Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 8, 2024 9 5 To Watch Brian Kane sits in his new office in Aetna's Farmington Avenue campus in Hartford. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER New Aetna President Kane embraces insurer's history and future: 'There are no plans for Aetna to leave Hartford' By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com A dd Brian Kane to the long list of people struggling to find a home in Connecticut. "There's literally nothing on the market," said Kane, a New York City transplant who, as of early December, temporarily settled in a West Hartford condo near the Bloom- field town line where he lives with his wife, Anna, their nine-month-old son, and mini-Dachshund dog Mallomar, named after the chocolate marshmallow cookie. Kane isn't your average homebuyer. In September, he started a new job as president of Hartford-based Aetna, the iconic 170-year-old health insurer and one of the city's largest employers and taxpayers. At a time when executives don't always live near their company's headquarters, Kane's decision to put down roots in Greater Hartford is significant. Many have wondered what Aetna's future in Hartford would be following CVS Health's 2018 purchase of the company. Recent layoffs at Aetna – part of a broader nationwide cost-cutting effort by CVS Health – created further unease. But Kane, 50, said he's bullish on Hartford and wants to reignite Aetna's role in the city, starting with getting more people back to the office on a consistent basis and bringing back to life the company's sprawling 1.7-million-square-foot corporate headquarters campus on Farmington Avenue. "There are no plans for Aetna to leave Hartford," Kane said during a recent sit-down interview at the company's Hartford campus. "I've moved my family here. We're committed. Our history and legacy are here, and so I don't think you can minimize that. We play an important role in the community. We have thou- sands of employees in Connecticut, many of whom are going to come back to the office, who haven't already, but we're going to see more and more come back to the office." He added: "I mean, it's hard to believe we've been here for 170 years, and getting people to focus on that and restoring the luster and pride of Aetna, is very important to me and the company." A history buff, Kane said he's taken time in his first few months on the job to learn about Hartford's history and Aetna's longtime role in it. During a two-day retreat with his senior exec- utive team at Aetna's headquarters, he brought in a historian from the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, who showed off artifacts and discussed the city's and Aetna's past. In mid-December, he had lunch with former Aetna CEO Jack Rowe, who led the company from 2000 to 2006. They broke bread in the eighth- floor dining room of Aetna's head- quarters, where Rowe used to host board meetings. "I want my executive team to be very tied into Hartford, to participate in the Hartford community, and you're going to see us be much more active in the community, whether it's joining not-for-profit boards, doing volunteer events, hosting more things at our campus," Kane said. He's a big believer of employees being in the office, arguing it helps build company culture and spurs collaboration and innovation. When he's not traveling, Kane said he's on the Hartford campus five days a week. Aetna in January 2023 implemented a two-day, in-office requirement for most employees. That changed to three days in office in September. Kane said he also wants to bring back many of the office amenities that went dark in recent years. That includes small things like a popcorn machine that was popular among employees. He also wants to restore a historic Austin Quadruplex organ that sits in Aetna's auditorium and have it played during company events. It was built by Hartford-based Austin Organs Inc. and purchased by Aetna about a century ago. "A lot of the amenities in the building got shut down for COVID and even before that, and we want to bring all those back in," Kane said. "It's hard to believe it was several years when people were out of the office, and so we are really focusing on bringing people back to Hartford and devel- oping a regular cadence around busi- ness meetings in person. And then really focusing a lot on what we have to do, which includes, importantly, the integration with CVS." Growing the business Kane in early December spent close to an hour with the Hartford Business Journal outlining his priori- ties for 2024 and beyond. Approachable and genial, Kane wore a gray suit paired with a baby blue tie, and a white dress shirt with sleeves bookended by cufflinks. He brings a notable resume to his new role. The Harvard MBA grad- uate spent 17 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., including time as a managing director in the investment banking division. BRIAN KANE President, Aetna Executive Vice President, CVS Health Education: Bachelor's degree in economics and political science, Stanford University; MBA, Harvard University Age: 50

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