Hartford Business Journal

28 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 28, 2021 "Prior to the pandemic, there was a palpable change in Hartford's mood, a discernible shift in how the city thinks of itself and of its future," Swift's op-ed in the Hartford Courant read. "The cloud that has hovered over the city since the late 1980s was lifting. Together, I know we will recapture that momentum as we finally put the deadly coronavirus behind us." Swift is another corporate CEO who has significantly ramped-up his civic engagement in recent years. He was one of three insurance executives in 2017 who declared that his company would give the city of Hartford millions of dollars over five years, to help with its dire financial issues. He was also a member of the state legislature-backed Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth. Swift also spearheaded a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign for the Boys and Girls Clubs' new recreation center in Hartford's South End. And last year his company provided a $1 million grant to help restore and rehabilitate 27 blighted homes in the city's Asylum Hill neighborhood. Swift was in the middle of a national business story in 2021, after he rejected several multibillion-dollar acquisition offers made by competitor Chubb Ltd. The proposed deal put Hartford and Connecticut political, business and civic leaders on edge, even prompting Mayor Luke Bronin and Gov. Ned Lamont to raise concerns about its potential impact on the city. Eboni Nelson Eboni Nelson took the reins of the University of Connecticut's School of Law in 2020, amid the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide reckoning with inequality within the justice system, and her profile seems poised to grow with the launch of several new programs and initiatives. Under Nelson's leadership, the law school has expanded its Master of Laws program with a new degree in governance, risk management and compliance, and established the Constance Belton Green Diversity Fund to support diversity, racial and social justice initiatives. Last fall she oversaw the launch of the Center on Community Safety, Policing and Inequality, which will research policy and recommend reforms related to law enforcement institutions and public safety. David Cordani David Cordani leads one of the country's largest health plans, Bloomfield- based Cigna Corp., and he's an outspoken proponent of private insurance being the best way to make affordable healthcare coverage more widely available in the U.S. He's also not been shy about weighing in on a range of healthcare topics. During a JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in January he spoke about how Cigna was targeting primary care as a key growth area, including virtual care. In another interview with Yahoo Finance last month, Cordani defended the role of pharmacy benefit managers, a space Cigna plays in. He's also been a strong opponent of public health insurance plans that have been proposed and/or discussed at the national and state levels, including in Connecticut. Cordani oversees over 4,000 employees in Connecticut and his company has reaffirmed its commitment to Bloomfield by recently completing a multimillion-dollar headquarters renovation, even though a majority of its workforce is still working remotely amid the pandemic. Cigna lately has also become a more active corporate citizen in the city of Hartford. It recently offered a $50,000 donation to the city's "Open Streets" program, an initiative that will clear select roads of vehicle traffic for up to six hours one Sunday per month, allowing residents and visitors to gather, walk, exercise or bike in the area, with the ultimate aim of promoting community health and stimulating business sales. Cigna also agreed to contribute to a $1.7 million supplemental loan pool designed to help fund private real estate developments in Hartford. Christopher Swift Christopher Swift — chairman and CEO of The Hartford, one of the largest property-and-casualty insurers in the country — is a major Hartford booster. When former GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowksi wrote a scathing op-ed about the city of Hartford in the Wall Street Journal last year, Swift responded with a strong defense of the city his company has called home for more than two centuries. In 2021 the Travelers Championship welcomed back a limited number of fans after not having live spectators a year earlier due to the pandemic. The tournament last year generated $2.2 million for more than 125 charities throughout the region. The tournament has contributed more than $45.5 million to the local community since its inception in 1952. A UConn graduate, his ties to Connecticut and the region are strong. He sits on several boards, including UConn and UConn Health. He's also vice chairman of the Capital Region Development Authority, which has been responsible for revitalizing downtown Hartford by funding about 2,500 new apartments. Bessette also owns a small place in American history. He was an Olympic hammer thrower who was supposed to participate in the 1980 summer games in Moscow before the U.S. boycotted the event. James Loree Stanley Black & Decker CEO and President James Loree is one of the state's top corporate executives who in recent years has become a leading voice in trying to improve Connecticut's business environment. Since taking over the New Britain hand- and power-tools maker's top job in 2016, Loree has inserted himself directly into state government's affairs. In 2017, he joined the CEO- led Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth, which proposed major reforms aimed at jump-starting Connecticut's economy, including an overhaul of the state tax code. He's also on the board of AdvanceCT, a nonprofit organization focused on recruiting and keeping businesses in the state. Most recently he was appointed to Gov. Ned Lamont's Governor's Workforce Council, which is trying to ensure Connecticut has a highly-educated workforce that employers need and want. The company made a splash in 2018 when it opened a technology and research center in downtown Hartford and helped launch the Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator on-site to groom global startups. Stanley Black & Decker recently wrapped up two significant acquisitions of lawnmower maker MTD and turf-care equipment firm Excel Industries. It also announced some recent layoffs, a result of supply chain and wage growth pressures experienced by many companies, Stanley officials said. 2022 POWER 50 17 18 19 20 James Loree David Cordani Chrsistopher Switf The law school has also launched a new website during Nelson's tenure and is currently engaged in an ambitious philanthropic campaign to mark its centennial, as well as a new strategic planning process. Aside from overseeing the law school's direction, she also serves as a professor, teaching on topics including contracts, commercial and consumer law, and race, class and education. Nelson came to Connecticut from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she taught from 2007 to 2020. For the two years leading up to her appointment at UConn, she was also associate dean for academic affairs. John Ciulla John Ciulla is leading Webster Bank through a period of consolidation and change. Ciulla is president and CEO of Webster Financial Corp. and Webster Bank. On Feb. 1, the bank closed on its merger with Sterling Bancorp of New York, a deal Ciulla has said provides a "compelling opportunity to create value for our stakeholders." Webster Bank will keep its name, but has relocated its headquarters to Stamford, while also maintaining a significant presence in its longtime home of Waterbury. The company now has approximately $65 billion in assets, $44 billion in loans and $53 billion in deposits based on balances as of Dec. 31, 2021. It operates 202 financial centers in the Northeast. Webster Bank recently reported that its total loan volume more than doubled to $175 million in calendar year 2021, up from $80 million in 2020. Ciulla has had a long career with Webster. He originally started working there in 2004 as senior vice president for middle market banking. He went on to have several leadership roles, including as chief credit risk officer from 2008 to 2010. He was promoted to executive vice president and head of middle market banking in 2011, then head of commercial banking in 2014, and to president in 2015. Ciulla became CEO of Webster in 2018. Ciulla also is a member of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association's board of directors, the state's largest business organization. Vincent J. Candelora & Kevin Kelly Rep. Vincent J. Candelora and Sen. Kevin Kelly are the top Eboni Nelson John Ciulla 21

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