Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 4, 2024 33 POWER 50 23 John Ciulla J ohn Ciulla is leading Webster Bank through a period of growth and change, including a number of mergers and acquisitions that have significantly added to the regional lender's balance sheet and foothold in financial technology. Ciulla is president and CEO of Webster Financial Corp. and Webster Bank. In 2022, he led Webster Finan- cial's $10 billion-plus merger with Sterling Bancorp of New York, a deal that immediately grew the banking company's assets to $65 billion and gave it major presences in both Connecticut and New York. Today, the bank has $74.9 billion in assets with more than 200 branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York. Webster Bank has since relo- cated its headquarters to Stamford, while also maintaining a significant presence in its longtime home of Waterbury. Ciulla has also led the bank through smaller deals. Last year, it acquired interLINK, a company that provides cash management services to financial intermediaries and administers retail brokerage accounts on behalf of broker-dealers and clearing platforms. In January, Webster acquired for $350 million Ametros Financial Corp., which administers medical funds from insurance claims settlements. Ciulla has had a long career with Webster. He started there in 2004 as a senior vice president for middle market banking. He went on to have several leadership roles, including as chief credit risk officer from 2008 to 2010. He was promoted to executive vice president and head of middle market banking in 2011, then head of commercial banking in 2014, and to president in 2015. Ciulla became CEO of Webster in 2018. 24 John Maduko J ohn Maduko serves as the inaugural president of the Connecticut State Community College system (CT State), which was formed last year following the merger of the state's 12 commu- nity colleges. His background for the job is unique, considering he has a medical degree in allopathic medicine from the St. Matthew's University School of Medicine, with campuses in Florida and the Cayman Islands. His main job today is to nurse the community college system back to health, as it's been suffering for years from major deficits and declining enrollment. Maduko assumed the role of president in June 2022, in the midst of the merger and reorga- nization, which has meant tough choices such as cutting costs and eliminating positions. Looking forward, Maduko said his "number one" goal is to stabi- lize the institution as it forges ahead as one entity. Since taking office, Maduko said he's helped eliminate tens of millions of dollars in deficits through several money-saving measures, including eliminating some administrator and executive positions. There have also been reductions in hours of operation and courses. Another key strategy for Maduko is to attract more students, not only from Connecticut, but from around the country and abroad. Recruitment efforts include promoting the state's free commu- nity college program, called Pledge to Advance Connecticut, or PACT. CT State is also marketing its affordability to attract students. The pitch, Maduko said, is that community colleges remain the most cost-effective option for individuals who want to pursue a higher education. Before his appointment in Connecticut, Maduko was the vice president for academic and student affairs at Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Minnesota's fifth-largest community college. 25 Fran Pastore F ran Pastore began her career working on Wall Street — an environment she found to be the antithesis of empowering to women, dominated by men and rife with sexual harassment. She quit her job and vowed to help change the status quo. Now, Pastore is the CEO of the Women's Business Development Council (WBDC), a Stamford-based nonprofit she founded, which cham- pions female entrepreneurship and women's economic equity across the state. Pastore is the quintessential advocate for women. For more than two decades, she has helped women in the United States and abroad achieve economic empowerment through business ownership. "I think that women's economic equity is the last piece of unfinished business for women in our country," Pastore told the Hartford Business Journal in 2017. Pastore lobbied for federal funding to launch WBDC in 1997. Before that, Connecticut was the only state without a U.S. Small Business Administra- tion-funded Women's Business Center. In 2022, Gov. Ned Lamont named Pastore board chair of the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority, a quasi-public state agency responsible for administering the state's paid family and medical leave program. "Anybody who has ever been involved in economic development activities in Connecticut is familiar with Fran Pastore, who for many years has been a passionate advo- cate of ensuring that women and girls have every opportunity to determine their future and make a good living for themselves and their families," Lamont said at the time. Pastore also served a three-year term on the National Women's Busi- ness Council, an independent source of advice and counsel to the U.S. president, starting in 2011. She has brought her expertise to other countries, teaching financial management and business strategies to women entrepreneurs in rural Costa Rica and Ethiopia. She served as a U.S. delegate to the 2015 Istanbul Women's Summit. She has also significantly expanded the WBDC's reach across Connecticut. Last year, the nonprofit opened a new office in downtown Waterbury. It also has regional offices in New London and New Haven. 26 Rodney Butler R odney A. Butler since 2010 has been chairman of the Mashan- tucket Pequot Tribal Nation, owner of Foxwoods Resort Casino, which is undergoing a period of major growth. Butler has been an influential pres- ence at the state Capitol, advocating for various issues over the years to protect and expand the Mashantucket Pequot's business interests. For example, he was a key player in negotiating Connecticut's adoption of legalized sports betting and online casino gambling in 2021. As part of the deal, Foxwoods was one of only three entities — in addition to Mohegan Sun casino and the Connecticut Lottery Corp. — eligible for a sports wagering license. That added a new revenue stream for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Foxwoods, which has directly deposited over $4.6 billion in slot revenue into the state's budget fund since 1993. Foxwoods, which recently celebrated its 32nd anniversary, is going through other expansions. Construction is ongoing on the state's first Great Wolf Lodge family hotel and resort — a 91,000-square-foot indoor water park and family entertainment center that will debut next year on 13 acres adjacent to Foxwoods' Ledyard campus. Foxwoods last summer debuted the Pequot Woodlands Casino in its Grand Pequot Concourse. It spans 50,000 square feet and contains more than 430 slot machines, a 40-seat slot bar, 24 table games and a high-limit slot room, among other things. Butler is a UConn graduate with a degree in finance who played defensive back for the Huskies' football team. He worked in the finance department at Foxwoods before joining the Mashan- tucket Pequot Tribal Council in 2004. He worked his way up from Tribal Council treasurer to chairman over the years, and even had a stint as interim CEO of Foxwoods. He was the 2019 recipient of the "Citizen of the Year" award from the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce.

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