Hartford Business Journal

28 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 4, 2024 POWER 50 9 Jonathan Rothberg J onathan Rothberg is perhaps one of Connecticut's and the nation's most prolific inventors and commercializers of bioscience technology. His first company CuraGen — begun while he was a grad- uate student at Yale — worked to develop drugs that targeted specific genes. He went on to invent a method for high-speed DNA sequencing, bringing it to market with his second venture, 454 Life Sciences. And now, several companies later, his Guilford-based accel- erator, 4Catalyzer, is launching multiple startups at the intersec- tions of medicine, engineering and machine learning. Rothberg was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barack Obama in 2016. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engi- neering, and has been awarded the Connecticut Medal of Technology. He's been named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum four times, among a host of other recognitions. Throughout his success, Rothberg has remained close to his roots in Connecticut, partly because he says it's a great place to raise a family, but also as a stra- tegic decision for his businesses. "Connecticut has a fantastic history of machining engi- neering and engineering disci- pline," he told the HBJ in 2022, adding that he hires engineers from the state's advanced manufacturing companies. 8 Brian Kane B rian Kane on Sept. 1 took over as president of Aetna, the iconic health insurer that's been rooted in Hartford for about 170 years. Many have wondered what Aetna's future in Hartford would be following Rhode Island-based 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. Aetna employs thousands of workers in Connecticut. "There are no plans for Aetna to leave Hartford," Kane told the Hartford Business Journal during a December 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." 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. "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. Kane leads a health insurance giant that provides benefits and coverage to employers, individuals and government entities, serving nearly 35 million people. The Harvard MBA graduate previ- ously spent 17 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., including time as a managing director in the investment banking division. He was also the chief financial officer for Louisville, Kentucky-based Fortune 50 health insurer Humana. 10 Marissa Gillett M arissa Gillett, chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, has brought an all-new approach to the regulatory environment in Connecticut. She has also more closely scrutinized rate increase requests from utility companies, sparking a high-profile power struggle. Gillett, who became PURA's chair in 2019, has made implementing performance-based ratemaking, which was mandated by the legisla- ture in 2020, a hallmark of her tenure. Performance-based ratemaking sets rates based on how well a utility meets certain goals, taking into consideration outcomes and value to customers. Consumer advocates have lauded Gillett's efforts, but she's attracted the ire of both Eversource and United Illuminating by rejecting — in some cases by wide margins — rate increase requests made by both energy companies. United Illuminating and Ever- source-owned Aquarion Water Co., based in Bridgeport, have filed lawsuits appealing PURA's rate decisions, claiming the agency has prevented them from recovering costs for current and future capital projects, as well as operating expenses. The utilities say the new regulatory environment has hurt their ability to attract investors and lowered their margins to untenable levels. But Gillett has been adamant that future capital investment costs shouldn't count in rate cases until after the investments have been made. Gillett says Gov. Ned Lamont hired her to effect change. "If there is discomfort with the fact that I've kind of thrown the doors wide open here and invited in different perspectives, I would embrace that critique because that was intentional," Gillett told the Hart- ford Business Journal in 2023. Gillett has a law degree as well as a degree in bioengineering. Before joining PURA, she was the vice president of external relations for the Energy Storage Association, a national trade group representing the energy storage industry. From 2011 to 2018, Gillett worked at Maryland's energy utilities regulator, the Mary- land Public Service Commission. Before she left, she was a senior advisor to the chairman.

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