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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 4, 2024 41 14 Bobala Road 3rd Floor Holyoke, MA 01040 Tel: 413.536.3970 Headquarters 280 Trumbull St 24th Floor Hartford, CT 06103 Tel: 860.522.3111 One Hamden Center 2319 Whitney Ave, Suite 2A Hamden, CT 06518 Tel: 203.397.2525 Largest Connecticut-Based Accounting Firm For over 60 years, Whittlesey's team of professionals has provided superior service and value-added advice, with specialization in the following areas: Assurance Advisory Tax Technology Learn more at WAdvising.com Congratulations! To all the Power 50 Honorees Your recognition is well deserved! 49 Paddi LeShane L obbyists can have a major influence shaping policy issues at the state Capitol. Among the most influential lobby- ists in Hartford is Paddi LeShane, the CEO and co-founder of government relations firm Sullivan & LeShane Inc. She runs the Hartford-based business, including sister company Sullivan & LeShane Public Rela- tions Inc., with her husband Patrick Sullivan. LeShane oversees day-to-day operations and personally lobbies on behalf of many of the firm's prominent clients, which have included Coca- Cola, Verizon, Churchill Downs, NRG, Theraplant, Middlesex Health and the Connecticut State Medical Society, among many others. Part of the way she keeps her clients informed is through Sullivan & LeShane's "In The Loop'' email newsletter, which covers hot political and legislative topics. In late January, for example, LeShane penned a column about the influence of artificial intelligence on political campaigns. LeShane is also active in the community. She serves as a treasurer for the Hartford Housing Authority, is a member and secretary of the board of trustees at the University of St. Joseph, and is the past chair of the Women's Leadership Center at the school. She was also appointed by former Gov. M. Jodi Rell to serve on the steering committee of the Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford. 50 Benjamin Zachs B enjamin Zachs is chief operating officer of Hart- ford-based Fine Fettle, a cannabis company with several retail dispensaries and a cultiva- tion facility under development. As COO, Zachs is the face of the company and oversees its operations. He is the son of Eric Zachs and grandson of Henry Zachs, both prominent Hartford area businessmen and philanthropists. Fine Fettle currently has hybrid cannabis dispensaries, which serve both the medical and adult-use markets, in Newington, Stamford and Willimantic. It has recreational-only retail stores in Manchester and Old Saybrook. Fine Fettle plans to open more recreational storefronts in Bristol and Norwalk this year. The company is also in the process of building out a culti- vation and production facility in Bloomfield that will have up to 20,000 square feet of grow space. In addition to Connecticut, Fine Fettle has retail and cultivation operations in Massachusetts, and is building a cultivation facility in Georgia. Zachs attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and master's degree in education, according to his LinkedIn profile. POWER 50