Mayoral Candidate, Rob Catalanello, discusses his background, and why he is the best candidate for Mayor.
He and his wife, Brenda, have lived in Madison since 1997. Their eldest son, Peter, graduated from Madison High School and is currently studying Russian at the University of Oregon. Their daughter Isabel is graduating from Oak Knoll in June. She will be attending the University of Edinburgh next year and plans to study Politics and International Relations and their youngest son, Joseph, is finishing 9th grade. “We were lucky enough to have Peter’s friend, Noah, move in with us before he graduated from MHS. He is now attending college in Oregon and has recently informed us of his intention to become a Wildland Firefighter. I am exceedingly proud of all of their achievements,” Catalanello said.
Catalanello graduated from Villanova University in 1986 where he majored in Electrical Engineering and minored in Mathematics. His senior design thesis was on High Efficiency Solar Cell Design and he was offered the chance to pursue a PhD in the field, but chose to begin a career in engineering instead. After 5 years at Texas Instruments in Texas and California, he attended The University of Pennsylvania and received an MBA from Wharton in Finance and Statistics in 1993. He had production roles at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, a management role at Merrill Lynch and a senior management role at Credit Agricole. In addition, he served on the New York Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Markets Committee (FXC) from 2008 -2016. After retiring from banking, he spent time as a partner at a financial services blockchain technology firm and ran his own consulting business. He is currently on the Board of Directors of an IoT SaaS startup that recently graduated from the prestigious Microsoft Accelerator program and whose CEO is in consideration for UK’s Female CEO of the Year. Recently, he joined B2C2, a market leader in Crypto liquidity provision and trading technology, to build out their US subsidiary. Locally, he is a member of the North Star Club, The Madison Athletic Foundation, and the Huddle Club.
“In recognition of the opportunities that I have been given, and with a desire to give back while ensuring equal access for all regardless of gender, Brenda and I established an endowed scholarship for women engineering students at Villanova University. We also support the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership at Villanova. This country needs more women in STEM and in leadership positions. We are personally taking an active role to achieve these goals. In my position as Mayor I will encourage the Borough to partner with the BoE to foster STEM and women’s leadership initiatives,” Catalanello added.
Catalanello served two terms on the Borough Council from 2011-2016. His accomplishments are best summarized in the proclamation presented by the mayor and council at his last meeting. In addition to serving as the liaison to the DPW, it reads, in part, “Councilman Catalanello was
- Passionate in his support of the turf field project at the Madison Recreation Complex including serving as an active fundraiser for the project;
- Proposed the legislation that founded the Madison Community Garden;
- As Finance Chair, Councilman Catalanello initiated direct contact with the ratings agencies in an effort to maintain Madison’s AAA bond rating;
- A persistent proponent of repairing the Borough’s infrastructure, Councilman Catalanello also looked for ways to increase revenue, such as the establishment of the Madison Water Line Protection program;
- As Police Liaison, worked with Chief Dachisen to promote Captain Joseph Cirella; and
- As Health Liaison, Councilman Catalanello assisted to make the necessary changes to put the department on the road to fiscal stability and focus on delivering excellent service to the residents
Catalanello commented, “It seemed I was often assigned to Liaison positions that were considered ‘challenging’ or where difficult decisions had to be made. I was always happy to accept these postings, made many lasting and respectful acquaintances, lifted morale, and was successful in improving the performance of the areas to which I was assigned.”
“Unlike the majority party today, I voted my conscience. For the past several years, with the notable exception of John Hoover on one vote in 2018, the majority party has voted unanimously. That is something one would expect from the Politburo or the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, not the Madison governing body.
“If elected, I will serve as Mayor for all of Madison and foster meaningful debate. I will accept the leadership requirements of the job and delegate when appropriate. I will never outsource my responsibility. I will, as I have done in the past, look for innovative ways to solve problems and make Madison a better place to live and run a business,” he concluded.