Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1455435
21 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 28, 2022 2022 POWER 50 G ov. Ned Lamont and Annie Lamont are arguably the state's foremost power couple. Both are accomplished executives and entrepreneurs. Gov. Lamont has been the state's top power player for the last three years but his ability to hold that title will face its toughest challenge yet in 2022 — reelection. The former businessman turned politico is now in his fourth year in office. And while a failed tolls policy push marred his first year as governor, his term will likely be defined by the way he's led Connecticut through the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 2020 to December 2021, Lamont mostly received high marks for his handling of the pandemic, taking bold actions early on to stop the spread of the virus, then relaxing restrictions more quickly than other blue states as infection rates slowed and vaccination rates soared. Perhaps the biggest threat to Lamont's reelection chances is a federal investigation into his budget office. In October, his deputy secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, Konstantinos Diamantis, resigned after being placed on paid leave over an allegation of misconduct, and now the school construction grants program he oversaw is being probed by the FBI. Beyond COVID-19, Lamont has scored some major political victories, including increasing the state's minimum wage, creating a paid family medical leave program for private-sector workers, and legalizing recreational marijuana, sports betting and online casino gaming. He has also overseen budget surpluses, with the help of federal stimulus dollars. He's also proposed about $336 million in tax cuts this legislative session. Annie Lamont is a successful healthcare venture capitalist and a close adviser to the governor. She is co-founder and managing partner of Greenwich venture capital firm Oak HC/FT, where she focuses on growth equity and early-stage investments in healthcare and fintech companies. Oak HC/FT has come under the spotlight in recent months because it is an investor in Sema4, a Stamford-based biotech company that received a multimillion-dollar no- bid contract to perform coronavirus antigen testing in the state. Republicans and others have raised concerns about a conflict of interest. The Lamonts have said they will donate "any benefit that they may derive from the contract" to charity. According to her bio, Annie Lamont has appeared on the Forbes Midas List, Institutional Investor's FinTech Finance 40 list, and the Top 100 Venture Capitalist rankings published by CB Insights and The New York Times. Ned & Annie Lamont 1 Meet Greater Hartford's 2022 Power Players H artford Business Journal this week is unveiling its 2022 Power Players list, a section that highlights 50 private- and public-sector, nonprofit, higher education, real estate and healthcare officials in Greater Hartford who are not only top leaders within their organizations but also of the broader business community. Power comes in a variety of forms. You can be a CEO, government leader, college president, run a nonprofit, regulate an industry or be an important cog in a highly visible project, issue or trend. HBJ's third annual Power 50 class was chosen and ranked by our news team. This is not an awards section. We identified newsmakers and movers and shakers who are having a broad impact within the region and state. In each profile, we explain who the individuals are and why they were chosen for the list. The rankings include a mix of established players as well as some fresh faces to our region. We tried to emphasize diversity in people and industries. It's important to highlight these leaders not as a vanity project but as a way to bring Greater Hartford's business community together — especially at a time when many in-person events still remain sidelined as a result of the pandemic. Hopefully that will change in the months ahead. Our Power Players issue has quickly become a popular must-see section, so if you have ideas for who should be on next year's list please let us know. We don't accept nominations but we certainly seek outside input. Greg Bordonaro Editor gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com