Neil DeSena
To our SenaHill family –
It is with immense sorrow that we write to inform everyone that our friend, partner, wonderful husband and most cherished father of three beautiful children, Neil DeSena, passed away on Saturday. He was an original and truly one of a kind. There are no words, and we will all miss Neil terribly. We are all better people for having known Neil and having him in our lives. It has been an honor working side-by-side with such an amazing man over the past four years and observing all the greatness he created, the people he touched and influenced and the indelible impact he left on everyone. We want to thank everyone for their sincere outpouring of love these past few days, and for those who have shared remarkable personal stories of Neil and the inspirational mark he has left behind for us all.
The empty presence at our first partners meeting without Neil this morning was the toughest moment we’ve ever known in our careers. His vision, spirit, creativity, kindness, integrity and passion were ever present. We can never replace him, but we will strive to embody his ideals as the mantra of our journey forward, bearing his great name with the utmost of pride, and doing so for him, our SenaHill family and the whole FinTech community. He was a great man of the highest character and integrity. Neil’s legacy will shine bright and long at SenaHill. In these circumstances, it’s natural to wonder what impact this will have on the firm. While none of us have fully grasped the cultural and spiritual impact, we want everyone to know that we are in business, we are strong, and we will continue to strive for excellence. It’s what Neil envisioned and would want. All of the partners are as committed as ever to SenaHill, and the whole firm has the inspired responsibility of Neil’s legacy to protect and grow.
Neil’s initial vision for SenaHill will endure and is a testament to who he was… an out-of-the box thinker, leader and human being. He recognized that although his career was always about building technology, it was really people who made all the difference. That ideal, and love for innovation drove him to launch SenaHill, and create the first of its kind lifecycle solutions business to advise and invest strategically in the FinTech arena. His intention was always to fill the void on Wall Street by accelerating technology adoption and innovation by the Financial Services industry. The key ingredient was to gather a team of experienced operators and entrepreneurs to join him, and surround the firm with a wide network of elite advisors. People, people, people – he was always about the people. He always understood the importance of this, and we want to honor his legacy and continue to build on that foundation.
We are committed to being there for the DeSena family during this incredibly difficult time, and want to be as communicative and available with our extended SenaHill family as we navigate this uncharted water. We also wanted to pass along the funeral details for those of you that would like to share in the celebration of Neil’s illustrious and impactful life that has ended much too soon.
Justin, Kyle, Gregg, and the full SenaHill team
Funeral Details:
Visitation
Friday, February 17th
4:00 to 8:00 pm
Thompson Memorial Home
310 Broad Street
Red Bank, NJ 07701
(732) 747-026
Mass
Saturday, February 18th
10:00 am
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
979 Avenue C
Bayonne, NJ 07702
(201) 436-2222
In honor of Neil and his love of gardening, please consider a donation to the Neil & Carolyn DeSena Foundation where monies will be used to build new community gardens that will grow and blossom in memory of Neil. Please send donations to SenaHill Partners Attn: Joe DiMaio at 113 East River Road, Suite A1, Rumson NJ 07760.