Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 20, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 33 2020 POWER 50 10 years and maintain 5,291 employees here for at least four years. What hap- pens after that is anyone's guess. There were whispers that Lynch was a proponent of keeping Aetna headquartered in Hartford when Bertolini had his heart set on Manhattan, but she's declined to comment about that. Beyond personnel decisions, Lynch now stands on the front lines of trying to make work one of the largest healthcare combinations in U.S. history that has promised to reshape the healthcare landscape by pairing a large drug store/pharma- cy-benefit manager with the third- largest U.S. health insurer. Ultimately, Lynch and Aetna will be judged by their ability to control healthcare costs and improve care quality. Geno Auriemma Many people know Geno Au- riemma as the UConn women's basketball coach, but he's also an entrepreneur having opened several restaurants and established a line of wines and homemade sauces, all ingrained with a touch of his Italian heritage. But it's his personal brand and suc- cess on the court that has made him an economic powerhouse in the state. He and former men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun not only raised the profile of UCo- nn's basketball programs but the university itself. Since Auriemma started coaching the women's team in the mid-1980s, UConn went from a strong state college, to a nationally recognized research university. If you don't think the success of UConn basketball had anything to do with that you're just plain naive. College sports are a big business and the publicity UConn has received from Auriemma's success is priceless. The Hall of Fame coach has led his team to 11 national championships, lifting UConn and women's basket- ball to new heights. Jay Williams A former mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, and member of the Obama administration, Jay Williams is still a relative newcomer to the region, having been named president of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in 2017. But he's already made an outsized impact, becoming a familiar face at commu- nity events and on the public- speaking circuit. Since arriving in Hartford he's also significantly lifted the profile of the founda- tion, which sits on a $1-billion community war chest, and developed a new strategic plan that focuses on push- ing the Hartford region to achieve greater racial, geographic and eco- nomic inclusion. Under Williams' leadership the foundation also introduced a new subsidiary focused on "impact investment," created a multimillion- dollar community fund, overhauled its aging technology infrastructure, and helped launch a fund in re- sponse to the coronavirus pandem- ic, among other changes. His launch of the HFPG Impact Greater Hartford investment arm, which supports affordable housing and economic development, repre- sented a pivot in the foundation's strategy, which has traditionally fo- cused on funding nonprofits or school districts in central Connecticut. Joe Brennan Joe Brennan's job hasn't been easy since he took over as president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & In- dustry Association in 2015. He's had to fight off con- tinued threats of tax hikes from a General Assembly and governor's office that have been trying to solve a decade-long budget crisis. Since a major tax increase in 2015, Brennan, with the back- ing of a vocal business com- munity, has been able to help fend off further significant tax hikes, while continuing to promote a healthy busi- ness climate, supportive of economic growth and job creation. The CBIA has been a powerful, more vocal lobbying force under Brennan's leadership, which will soon be ending. Brennan plans to retire in June, after spending most of his career at the CBIA. He's also president of CBIA's Educa- tion & Workforce Partnership, which supports STEM education in public schools and training programs. He's also served on numerous legislative and administrative task forces on state and local taxes, economic policy, manufacturing competitiveness and workforce readiness. Brennan is also on the board of CONNSTEP and the Governor's Prevention Partnership. Themis Klarides It's no secret that Connecticut's Re- publican Party has struggled in recent years. The GOP owns no Congressio- nal seats, while Democrats control the state House and Senate as well as the governor's mansion. Still, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides carries a big voice and represents the opposition party in what is a deep-blue state. She has also led the fight against and helped defeat, for now, one of Gov. Ned Lamont's key priorities — funding infrastructure investment by establishing highway tolls, which Klarides has argued is just another tax hike on residents. Klarides is serv- ing in her 10th term represent- ing a district that includes Wood- bridge, Orange and Derby. In 2015, she became the first woman chosen as House Republi- can Caucus Leader, where she's made state finances, job creation, and educa- tion and taxes some of her main issues. The Trinity College alum who has a law degree from Quinnipiac Uni- versity could also be a contender for the next governor's race in 2021. Michael Freimuth & Suzanne Hopgood The quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) in recent years has converted run- down Hartford office buildings into some 1,500 new apartment units. Michael Freimuth and Suzanne Hopgood have led that success. Both Freimuth, execu- tive director of CRDA, and Hopgood, chair of its board of directors, stepped into leadership roles at the economic develop- ment agency with backing from for- mer Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The state legislature created the agency in 2010. Under Fre- imuth and Hopgood, CRDA last year helped complete The Front Street District, which is home to UConn Hartford and part of the larger Adriaen's Landing revital- ization project downtown. CRDA's next task remains its toughest — figuring out what the city and state should do with down- town's aging XL Center. Freimuth and Hopgood have advocated for a major cash injection into the facility, but it hasn't fully come to fruition yet. Shana and Benjamin Schlossberg Shana Schlossberg broke into Hartford in 2016 with aspirations to build a new coworking, networking and incubator hub down- town to spur entrepre- neurship. With financial sup- port from Connecticut Innovations, the state's quasi-public venture arm, her company — Up- ward, located in downtown's Stilts Building at 20 Church St. — has connected a number of national and global startups to investors and various corporate partners. Numerous early stage companies that have participated in Upward's incubator have relocated to Hart- ford and/or are hiring staff here. Upward signed a 20-year lease for its 34,000-square-foot Stilts Building space with prominent Hartford land- lord Shelbourne Global LLC, for which Schlossberg's brother, Benjamin, is a 17 18 20 19 21 22 Michael Freimuth, Executive Director, Capital Region Development Authority Geno Auriemma, Coach, UConn Women's Basketball Karen Lynch, President, Aetna; Executive Vice President, CVS Health Joe Brennan, President and CEO, Connecticut Business & Industry Association House Minority Leader Themis Klarides Jay Williams, President, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Suzanne Hopgood, Board Chair, Capital Region Development Authority

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