Hartford Business Journal

38 Hartford Business Journal • April 20, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com 2020 POWER 50 Mouta has developed more than 1 million square feet in his na- tive Parkville neighborhood, where he is preparing to debut a $5.1-mil- lion food/shop- ping hall known as Parkville Market. Mouta, who also has a few real es- tate holdings downtown, is looking to bring an advanced- manufacturing hub to one of his vacant Parkville buildings. Bruce Mandell Bruce Mandell, owner and CEO of family owned direct-mail company Data-Mail Inc., employs roughly 1,000 people between loca- tions in Newington and Windsor, but that's not even his most notable job. Mandell, and partners Joseph Calafiore Jr. and Scott School- ey of Hartford Sports Group (HSG), launched the Hartford Athletic pro soccer club last year at a revitalized Dillon Stadium. The team's second season in 2020 is being delayed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. HSG brokered a deal with city and state officials to help overhaul the historic stadium as part of a $14-million renovation. The project, largely paid for by public financing, also received millions of dollars in funding from Mandell and his partners. The team is viewed as a commu- nity asset, but it's also trying to fig- ure out how to become a profitable business enterprise. It lost money in year one and didn't meet all of its attendance goals. Rohan Freeman Rohan Freeman, founder and presi- dent of Freeman Cos. LLC, epitomizes a steadfast entrepreneurial spirit. The Jamaica native in just a decade has built one of Greater Hartford's larg- est minority-owned engi- neer- ing firms specializing in land develop- ment, engineer- ing design and construction services. Freeman's firm is now leading a $20-million mixed-use rede- velopment project that will bring office and retail space and 50 new apart- ments to a long-vacant lot at the corner of Albany Avenue and Woodland Street in Hartford. The growth of his firm has been noticed. Freeman was recently named a board member of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. Charles Lee At The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Charles Lee oversees the work of more than 300 scien- tists drawing millions of dollars in annual federal funding for their genom- ics research. Lee's role is key to the success of Jax's 2014 expansion into Connecticut, which includes a prom- ise to invest $1 billion over a 20-year period. Jax is also a centerpiece to Connecticut's broader biosci- ence industry, which has seen job losses in recent years. Jax has recent- ly begun focusing on finding com- mercial applica- tions for its research, which could mean revenue in the years to come. Lee previously directed a molecu- lar genetic research unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachu- setts and a cytogenetics facility for Harvard University. In 2014, oddsmakers included Lee on a shortlist of Nobel Prize favorites for his 2004 discovery of widespread structural variation in the human genome and its associa- tion with specific diseases. Richard Rosenthal Many of the region's most powerful political and business leaders dine at a Max Restaurant Group eatery, so it's hard not to put the chain's founder and president on a power players list. Hartford na- tive Richard Rosenthal started the group back in 1986 when he opened his first bistro-style restaurant, Max on Main, on Main Street. Since then he's become one of the re- gion's most prolific restaurateurs, own- ing 10 indepen- dent and mostly upscale restau- rants, including two in Hartford, and a catering company. Governors, U.S. senators and top corporate CEOs have all dined at Rosenthal's sig- nature Max Downtown restaurant in Hartford's City Place skyscraper, which underwent a $1.5-million renovation in 2017, demonstrating a desire to remain on top at a time when consumers' tastes are always changing. Martin J. Kenny, Lexington Partners LLC Bruce Mandell, Owner and CEO, Data-Mail Inc. Rohan Freeman, Founder and President, Freeman Cos. LLC Charles Lee, Scientific Director, Jackson Laboratory Richard Rosenthal, Owner, Max Restaurant Group Carlos Mouta, Real Estate Developer 48 50 47 49 DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS CHANGING THE WAY THE GAME IS PLAYED? THE GAME IS PLAYED? VISIT WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/HBJ-EVENTS/40-UNDER-FORTY-AWARDS TO NOMINATE TODAY. GOLD SPONOSRS: PRESENTED BY: PLATINUM SPONSORS: NOMINATION DEADLINE: 5/21 FORTY 40 UNDER

• Cover