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14 Hartford Business Journal • May 6, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com 14 Hartford Business Journal • May 6, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com C-SUITE AWARDS 2019 Ciulla 'supercharged' to reach high personal bar at Webster By John Stearns Special to the Hartford Business Journal J ohn Ciulla, president and CEO of Webster Financial Corp. and Webster Bank, helped lay the groundwork for record fi- nancial performance last year — his first as CEO at the Waterbury- based regional bank he joined in 2004. In 2016, while president under for- mer CEO James C. Smith, Ciulla was asked to lead what he called the most comprehensive bankwide, outside-in strategic review in his time at Web- ster. The examination included the outside banking landscape, where customer preferences were headed, the competitive landscape, technol- ogy's impact on the bank, the effect of its geographic expansion, and growth and profit opportunities. Strategic priorities that emerged: aggressively growing Webster's HSA Bank, continuing to expand com- mercial banking and continuing to transform and optimize community banking, Ciulla said. The project galvanized Webster's 3,400 bank- ers around specific strategic priori- ties and helped everyone know their responsibilities, what Webster aimed to accomplish for customers in each business line and how to get there, and set the table for what followed, he said. "I feel very much a principal, if you will, and an owner of that strategic project and the results of that proj- CATEGORY: CEO OF THE YEAR, 100 OR MORE EMPLOYEES John Ciulla President & CEO, Webster Bank Size of organization: 3,400 employees Education: Fordham Law School, J.D.; Columbia Business School, MBA Previous job(s): Bank of New York, Managing Director; McDermott Will & Emery and Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Associate. Continues on page 16 >> "I'm just fortunate to be on a great team with a great set of executives and 3,400 great bankers." PHOTO | HBJ FILE