FAME CEO Bruce Wagner to retire next month
PHOTO / Amber Waterman
Bruce Wagner, CEO of the Finance Authority of Maine, announced that he will retire on Feb. 5.
COURTESY / FAME
Carlos Mello, chief risk officer at FAME, will become acting CEO with Bruce Wagner's retirement.
Bruce Wagner, longtime CEO of the Finance Authority of Maine, announced Thursday that he will retire on Feb. 5.
Wagner, who has led the quasi-independent state agency since 2014, will be replaced for now by Acting CEO Carlos Mello, FAME’s chief risk officer.
“We will miss Bruce and his leadership and wish him an enjoyable and well-deserved retirement,” David Daigler, chair of FAME’s board of directors and president of the Maine Community College System, said in a news release.
“His contributions to FAME over the past seven years have been remarkable, and, as we seek a suitable successor to recommend to Gov. [Janet] Mills, we will seek to find someone capable of continuing his work while elevating the agency’s impact for the benefit of Maine people and businesses," Daigler added.
Gov. Mills praised Wagner’s role in developing the state’s 10-year strategic economic development plan. “I wish Bruce well in his future endeavors and I look forward to working with FAME’s Board of Directors to identify a potential successor for this important role,” she said.
Wagner, a Pennsylvania native, led FAME through two strategic planning exercises and was credited with bringing “a focused approach to taking on financial risk for public benefit.”
FAME has taken a prominent role in providing COVID relief to its customers, offering loan deferrals, modified terms and interest rates and other special programs.
Overall, FAME is a key part of Maine’s financing infrastructure, stepping in to guarantee loans. According to the most recent Mainebiz Book of Lists, FAME’s largest loan in 2019 went to Gallery Leather Manufacturing Inc. in Trenton. Of the $2.1 million loan, FAME’s exposure was $999,000.
In December, the FAME board approved up to $1.9 million in loan insurance and a $1 million direct loan to help support increased access to broadband in Belfast and South Portland. In essence, the agency insured 20% of the overall $9.5 million needed to construct a fiber network.
FAME was also an investor helping bring back the Saddleback ski area, in November approving issuance of a tax credit certificate related to $1.5 million in investments through the New Markets Capital Investment program. It had previously approved leveraged loan insurance of 17% (or $2.5 million) on a $14.1 million loan.
Wagner’s successor
Wagner’s interim successor, Mello, will begin the immediate transition to the new role. He is a senior member of the FAME management team and has been at the agency for eight years. He is a former president and CEO of Prudential Bank and Trust in Hartford, Conn., a certified financial planner and he holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Boston College.
A search process will be led by FAME’s board of directors. A successor will be named by Gov. Mills, subject to legislative confirmation.
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