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40 Hartford Business Journal • August 10, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com 40 UNDER FORTY 2020 Karen Sills Age: 38 Company: Prudential Financial Inc. Title: Vice President, Corporate Counsel No. of years with current company: 9 Town where I live: West Hartford Town where I work: Hartford College: Princeton University Highest degree: Law degree K aren Sills is vice president and corporate counsel in Prudential Financial's Retire- ment division and is responsible for providing a wide range of proactive legal advice. She leads a team of at- torneys that supports Retirement's investment products businesses, including both market value invest- ments and industry-leading stable value platform. As a young woman in an industry still disproportionately male (both law and financial services), Sills has es- tablished herself as a trusted advisor, technical expert and skilled manager. Four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty: • Advise on complex multimil- lion- and billion-dollar investment transactions requiring expertise in multiple legal disciplines. • Provide legal advice for invest- ments available to millions of indi- viduals who invest over $150 billion through their retirement plans. • As secretary of Prudential Retire- ment Insurance and Annuity Co., I am a senior officer of a multibil- lion-dollar company. • Recognized as a leader in my field — led discussions at the ALI-CLE Conference on investment prod- ucts and Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference. Annisa Teich Age: 37 Companies: Founder — The Small Business Collective; Co-Founder + Managing Director — Bromleigh Ventures (Parent company of West Hartford Coworking) No. of years with companies: 3; 1 Town where I live: West Hartford Town where I work: Hartford College: Rutgers University Highest degree: Bachelor's degree in journalism and Italian A fter moving to West Hart- ford in 2015, Annisa Teich was struck by the area's small business community. Leverag- ing her experience working in New York City's Silicon Alley, she founded a marketing firm, The Small Busi- ness Collective, in late 2017 focused on launching and supporting small and micro businesses. In March 2019, she formed Brom- leigh Ventures with her mother and fellow entrepreneur Annette Farese, focused on changing the percep- tions of ailing downtowns and com- mercial neighborhoods. Four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty: • Founded and operate two busi- nesses with the singular goal of supporting small businesses throughout our region. • Doubled annual revenue and staff of The Small Business Collective during the height of COVID. • Support and advocate for better workplace treatment and flexibil- ity for working mothers. • Work to raise Hartford's national profile from the ground up, elevat- ing the small business community in our region vs. looking for others to come "save" us. Meghan E. Smith Age: 39 Company: Kahan Kerensky Capossela LLP Title: Partner No. of years with current company: 5 Town where I live: Ashford Town where I work: Vernon College: Gettysburg College Highest degree: Law degree M eghan E. Smith was pro- moted to partner at Ka- han Kerensky & Capossela LLP in just under five years. She has worked hard to build her practice in business law and commercial real estate. Smith has extensive experience handling commercial and residen- tial real estate transactions, com- mercial and residential landlord tenant matters, business forma- tion and contract drafting, review and negotiation. She negotiates purchases and sales of businesses and assists clients in transitioning businesses to the next generation. Four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty: • Recently named a partner at Kahan Kerensky Capossela LLP in just under five years, helping to grow the firm. • Provides pro bono legal assistance to local veterans in need in multiple areas of law. • Serves on the board of directors of four nonprofit organizations. • Has a history of giving back to the community through civic organi- zations, along with recognition of that through the Statesman Award for extraordinary dedication.