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Jay Bellissimo 鈥�87, the Chief Operating Officer at Vonage, will deliver the Commencement address to the Saint Michael鈥檚 College Class of 2023 this spring, the College鈥檚 President Lorraine Sterritt has announced.

Jay Bellissimo 鈥�87, the Chief Operating Officer at Vonage, speaks to Saint Michael鈥檚 College students in 2019.

Bellissimo, a 1987 graduate of Saint Michael鈥檚, currently serves on the College鈥檚 Board of Trustees. He will receive an honorary degree during the Commencement ceremony on May 14.

Bellissimo has spent most of his 30-year career in the technology industry. He is a respected thought leader in business strategy and transformation, has been responsible for multibillion-dollar initiatives and has lectured around the world on Artificial Intelligence, including presenting at MIT twice on the impact of AI in business, government, and society.

鈥淔rom his days at Saint Michael鈥檚 and throughout his career beyond his College days, Jay has been a shining example of what we try to bestow upon our students as they enter the world after graduating 鈥� from finding purpose and serving others to working to make the world a better place,鈥� Sterritt said. 鈥淲e are thrilled to welcome Jay back home to Saint Michael鈥檚 so that he can spread that same message to the class of 2023.鈥�

As Chief Operating Officer at Vonage 鈥� a leader in global cloud communications 鈥� Bellissimo is responsible for leading Vonage鈥檚 sales and operations worldwide. In 2020, Bellissimo was named to FedScoop鈥檚 list of Best Bosses in Fed IT, and he received the 2021 Wash100 Award for leadership, driving company growth and advancing innovation in technology and cloud communications. Prior to Vonage, Bellissimo worked at IBM, where he eventually became General Manager of IBM鈥檚 U.S. Public and Federal Market and led IBM鈥檚 Latin American Services business based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Bellissimo holds a B.A. in Political Science from Saint Michael鈥檚 College. In 1995, he was inducted into the Saint Michael鈥檚 Athletic Hall of Fame, having been the hockey program鈥檚 all-time leading scorer at the time of induction. He was the first Ice Knight to ever reach the 100-point plateau, and he played a major role in the College鈥檚 three straight winning seasons between 1983 and 1986.

In addition to extensive volunteer work in his local community, Bellissimo has been a mentor throughout his career for both college students and young professionals. He enjoys returning to campus to pay forward the experiences that helped him thrive both at Saint Michael鈥檚 and beyond 鈥� a perfect example of the tight-knit and extensive alumni network willing to extend help and inspiration to current students.