(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is selecting Ari Santiago of West Hartford to serve as interim chair of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, the governing body for Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU).
Santiago has been a member of the board since 2020, serving as an appointee of the governor. He is vice chair of the board’s Finance and Infrastructure Committee, and a member of its Technology Committee.
“As an entrepreneur who started a one-man IT company in Hartford and then turned it into a nationally recognized organization, Ari has unique experience both in the development of cutting-edge, technology solutions, and also operating a business that meets the needs of hundreds of customers and provides employment to workers here in Connecticut,” Governor Lamont said. “I am proud that Connecticut’s public higher education institutions are consistently ranked among the best in the nation and recognized for their achievements in educational excellence and academic success. The top mission of our CSCU schools must be to provide students with the innovative, forward-thinking skills needed to obtain long-lasting careers in good-paying jobs, and I want to ensure that our public colleges and universities are partnering with the business community and creating the workforce needed to grow economic success. Looking forward, it is my expectation that the Board of Regents will take concrete steps within this next week to move ahead on the appointment of an interim chancellor to lead this important system.”
“I joined the CSCU Board of Regents because I believe deeply in what this system can do for students, for communities, and for Connecticut's economy,” Santiago said. “I am accepting this role with clear eyes. The events of recent weeks have been troubling, and the public, and especially our students, deserve better. Let me be direct: the independent investigation being started must proceed with full transparency and without interference and, following it, any necessary changes will be made. That work will not wait. At the same time, this board cannot be defined solely by what has gone wrong. CSCU educates the next generation of Connecticut's citizens and workforce, and I intend to make sure we are doing that job at the highest possible level. I am honored to accept this role and ready to get to work.”
As structured under state law, the Board of Regents consists of 15 voting members, nine of whom are appointed by the governor, four of whom are appointed by legislative leaders, and two of whom are students chosen by their peers. All the members are volunteers and are not compensated for their service. The governor must select one person from among its members to serve as chair, and the board is responsible for electing a vice chair and other officers from among its membership.
In addition to his volunteer service with the Board of Regents, Santiago’s full-time career has largely consisted of work as an entrepreneur, executive, and board member with companies that specialize in developing technology-driven solutions for small to midsize businesses.
In 2002, while working out of his apartment in Hartford, Santiago founded the technology management company IT Direct and grew the business to become the largest pure-play SMB focused managed services provider in Connecticut. The company was recognized for seven consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies (2014-2020), ranked among the top managed service providers in North America by MSPmentor 501, and was named for several years on the Hartford Business Journal’s list of best places to work in Connecticut.
In 2020, IT Direct was acquired by CompassMSP, and Santiago was named as the combined companies’ CEO, continuing to serve in the leadership position into 2025. During his tenure as CEO of CompassMSP, he scaled the organization to more than 350 team members, and the organization was recognized on Inc. 5000 (2022) and the Connecticut Technology Council’s Tech Top 40. Following the acquisition of CompassMSP by Agellus Capital in 2025, Santiago was appointed as an advisor to CompassMSP, and he continues to provide the company with counsel on growth, culture, and client relationships.
CSCU is the public higher education system consisting of four state universities (Central, Southern, Eastern, and Western); Connecticut State Community College and its 12 campuses that are located throughout the state; and Charter Oak State College, an online higher education institution. The Board of Regents holds broad responsibilities for the development and coordination of system policies, including those related to reviewing, licensing, and accrediting academic programs; conducting searches for the CSCU chancellor; setting tuition and student fee policies; and establishing financial aid policies.