By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Select Board voted to appoint two new members to the Finance Committee during a recent meeting.
Lovell Road resident Bill Ketelhut and Bancroft Street resident Matt Curtis were two of the five candidates the Select Board interviewed for two vacant Finance Committee seats. Ketelhut and Curtis succeed current Finance Director/Town Accountant David Castellarin and late Finance Committee member Stephen Riley.
Ketelhut has worked as an investment analyst for Millennium Management since last year. He served as an investment analyst at ExodusPoint Capital Management from 2021-2024. Ketelhut worked as the vice president of the gaming, lodging and leisure division at Goldman Sachs from 2017 to 2021.
“I have spent nearly 20 years in finance on the investing side,” said Ketelhut. “I have spent the first half of my career working with endowments, foundations, nonprofits and public entities by helping them investment their money. As part of that, I understand how committees work, and understand the importance of budgets and forecasting. I understand how good and bad things can really affect those entities and the importance of being detailed and careful.”
Ketelhut said he and his family moved to Lynnfield in 2022.
“I have three kids, two beautiful girls and a baby boy,” said Ketelhut. “The oldest just started kindergarten at Summer Street. It’s amazing there, and we have had a really great time getting to know more of the community and see how it all works. My wife serves on the board for the Lynnfield Moms Group.”
After learning that the Finance Committee had vacancies, Ketelhut said he felt it was a “great opportunity to get involved” in town.
“What I think I can bring to the committee is somebody who has a long-term outlook,” said Ketelhut. “I have three young kids and I am going to be here for a long time. I hope that in the advisory I can bring is something that looks over a long-term timespan. And furthermore, I hope to bring a creative mindset to solving problems so it is not just a win-loss in negotiations, but finding ways to incorporate other points of view into the solutions that we advise.”
Select Board Vice Chair Phil Crawford said Ketelhut has “an impressive financial resume.” He asked if he has any experience with municipal finance.
“Indirectly,” said Ketelhut. “I have been part of a long-term finance committee at Prides Beach in Beverly, and I have worked with endowments and universities before. I understand some of the budgeting process, but I have not worked directly with a municipality.”
Select Board member Alexis Leahy asked Ketelhut what he believes are “some of the main issues facing the town.”
“When I read the local paper, there is a theme of costs are going up,” said Ketelhut. “I think there has been trouble of trying to make the budget work and how to drive incremental revenue into the budget as well as how to distribute that money. I think taking both a near-term and a longer-term perspective is important as you think about allocating to projects that might benefit us further down the road. Those are the easiest to defer, but they can be very important and critical too. I think having that long-term mindset will help.”
Curtis said he and his family moved to Lynnfield in October 2012.
“I have got four beautiful children,” said Curtis. “Three of them are in the Lynnfield Public Schools system, and the fourth will be in a couple of years. My wife is an avid supporter of all things athletics, and she has coached anybody’s children we have overlapped with. I am very passionate about the town and I plan on living here, God willing, for the rest of my life. I really love it. I would love to support the town in any way that I can. My wife has been a great role model in all of the time she has given.”
Curtis said he works at Summit Partners, which is a Boston-based hedge fund.
“I climbed the ladder there,” said Curtis. “I went from an analyst to a portfolio manager to a partner. I helped grow the business from eight employees to over 20. My primary role is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the most efficient form of capital, and putting that capital to work. I live in balance sheets, income statements and I am constantly on a daily basis trying to make the right investment through long-term appreciation.”
Curtis also said he serves on a Lynn-based nonprofit’s board.
“My capitalist nature is able to be balanced with the human element of that,” said Curtis. “I really want to give back to my community in any way I possibly can.”
Crawford noted that his son and Curtis’ wife coached a youth soccer team together. He asked Curtis if he has any experience with municipal finance.
Curtis said no.
“I have been allocating capital to investments, and trying to compound that capital by being able to discern through balance sheets and income statements,” said Curtis. “I am just trying to be a good fiduciary and steward of capital.”
Leahy asked Curtis how would he approach the town’s challenges in his role on the FinCom.
Curtis said the town has “growing needs and a growing population.” He said it’s important to understand the “short-term and long-term dynamics of making investments that can pay off for future generations, even if those decisions are difficult.”
“It should be explored and really vetted to make sure the town is in the best position in the short-term, medium-term and long-term,” said Curtis.
The Select Board also interviewed Main Street resident Rob Nickerson, who works as a principal at the Malcolm White Elementary School in Woburn.
“I have lived in Lynnfield for 13 years now and I have worked in education for 25 years,” said Nickerson. “For the past seven years, I have been running my school’s budget as well working to build the district’s budget across the city. As anybody running a municipality knows, the school budget is a significant part. In Woburn, we are right around $90 million at this point. I know a lot of the ins and outs of that. The community has been fantastic for my family and myself for the time that we have been here. I have three children in Lynnfield Public Schools right now, and it has been really great. It is a large part of the reason why we came here. Lynnfield from top to bottom is great, and whatever I can do to grow upon that is something I am interested in.”
Saunders Road resident Sam Dowd and Chestnut Street resident Jordan Staab were also interviewed for the vacant FinCom seats.
Select Board Chair Dick Dalton thanked all five candidates for expressing their interest in serving on the Finance Committee.
“One of my frustrations in serving on the Select Board is the number of volunteers we need to run this town and how important of a role they play,” said Dalton. “More often than not, I will see people down at the fields or somewhere, and I will ask people if they are interested in serving on a committee. They often say, ‘I have got my kids’ and ‘I have got my profession.’ It’s just great to see five people show up this evening for what is a very, very important committee here in town.”
Dalton noted that the Finance Committee has two openings for seats that are appointed by the Select Board.
“What I would propose we do is after we select the two, we send the town moderator the three individual resumes of those who were not selected by the Select Board,” said Dalton. “He has one appointment and there is a total of three vacancies. I would like to move quickly on this.”
Crawford said he supported nominating Ketelhut and Curtis.
“I have been doing this for about 12 years now, and typically you don’t get five people who are this well-qualified for this type of position,” said Crawford. “Believe me, it makes it much harder for us. From my perspective after going through the resumes, I thought Bill Ketelhut and Matt Curtis were the most impressive to me as far as background. They were the ones who I thought kind of stood out more for what I was looking for. I think they would all do a wonderful job, but those were the two I would choose.”
Leahy thanked all five candidates for applying to serve on the FinCom.
“I appreciate everyone coming forward,” said Leahy. “I spent a number of years on the Finance Committee prior to this role. It is a very integral part of this town, and it is a great way to really learn the inner workings of all of the departments in the town.”
Leahy said she preferred appointing Curtis and Nickerson to the Finance Committee.
While Dalton said it was a “very difficult choice,” he said that he supported appointing Ketelhut and Curtis.
“I am most comfortable with Bill Ketelhut and Matt Curtis,” said Dalton. “In my mind, they would serve the town best. That is not to say the other three are not viable candidates.”
After the discussion, the Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Curtis to the Finance Committee.
Dalton and Crawford voted to appoint Ketelhut to the Finance Committee. Leahy voted no.
“Congratulations to both Matt and Bill,” said Dalton.