Hartford Business Journal

32 Hartford Business Journal • April 20, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com 2020 POWER 50 Mark Boxer and David Cordani When state lawmakers were consider- ing adopting a public health insurance plan for Connecti- cut residents and businesses last year, Cigna Corp. CEO David Cordani report- edly threatened to uproot his Bloomfield- based health insurer and relocate it else- where. The legislation died that same day. Cigna denied any threat was made, but the episode still underscored the power health insurers have in Connecticut, where they still remain one of the region's largest employ- ers. Cordani oversees 4,700 employees in Connecti- cut and following that reported flare up, his company has reaffirmed its commitment to Bloomfield, kicking off a $90-million-plus campus renovation. In 2011, he was also able to negotiate a $50-million economic- incentives package from the Malloy administration in exchange for mov- ing the company's corporate head- quarters to Bloomfield and increasing the company's employment in the state to more than 4,000. More broadly, Cordani is a na- tional leader when it comes to talks about healthcare reform, having met face to face with President Barack Obama to discuss public health insurance exchanges. Mark Boxer is Cigna's executive vice president and chief information officer and one of the most active corporate C-suite executives locally. He's a member of the UConn board of trustees and serves on the board of the Connecticut Children's Law Cen- ter. Just as important, he's been part of several convoys that convinced two major tech firms — Infosys and GalaxE.Solutions — to open major operations in downtown Hartford. Paul Mounds and Josh Geballe A new governor's earliest hires are usually for consequential, inner- circle roles. Among Gov. Ned Lamont's initial batch of appointments in Dec. 2018, was Paul Mounds, who he named chief operating officer, a newly created gov- ernment role envisioned as an overseer and coordinator of state agencies. Just over a month later, Lamont named software entre- preneur Josh Geballe as com- missioner of the Department of Ad- ministrative Services, which, despite its dry name, is a crucial overseer of state contracts and purchasing. Lamont would promote each man about 16 months later. Mounds had reported to Lamont's chief of staff Ryan Drajewicz, but in February, Drajewicz depart- ed the administration and Lamont named Mounds as his successor, placing him in perhaps the most key paid role in the gover- nor's office. Soon after, Lamont tapped Geballe to fill Mounds' former role, even as Geballe continued to lead DAS. The promotions saw both men thrust into coordinating Lamont's strategy and interagency response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, a pandemic that quickly brought the state and national economies to their knees. Christopher Swift When the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford wanted to raise $18 million for a new recreation facility in the South End of Hartford, the non- profit's executives needed a strong leader to help champion the fund- raising campaign. They turned to Chris- topher Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hart- ford, one of the largest property-and-casualty insurers in the country. Not only did Swift chair the fundraising campaign, but The Hartford also donated $1 million to the cause. Swift represents another cor- porate CEO who has significantly ramped-up his civic engagement. He was one of three insurance ex- ecutives in 2017 who declared that his com- pany would give the city of Hart- ford $50 million over five years, to help with its dire financial issues. He was also a member of the state legislature-backed Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth. At his day job, Swift has contin- ued to bring stability and growth to a major Hartford employer that teetered on the edge of destruction during the 2008 financial crisis. He's made several major deals since becoming CEO, including buying Aetna's U.S. group life and disability business for $1.45 billion and paying $2.1 billion for Stamford global specialty underwriter The Navigators Group Inc. William Tong Former Democratic state Rep. William Tong in fall 2018 won a tightly contested three-way primary to eventually become Connecticut's first Asian-American attor- ney general. Succeeding retiring Attorney General George Jepsen, Tong's office has investigated and filed lawsuits against some of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers for alleged price-fix- ing and market- share collusion. His office has also fiercely fought the opioid epidemic, sought to enforce envi- ronmental pro- tection standards, and staunchly op- posed proposed mega-mergers between telecommunications giants T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. In fiscal 2018-19, Tong's office said it generated $773.6 million in rev- enues for the state of Connecticut via hundreds of lawsuits, claims and administrative proceedings. He's also been a major legal foe to the Trump administration. Alan Lazowski Alan Lazowski's corner office recently moved to Hartford's Gold Building at 1 Financial Plaza. It's an ap- propriate perch since Lazowski struck gold when he started LAZ Parking in 1981, taking a small loan from his grandfather back then and creat- ing a parking-operator empire today. LAZ operates over a million park- ing spaces in thousands of loca- tions across the country, normally with 15,000 employees. However, Lazowski is managing headwinds right now from the coronavirus, which has led to wide- spread event cancella- tions, which means far less demand for LAZ's parking lots. The company has furloughed a significant number of employees in response. Lazowski has his hands in many economic-development projects in Hartford. He and New York landlord Shelbourne Global LLC teamed up in 2019 to buy the Gold Building for $70.5 million, and are partners, with developer Marty Kenny, on a planned $100-million redevelopment of downtown's Pearl Street corridor. The son of Holocaust survivors, he serves as a member of the United States Holocaust Museum's Coun- cil appointed by President Obama. He also serves on the boards of the Anti-Defamation League, NAACP, Conscious Capitalism, Greater Hart- ford Jewish Federation, Connecticut Immigrant & Refugee Coalition, Bushnell Theater, Goodwin College Foundation, Jordan Porco Founda- tion for Suicide Prevention and Chabad House of Greater Hartford. Karen Lynch Hartford health insurer Aetna is one of Hartford's and Connecticut's oldest corporate residents but its presence here hasn't been guaran- teed in recent years. Former CEO and Chairman Mark Bertolini threatened to move the company's headquarters to New York City, a plan that fizzled after Aetna agreed to be purchased by Rhode Island-based CVS Health in late 2018 for $69 billion. Following that deal, Karen Lynch took over as president of the health insurer. Lynch, who is also CVS Health's executive vice president, is now a major player in determining Aetna's future presence in Connecti- cut. CVS has pledged to keep Aetna's headquarters in Hartford for at least 11 12 13 14 15 16 David Cordani, CEO, Cigna Corp. Paul Mounds, Chief of Staff, Gov. Ned Lamont Alan Lazowski, CEO, LAZ Parking Mark Boxer, Executive Vice President, Cigna Christopher Swift, Chairman and CEO, The Hartford William Tong, Attorney General, State of Connecticut Josh Geballe, Chief Operating Officer, State of CT

• Cover