Craig R. Benson (born October 8, 1954

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

. Retrieved on February 6, 2011.) is an American politician and entrepreneur who served as the 79th

Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

from 2003 to 2005. Benson first came to public attention when he founded

Cabletron Systems Cabletron Systems was a manufacturer of networking computer equipment throughout the 1980s and 1990s primarily based in Rochester, New Hampshire, in the United States. They also had manufacturing facilities in Ironton, Ohio, and in Ireland. Hist ...

, later known as

Enterasys Networks Enterasys Networks, Inc. was an American networking company. Enterasys products included networking equipment ranging from routers, switches, and IEEE 802.11 wireless access points and controllers. The company formed in March 2000 as a spin-off ...

, which became one of the largest employers in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Enterasys Networks was acquired by

Extreme Networks Extreme Networks is an American networking company based in San Jose, California. Extreme Networks designs, develops, and manufactures wired and wireless network infrastructure equipment and develops the software for network management, policy, a ...

in November 2013.

Early life and business career

Benson attended Chatham High School in

Chatham, New Jersey "The Chathams" is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham Borough, New Jersey, Chatham Borough and Chatham Township, New Jers ...

. After receiving a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in finance from

Babson College Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, its central focus is on entrepreneurship education. It was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, but became coeducational i ...

in 1977, Benson attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, graduating with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 1979. In 1983, Benson and partner Robert Levine started

in Levine's garage.Fisher, Lawrence M. (August 7, 1997).
Cabletron's Chief Executive Plans to Step Down Sept. 1
. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. The company moved to

Rochester, New Hampshire Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,492 at the 2020 census. In addition to the downtown area, the city contains the villages of East Rochester, New Hampshire, East Rochester, Gonic, New Ha ...

in 1985 and went public in 1989, with what was then the largest

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

history. In 1991, Benson was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by ''

Inc. Magazine ''Inc.'' is an American business magazine founded in 1979 and based in New York City. The magazine publishes six issues per year, along with surrounding online and social media content. The magazine also produces several live and virtual events y ...

''. The company grew to have over $1.8 billion in annual revenue, but over time Cabletron began to face heavy competition in the industry.A Cabletron Systems Founder Steps Down
. ''

'', June 5, 1999. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. Benson resigned in 1999, and Cabletron was dissolved into four separate companies (

Aprisma Management Technologies Aprisma Management Technologies was created after Cabletron Systems was broken up into 4 smaller pieces, as the business unit to continue the highly successful SPECTRUM network management suite. It was acquired in early 2005 by Concord, which in tur ...

Riverstone Networks {{Infobox company , industry = Electronics , hq_location_city = Santa Clara, California , hq_location_country = United States , parent = {{ubl, Cabletron Systems, Lucent Technologies (2006) , defunct = {{end date, 2006 , fate = Absorbed by ...

, and Global Network Technology Services) in January 2000.Kelly, Matt (March 1, 2002).
After splitting up Cabletron, Piyush Patel mulls his future
". Indusbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. The company's fragmentation brought layoffs,Hohman, Robin (December 22, 1997).
Cabletron cuts rile customers
. ''

Network World International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is a market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.’s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, marketing technol ...

'', p. 6. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. declines in stock price, and shareholder lawsuits.

Governor of New Hampshire

Benson began running for governor of New Hampshire in 2001, promising to use technology and greater efficiency to save money in state government. Political signs appeared across the Granite State proclaiming "This is Benson Country." He was elected governor on November 5, 2002, in an open race to succeed the retiring governor,

Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American retired educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Shaheen served as the 78th ...

. In the

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

, Benson spent more than $15 million—$11 million of it his own money—in an effort to defeat former

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Bruce Keough and former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Gordon Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. E ...

to win the Republican nomination, making Benson's victory one of the most expensive in American history. In the general election, Benson easily defeated Democratic

Mark Fernald Mark Fernald (born March 21, 1959) is an American politician who served in the New Hampshire Senate from the 11th district from 1998 to 2002. He unsuccessfully ran for governor against Craig Benson in 2002, then unsuccessfully ran for Senate fro ...

, 59 percent to 38 percent. Benson successfully made Fernald's support for a statewide income tax the dominant issue in the race. Benson spent more than $9 million, again mostly his own money, in this race. As Governor, Benson pushed for state agencies to institute across-the-board budget reductions, and used a custom made, extra large "VETO" stamp to reject a state budget he thought was too large.Rogers, Josh (June 30, 2003).
Lawmakers, Benson Prepare For Override Vote
.

New Hampshire Public Radio New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) is the National Public Radio member network serving the state of New Hampshire. NHPR is based in Concord and operates eight transmitters and six translators covering nearly the whole state, as well as portions of ...

. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. Benson also signed into law a bill that required

parental notification Parental consent laws (also known as parental involvement laws) in some countries require that one or more parents consent to or be notified before their minor child can legally engage in certain activities. Parental consent may refer to: *A pa ...

for minors seeking an abortion; this law was later challenged and upheld in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the case '' Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England'', but subsequently repealed by the New Hampshire legislature in 2007. Benson's administration came under criticism following the resignation of

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Peter Heed, who had been accused of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

. While an investigation cleared Heed of any wrongdoing, it revealed improper interference by Benson's security commissioner. Further criticism stems from the inappropriate awarding of a nearly $900,000

no-bid contract Multisourcing is the concept of working with multiple suppliers who are also competitors. Large-scale buyers, such as the U.S. federal government, may want to feel assured that there is more than one supplier for an item. It has been described as t ...

by his "volunteer" adviser (and former Cabletron human resource administrator) Linda Pepin, who was not licensed to broker such a deal. Benson also frequently used "volunteers" in his office to do gubernatorial work, but would not say who they were or what they did. These were not volunteers in the sense that they were unpaid staffers volunteering their time, rather Benson paid their salaries out of his own pocket, making them volunteers in the sense that they did not draw state salaries. This move was controversial, while proponents noted that Benson was generously allowing the state to save money, critics were concerned that it would limit scrutiny of the volunteer staff. Reporters discovered that one of these "volunteers" (and former Cabletron director of operations), Angela Blaisdell, was New Hampshire's official liaison with the federal government on

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

. In addition, Benson was accused of engaging in political payback when Dori Wiggin, supervisor of the Department of Environmental Services Wetlands Division in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, was transferred to the department's

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

headquarters. Under Wiggin, the DES had fined Benson in 1998 and 2003 for excavating beach sand without a permit at his Rye oceanfront home. Benson was also criticized, by both supporters and critics, for a management style that was considered "autocratic".Schweitzer, Sarah (November 4, 2004).
Defeated after 1 term, N.H. governor fades out
. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. In an interview with ''

'', Benson stated that one of his first acts after being elected was to purchase a large, high table at which to hold his meetings. Those in attendance were to stand during meetings, and any latecomers were locked out. "It's to remind people we're here to get in and do our business and get out," he explained. In the 2004 election, Benson lost to Democratic challenger John Lynch—only the second time in 78 years that an incumbent New Hampshire governor was denied a second term—in a very close race, with Lynch securing just 51% of the vote.

Personal life

Benson resides in Rye, New Hampshire with his wife Denise. They have two daughters. Benson serves as an adjunct lecturer at

, his alma mater. In 1995, he was inducted into the college's Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.Faculty Profile: Craig R. Benson
Babson College. Retrieved on February 6, 2011.

Merrill Lynch settlement

In December 2020,

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

was ordered by the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities to pay $24 million in restitution to Benson, and an additional $2 million fine to the State of New Hampshire. Benson complained to the Bureau of Securities in early 2019 after suffering losses while the stock market was gaining. Benson also filed a complaint with

FINRA The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associat ...

which was settled with the Bureau case. The settlement is the largest in New Hampshire history, and second largest

settlement in a decade.

Electoral history

References

* Steen, Jennifer (2006).
Self-financed candidates in congressional elections
'. University of Michigan Press. .

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Craig 1954 births Living people Republican Party governors of New Hampshire Babson College alumni Martin J. Whitman School of Management alumni American businesspeople Politicians from New York City Babson College faculty People from Rye, New Hampshire Chatham High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Morris County, New Jersey