In Brief: Hartford Funds Get Non-Exec Chairman

For the first time, an outside director is now the chairman of Hartford Mutual Funds.

The Hartford Financial Services Group unit said Tuesday that Robert M. Gavin Jr. will succeed Tom Marra, the president and chief operating officer of Hartford Life, who will remain a director.

Mr. Gavin is a former president of Macalaster College in St. Paul and was a director of the Fortis mutual funds, which were based there, for more than 15 years. Hartford acquired Fortis Financial Services Inc. in April 2001; Mr. Gavin joined the board of the Connecticut fund company in 2002.