Elms College Appoints Richard Meelia as Trustee

CHICOPEE — The Elms College board of trustees appointed Richard Meelia, principal of Meelia Ventures, LLC, as a new member of the board.

“I am delighted that Richard Meelia has accepted our invitation to serve on our board,” said Elms College President Harry Dumay. “I look forward to working with him and seeing how his business experience will contribute to our strategic thinking.”

From July 2007 until his retirement in July 2011, Meelia served as chairman, president, and CEO of Covidien, an $11 billion global healthcare-products company, following its separation from Tyco International in June 2007. Prior to that separation, Meelia served in a variety of senior leadership roles, including CEO and president of Tyco Healthcare.

“I look forward to serving on the Elms College board of trustees and working with board Chair Cynthia Lyons and the entire board,” Meelia said.

In addition to his business experience, Meelia has a passion for student experiential learning. He funded the Meelia Center for Student Engagement and Volunteerism at Saint Anselm College and has provided support to establish the Srs. Kathleen Keating and Maxyne Schneider Experiential Learning Fund at Elms College.

Meelia is the chairman of the board of Haemonetics, a global provider of blood and plasma supplies and services located in Braintree. He is also a member of the board of directors of several organizations, including St. Francis House in Boston, the largest day shelter in Massachusetts; Por Cristo, a Brighton nonprofit dedicated to improving the health of poor children and their families in Ecuador; and Conformis, a knee-replacement manufacturer in Billerica. He has served on the board of trustees of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.