Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 20, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 35 2020 POWER 50 the value of skills taught at liberal- arts colleges like Trinity, Berger- Sweeney is over- seeing a slew of new and innova- tive programs. The Trinity- Infosys Applied Learning Initia- tive Berger- Sweeney began last year with tech giant Infosys provides training to new Infosys employees who are starting out as entry-level business analysts. The program incorporates elements of liberal arts along with tech training. Under Berger-Sweeney, Trinity also introduced an urban planning gradu- ate program and a new downtown Hartford campus, which is home to an innovation lab and other programs. In March, Berger-Sweeney ad- opted remote learning for the rest of the spring semester in response to the coronavirus pandemic. John Ciulla It was no shock when John Ciulla was named Webster Bank CEO in 2017. The board and management of the Waterbury-based bank and its parent Webster Finan- cial had been grooming the longtime executive for the top spot for years, part of a leadership succession plan for when Jim Smith ultimately retired from his CEO and chairman roles, which happened in early 2018 and early 2020, respectively. Now, Ciulla is just the third CEO at the 84-year-old publicly traded regional lender, which he first joined in 2004, climbing the ranks to president in 2015. While Ciulla commutes to Water- bury from his home in Westchester County, he's well connected in Hart- ford's business and political power circles. He chaired the board of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association in 2017, and in early 2019, a newly inaugurated Gov. Ned Lamont turned to Ciulla for help packaging interest-free loans for furloughed government employees during a federal shutdown that ulti- mately lasted more than a month. The stakes were much higher when Lamont called on Ciulla and his fellow bankers about 14 months later, as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic effectively shuttered the state economy, creating a need for mortgage and loan forbearance arrangements for those facing financial hardships. Jack Barnes People's United Financial Chair- man and CEO Jack Barnes sits in the corner office of Connecticut's largest home-state bank. Although based in Bridgeport, Barnes has had his eye increasingly on Greater Hartford, re- cently acquiring two major commu- nity banks in the region. Under his watch, People's has spent more than $1.3 billion in the past few years gobbling up Farming- ton Bank and Hartford-based United Financial Bancorp. Today, Barnes oversees 183 full-service offices and more than 3,000 em- ployees in Con- necticut alone. It trails only Bank of America in state deposits. Barnes has said he welcomes discussions with any bank looking for a suitor, as persistent low inter- est rates and the constant need to invest in technology causes smaller lenders to cast their gaze toward the scale and market power that a regional bank with $43.6 billion in deposits can offer. David Griggs and Larry McHugh Chambers of commerce have arguably lost their luster over the last decade as their memberships have waned in Connecti- cut and nationally. But two chambers that have either withstood the test of time or gotten a shot in the arm recently are the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, led by Larry McHugh, and MetroHart- ford Alliance, led by David Griggs. McHugh has by far the most ac- tive chamber in Connecticut with more than 2,000 members, and his monthly meetings are typically headlined by top statewide or even nationally known business, political and other leaders. A former high school teacher and football coach, McHugh is also known as one of UConn's biggest boosters, having served as the school's board of trust- ees chairman from 2009 to 2017. In 2018, the school named an academic build- ing after him — Lawrence D. McHugh Hall. Griggs is a rel- ative newcomer to the state hav- ing taken over the Alliance in 2018. Since then, he's completely reshaped the organization, turning it more into an economic-develop- ment entity that is playing a larger role in recruiting companies and talent to Greater Hartford. Just as important, Griggs has the backing of major downtown corporations, including Travelers Cos., which have poured more money into the Alli- ance to support its new mission. The Winstanleys Connecticut's hot industrial real estate market — spurred by demand for last-mile warehouse space from e-commerce giants like Am- azon — has been a boon to the state's economy, kickstarting job creation and new construction across the region. And few have capitalized on the growing industry like David Win- stanley and his sons, Adam and Carter. Owners of the family run realty shop, Winstan- ley Enterprises LLC, the Mass.- based firm is Connecticut's largest owner of warehouses. The family, which has of- fices in Hartford, New Haven and Bristol, recently solidified its local prowess by buying J.C. Penney's former Manchester dis- tribution center, and numerous warehouses and shopping centers operated by Stop & Shop. The firm is also planning to build 500,000 square feet of laboratory and life-sciences incuba- tion space in downtown New Haven and is developing the long-awaited Great Pond mixed-use development in Windsor. Jim Smith and Bob Patricelli It's not just anyone who can talk state lawmakers into giving them a months-long spotlight for their public policy ideas, but Bob Patricelli and Jim Smith have been at the top of Connecticut's corporate influencer food chain for years. Each has been a promi- nent business builder, earning many millions of dollars in the process. Bent on tackling Con- necticut's fixed costs and liability burdens, the two hatched a plan in 2017 to form the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth, re- cruiting other Hartford-area execs to stick their necks out into the thorny realm of public policy. As expected, their privately funded commission's policy agenda was con- troversial calling for major spending cuts, union givebacks, lowering of the top income tax rate, a higher minimum wage and modest road tolls. Though lawmakers didn't take immediate action on the report, fol- lowing his election, Gov. Ned Lamont quickly named Smith co-chair of the revamped Connecticut Economic Re- source Center (now called AdvanceCT) and also supported tolls and a mini- mum wage hike — and no tax rate increases — in his first year in office. Smith recently wrapped a 30-plus-year career at Webster Fi- 29 31 30 32 33 Joanne Berger- Sweeney, President, Trinity College John Ciulla, CEO, Webster Bank Jack Barnes, Chairman and CEO, People's United Financial Bob Patricelli, Philanthropist & Entrepreneur Jim Smith, Co-chair, AdvanceCT David Winstanley, Winstanley Enterprises LLC Adam Winstanley, Winstanley Enterprises LLC Carter Winstanley, Winstanley Enterprises LLC Larry McHugh, President, Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce David Griggs, President & CEO, MetroHartford Alliance

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