Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 35 2023 POWER 50 and will spend millions more on future projects. For example, it plans to add a 25,000-square-foot production building. Scott joined Birdon in November 2021 to lead business strategy, future direction, performance and growth in the United States. Prior to that, he held a variety of executive manage- ment and operational roles with Bechtel Group Inc. He also had a 21-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is a grad- uate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Ashley Kalinauskas Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc. CEO and co-founder Ashley Kalinauskas founded her company in 2013 with the mission of developing a cancer vaccine for animals. The 33-year-old entrepreneur has made significant strides since that time developing new products to help pets diagnosed with cancer and other immune diseases. Torigen raised $13 million in 2022 and is focusing this year on devel- oping new therapeutics to help dogs and cats with immune-mediated diseases, including dry-eye and lymphoma, among others. In a recent interview with the Hart- ford Business Journal, Kalinauskas said the company's goal "is to create the industry's first oncology toolbox for veterinarians." Torigen – which is in the process of developing an animal cancer vaccine called VetiVax – inked several partnerships in 2022, including with Vidium Animal Health to offer veterinarians cancer diagnosis and treatment services for dogs, cats and horses. Vidium Animal Health has experi- ence in veterinary cancer pathology and offers genomic diagnostic testing. Torigen also produces an experi- mental cancer immunotherapy, a type of individualized treatment that uses an animal's own tumor cells to create an anti-tumor immune response. In the summer of 2022, Torigen announced a distribution agreement with MWI Animal Health, a national distributor of animal health products and services. In 2022, Torigen created personal- ized vaccines for 928 dogs, 91 cats, 112 horses, one bear and a donkey. The company recently signed a lease for a 9,090-square-foot building at 6 Executive Dr., in Farmington. Kalinauskas started Torigen based off her graduate thesis project at the University of Notre Dame. She graduated from UConn in 2012 with an undergraduate degree in Roberta Wachtelhausen Roberta "Bert" Wachtel- hausen is the president of WellSpark Health, a Farmington provider of corporate well- ness programs that announced major expansion plans in 2021. At the end of last year she added another title to her resume: interim president of Farmington health insurer ConnectiCare. She took over the job following the departure of Karen Moran. WellSpark is a ConnectiCare affiliate. They are both owned by New York's EmblemHealth. The fact that ConnectiCare elevated Wachtelhausen to the top spot, even if it was on an interim basis, reflects her status within the company and industry. She was previously ConnectiCare's chief sales marketing officer and has over three decades of senior leadership experi- ence at national and regional health plans, including Cigna, Meritain and LifeCare. She also co-founded a health benefits startup, Averde Health. Her main focus in recent years has been trying to grow WellSpark's share of the corporate wellness program market. WellSpark's offerings — which focus on several areas, including health coaching and disease preven- tion, particularly related to chronic diseases like diabetes and hyperten- sion — have seen growing demand as employers put an emphasis on keeping their workers healthy. Robert Scott Last spring, Birdon America paid $5.2 million for two marinas in Portland, giving this American arm of an Australian defense contractor 31 acres along the Connecticut River. This is where Birdon plans to build out a facility to fulfill a 10-year contract worth up to $203 million to refurbish the U.S. Coast Guard's fleet of 47-foot-long rescue boats. Birdon American President Robert Scott is leading that effort and aims to hire 37 employees by the close of 2023 for the Portland location. That includes new staff to help fulfill the Coast Guard contract and future marine contracts, as well as maintenance of the recreational marinas on-site. Birdon has already spent millions repairing and retrofitting buildings, health care that made it possible for the school to introduce new majors in construction management, tech- nology and aerospace, and to expand offerings for nursing and healthcare professions. Woodward recently said there would be additional new programs added in the years ahead. Paul O. Robertson As the new chair of the state's Social Equity Council, Paul Robertson is playing a key role in trying to make sure Connecticut's burgeoning cannabis industry grows fairly. Adult-use cannabis sales launched in January and reached the $2-million mark within about a week. Gov. Ned Lamont picked Robertson, who is deputy commissioner of the state Depart- ment of Economic and Community Development (DECD), to serve as council chair starting in 2023, replacing Andrea Comer in the role. Robertson has worked with Comer and council members to try to lay the groundwork for an equitable cannabis entrepreneurship ecosystem. He serves on the council as the designee of the DECD commissioner and brings experience and strong relationships with council members, according to Lamont. Robertson said he plans to work alongside other council members and partner agencies to try to ensure the adult-use cannabis market grows equitably. That includes trying to ensure that funds from cannabis sales and license fees are brought back to the communities hit hardest by the war on drugs. The Social Equity Council includes 15 members and was created in 2021 when lawmakers decided to legalize adult-use cannabis. Robertson was named deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of DECD in February 2022. In that position, he oversees the DECD's business development, government affairs, tourism, marketing and communications. His background also includes serving as chairman of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau and senior vice presi- dent of corporate development at Connecticut Public Broadcasting. He also served in other broad- casting management and sales posi- tions at Radio Disney Connecticut, IMG Learfield, NBC Connecticut and CBS Radio (Audacy) in Farmington. too slow. I need to hurry up and get into those areas." Rhona Free & Gregory Woodward University of St. Joseph President Rhona Free and University of Hart- ford President Gregory Woodward lead West Hartford-based private universities that have faced similar issues: Both are working to boost enrollment; they've signed off on new campus buildings; and have made news with their sports programs, albeit for different reasons. Free, president since 2015, recruited some high-profile staffers to the once all-women college. That included Hall of Fame former UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun, who helped launch USJ's men's basket- ball program. He stepped away from coaching in 2021 and is still an advisor to Free. In addition, USJ opened a new $16-million sports and recreational venue for men's and women's basketball and student use in late 2021. And, in the last few years the university launched six Division III men's teams in basketball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming/ diving, tennis and men's basketball. At UHart, Wood- ward faced some public backlash in 2021 when the university's Board of Regents announced the transition of the school's athletics program from NCAA Division I to Division III. Some students, alum and sports fans expressed displeasure with the move. It even led to a student-led lawsuit claiming UHart "reneged on its commitment" to student-athletes. Throughout it all, Woodward has not wavered in his support for the transition, which he said is a neces- sary cost-cutting move. The school's 17 athletic programs are currently competing in Division I but are not in a conference, while they await the move to Division III. Both presidents have also over- seen several expansion efforts. Free has led the transition from five schools to three; the start of a physi- cian assistant studies program; the relocation of the school's pharmacy doctorate program from downtown Hartford to West Hartford; the launch of the Catholic Promise Scholarship; and the creation of the Women's Leadership Center. Woodward, president since 2017, oversaw the opening in late 2021 of the 60,000-square-foot Hursey Center for advanced engineering and 41 42 Rhona Free Paul O. Robertson Roberta Wachtelhausen Gregory Woodward 44 45 Robert Scott Ashley Kalinauskas 43

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