Hartford Business Journal

27 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 28, 2022 former Fuller Brush Co. property in Hartford's North End at 3580 Main St., which it hopes to upgrade to a better office/flex/warehouse space. Last June, Shelbourne and Waterbury-based Axela partnered to acquire downtown Hartford's Red Lion hotel for $22 million, and they plan to spend another $8 million converting the remaining guest rooms at the property into market- rate apartments. Finally, Shelbourne is one of the partners in the ongoing mixed- use, $100 million redevelopment of Hartford's Pratt Street corridor, which will add hundreds of new or refurbished downtown apartments. Jay Williams Since arriving at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in 2017, Jay Williams has significantly lifted the profile of the organization, which sits on a $1-billion community fund. He is currently leading the Foundation's efforts to dismantle structural racism, achieve equity and improve social and economic mobility in the region. In January the Foundation announced $125,000 in funding for seven public policy and advocacy groups working to make affordable, stable and higher-quality housing more accessible to low-income residents of color. In 2022 the Hartford Foundation plans to significantly expand its efforts to attract philanthropic resources to the region, through a variety of partnerships, affiliations, new products and approaches, Williams said. Williams serves on the boards of the MetroHartford Alliance, AdvanceCT and is a member of the Governor's Workforce Council. At the national level, he is a member of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network and sits on the board of the Council on Foundations. Prior to joining the Foundation, Williams, a former mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development where he led the federal economic development agenda for the United States. He also served as deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House and executive director of the federal Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers. Erin Stewart Politics is in Erin Stewart's blood. The daughter of four- the private liberal arts college that boasts a national reputation. Under Berger- Sweeney's leadership, Trinity completed a new strategic plan — called Summit — that will help guide the college toward its bicentennial in 2023. During her tenure, the college also established a new sexual misconduct task force and she helped get the Trinity- Infosys Applied Learning Initiative off the ground in 2019. The program incorporates elements of liberal arts and tech training. Most recently, it was announced in November that former Connecticut state treasurer and private equity executive Francisco Borges and his family would be donating $10 million to the college for scholarships. Berger-Sweeney said the gift will help Trinity better recruit and support top-flight students. Berger-Sweeney is a trained neurophysiologist who has contributed to more than 60 scientific publications. She is also a board member of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a private institution that has helped shape contemporary education and biomedical research. The recipient of numerous awards, Berger-Sweeney is also a member of the Behavioral Neuroscience Review Panel of the National Science Foundation. Benjamin Schlossberg Benjamin Schlossberg's New York-based real estate investment and development company Shelbourne Global Solutions has had the biggest impact on downtown Hartford's commercial real estate market over the past eight-plus years. Schlossberg's firm since 2014 has bought hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate downtown — including major class A office towers — becoming the center city's most dominant landlord. Its portfolio includes the iconic Stilts Building at 20 Church St., which it bought in 2014 for $44.4 million; the blue-windowed office tower at 100 Pearl St., purchased in 2015 for $36.9 million; and the Metro Center at 350 Church St., purchased in 2015 for $36.9 million. It also bought the Gold Building in partnership with LAZ Parking CEO Alan Lazowski. Shelbourne has also branched out to other property types. For example, last year it paid $4.3 million for the David Lehman & Peter Denious David Lehman and Peter Denious are the two most important figures in state government responsible for economic development and attracting new businesses to Connecticut. Lehman, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is the commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, in charge of the state's overall economic development strategy and policies. Denious, a former private equity exec, is the CEO of AdvanceCT, a not-for-profit entity that serves as the state's business recruitment arm. Over the past year, Lehman and Denious have helped spearhead efforts to attract several new companies to Connecticut, including Digital Currency Group, an investor in bitcoin and blockchain technology companies, which is moving its headquarters from New York City to Stamford with a pledge to create 300 jobs in exchange for up to $5 million in state aid. Lehman and Denious have said they see Connecticut as a good landing spot for other companies involved in blockchain technology. They've also worked to land data center operators in the wake of new incentives recently adopted by state lawmakers to woo that industry. Other companies that recently announced plans to relocate to Connecticut include: specialty components manufacturer ITT Inc., which is moving its headquarters to Stamford from White Plains, N.Y.; iCapital Network, a fintech company, is moving to Greenwich from New York; and tobacco giant Philip Morris International is relocating its headquarters to Stamford from New York. During the pandemic, Lehman has also been a top adviser to Lamont, and he's led efforts to shift the state's economic incentives strategy toward a performance-based, "earn-as-you- go" model, meaning employers won't reap state incentives until they create a certain number of jobs, or make a certain level of investment. Joanne Berger- Sweeney Inaugurated as Trinity College's 22nd president in 2014, Joanne Berger- Sweeney helped oversee several major accomplishments at 11 13 12 2022 POWER 50 David Lehman Joanne Berger-Sweeney Peter Denious Benjamin Schlossberg Jay Williams term New Britain Republican Mayor Timothy Stewart and niece of the late Dominic Badolato, who served 22 years in the General Assembly representing New Britain as a Democrat, Erin Stewart is serving her fifth term as the Hardware City's GOP mayor. Stewart — who is fiscally conservative while holding progressive views on issues like abortion and gay rights — was the youngest mayor of any U.S. city when she was first elected at 26 years old in 2013. The city's 40th mayor and second woman mayor, Stewart closed a deficit of more than $30 million during her first term and has touted the city's economic growth — including the development of new apartment buildings — as one of her greatest accomplishments. She has reached across the political aisle in forming her candidate slate every two years, running with several registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters. Stewart also has had higher political aspirations. Although she announced she wouldn't seek her party's support for governor this year, she is seen as a rising star in state Republican politics. Stewart waged an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018 and many believe the young mayor might make another run for the state's most coveted political job down the road. Stewart and her husband, Dominic Mutone, have a young daughter Lina. The mayor is a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers football fan and used to be a softball coach and baton twirler instructor at New Britain High School. Andy Bessette Andy Bessette has long been one of Hartford's top boosters. As executive vice president and chief administrative officer of property- and-casualty insurer Travelers Cos., which has major operations in downtown Hartford, he has myriad duties, including overseeing corporate real estate, administrative services, community relations, event management and sports sponsorships. He's been one of the top leaders who has helped turn Cromwell's Travelers Championship into one of the PGA Tour's best-run tournaments, attracting some of the world's best professional golfers from around the world, while raising millions of dollars for charity. Erin Stewart 14 15 16 Andy Bessette

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