[2] He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and received his Master of Business Administration through First Chicago's First Scholar program from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.Connolly was appointed Deputy Secretary of State and later Director of the Bureau of Securities Regulation under Secretary of State William Gardner, where he oversaw cases against Tyco International, Ameriprise, ING, Pennichuck Corp., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS, netting more than $55 million in securities fines and investor restitution.[4] After resigning from the Bureau of Securities Regulation in 2010, Connolly became owner and principal of New Castle Investment Advisors, LLC, an asset management firm, located in Portsmouth, NH.On November 5, 2015, Connolly announced what would ultimately be an unsuccessful bid in the Democratic primary election for Governor of New Hampshire.[8] Connolly died on April 13, 2019, in Rancho Mirage, California due to complications from a sudden brain hemorrhage.