Hartford Business Journal

24 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 2023 POWER 50 G ov. Ned Lamont has been the state's top power player for the last four years but that title wasn't guaranteed in 2023. He tops the list again following his wide-margin electoral victory in November over GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski, which secured his second, four-year term in office. The former businessman turned politico is now in his fifth year in office, where he has said his main focus will be promoting economic growth. Buoyed by a sizable budget surplus and fully funded $3.4 billion rainy fund, Lamont has pitched several tax cut proposals this legis- lative session that would benefit the working poor, middle class and businesses. The proposals include restoring the state's pass-through entity tax credit to its original level of 93.01%. The tax credit percentage was reduced to 87.5% for taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2019. Lamont said the proposal will enable small business owners to save money by claiming a larger credit on their personal returns. "These changes we are proposing will help small businesses in Connecticut save money, which they can use to reinvest back into their establishments to support their continued growth and the develop- ment of new jobs," Lamont said. Annie Lamont is a successful healthcare venture capitalist and a close adviser to the governor. She is co-founder and managing partner of Stamford-based venture capital firm Oak HC/FT, where she focuses on growth equity and early-stage investments in healthcare and fintech companies. In an interview with the Hartford Business Journal last year, she described a straight-forward investor philosophy — "more access, higher quality, lower cost" — that leads her toward innovations in primary care. She has also worked to develop more women venture investors through an investor network called Tidal River. 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 H artford Business Journal this week unveils its 2023 Power Players list, a section that highlights private- and public- sector, nonprofit, higher education, real estate and health- care 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 fourth annual Power 50 class was chosen and ranked by our editorial staff. 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 are influential. The rankings include a mix of established players and some fresh faces to our region. We tried to emphasize diversity in people and industries. Also, in order to keep the Power Players issue fresh, we change at least 50% of the list annually. Some deserving individuals may have dropped off the list this year after being on it for consecutive years. Our Power Players issue has become a must-read, 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 welcome outside input. Greg Bordonaro Editor gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Meet Greater Hartford's 2023 Power Players

• Cover