public since the great recession. Since its establishment, the company has experienced rapid growth, complimented by two mergers, propelling the company to become one of the largest commercial banks headquartered in New Jersey. Today, ConnectOne Bank continues to grow its people-first business model into new markets within New York and New Jersey.
"Mr. Sorrentino’s career truly captures the entrepreneurial spirit, and he kept this spirit top of mind as he built a thriving business with a dynamic culture that has become one of the top performing banks in the country,” said Farvardin. “I am certain that his Commencement remarks will inspire the entrepreneur in all of our graduates and am excited to welcome him as a member of the Stevens community.”
Before launching ConnectOne Bank, Sorrentino served as president of FSS Construction, Inc., a family-owned construction business that specialized in custom-built luxury homes. Sorrentino received his B.S. in Construction Engineering Technology from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1987.
Sorrentino has also garnered numerous accolades in both construction and business. In 1995 he was named Builder of the Year by the Builders Association of Northern New Jersey and his impressive leadership at ConnectOne Bank was recently recognized by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, where he was named the 2018 Executive of the Year.
Commencement will be held on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Undergraduate ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. and the Graduate ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. For more information, please visit the Commencement website.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a premier, private research university situated in Hoboken, New Jersey overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Since our founding in 1870, technological innovation has always been the hallmark and legacy of Stevens’ education and research. Within the university’s three schools and one college, 6,900 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate closely with faculty in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment. Academic and research programs spanning business, computing, engineering, the arts and other fields actively advance the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront our most pressing global challenges. The university is consistently ranked among the nation’s elite for return on tuition investment, career services and the mid-career salaries of alumni.