Obituary of Salvatore D. Zaffino

Salvatore D. (Sal) Zaffino of Darien, Connecticut, and Newport, Rhode Island, entered eternal life on April 19th, 2020. He was born in New Rochelle, NY, to the late Salvatore and Carmella Zaffino on August 11th, 1945. Sal served his country as a sergeant in the United States Air Force and was honorably discharged in the late 1960’s. He was a highly respected business leader, spending more than 40 years in many senior positions in the insurance and reinsurance industry. Among these roles, he served as CEO of the Crump Companies in Memphis, TN, CEO of Sedgwick Re of London, England, and Chairman and CEO of Guy Carpenter, a subsidiary of the insurance giant Marsh and McLennan Companies. A defining moment of Sal’s career came on September 11th, 2001, during his tenure as CEO of Guy Carpenter, whose world headquarters were located in Two World Trade Center. He led the company through this enormously difficult period and received several awards globally for his personal contribution to restoring operations. Sal retired in 2009, after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He spent most of his time after retirement enjoying his family, consulting and living in Newport with his wife Marion of 54 years. Sal was also a committed philanthropist and was involved in several charities. In particular, he established a foundation benefitting HARC, in Hartford, Connecticut, in honor of his late grandson Alex. Sal’s great joy was his family nearly all of whom remain in or near his home in Connecticut. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son Peter and his wife, Kirsten, of Darien, Connecticut, his daughter Jacqueline Benton and her husband, Garrett, of Simsbury, Connecticut, and his son Jonathan and his wife, Marnie, of New Canaan, Connecticut, and his brother Nicholas Zaffino and his wife, Brenda, of Danbury, Connecticut. Sal’s 11 grandchildren are Gregory Zaffino of New York, NY, Caroline Zaffino and Brian Zaffino of Darien, Connecticut, the late Alex Benton, Anna Benton, and Connor Benton of Simsbury, Connecticut, Matthew Zaffino, Annie Zaffino, Laurel Zaffino, Lindsay Zaffino, and Charlie Zaffino of New Canaan, Connecticut. A private burial will take place in Simsbury, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, for those wishing to honor Sal’s memory, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation (Donation Page) in support of continued research to finding a cure for Parkinson’s or HARC – Alex Benton Foundation (Donation Page).