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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 7, 2025 31 POWE R 50 19 Judy Marks J udy Marks has led the iconic elevator and escalator company Otis Worldwide since she helped 21 R. Adam Norwitt R . Adam Norwitt is the president and CEO of Amphenol, the Wallingford-based maker of electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors, antennas, sensors and coaxial and high-speed specialty cable. The company reported full-year sales of $15.2 billion in 2024, up 13% from the previous year. Norwitt has over- seen an aggressive growth strategy in recent years, focused on acquisitions. Amphenol serves a broad array of markets including the military, commercial aerospace, automotive, broadband communication, industrial, information technology and data communications equipment, mobile devices and wireless infrastructure. Norwitt, 55, has led the company since 2008, stepping up from his previous role as chief operating officer. A long-time Amphenol employee, he first joined the company in 1998, and lived and worked in Asia during the early part of his tenure with the company. A resident of Ridgefield, he has served for several years on the board of AdvanceCT, a nonprofit corporation that fosters business formation, recruitment and growth in Connecticut, and became co-chair of the board in 2024. Norwitt has a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, an MBA from INSEAD, a business school in France, and a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University. 20 Marietta Lee M arietta S. Lee is the third-generation leader of her family's business, the Lee Company, which was founded in 1948. The manufacturer, which has facil- ities in Westbrook and Essex, makes miniature precision fluid control components for the automotive, aero- space and medical device industries. It employs around 1,100 people. Lee was also elected chair of the Connecticut Business & Industry Asso- ciation's board at the end of 2024. She sees CBIA continuing to focus on fundamental issues in the state that affect workforce development, including the availability of housing and child care, as well as pushing back on initiatives that may increase costs for businesses in the state. Before becoming CEO in 2023, Lee had already worked at the company for some 20 years. Prior to joining the family business as a facilities manager, she also worked as a journalist. The Lee Co. traces its roots back to Space Race-era technology develop- ment, when it supplied parts that kept the oxygen supply of astronauts safe while they walked on the moon during missions between 1969 and 1972. Lee believes, despite recent challenges, the fundamentals in commercial aerospace are still good for companies in Connecticut, and the space industry is booming. To take advantage of those growing opportunities, in the past year the Lee Company has been doubling down on its product development efforts and also investing in new on-site testing facilities for its space components. 22 André Swanston C onnecticut serial entrepreneur André Swanston recently revealed a new cloud gaming venture, and announced a successful $10 million investment round for the startup. Swanston made his name building Tru Optik, a data marketplace for streaming TV services that was sold to Transunion in 2020 in a nine-figure deal. Now his new company, PHῩND, builds on that expertise in capturing consumer data. PHῩND is a platform that allows consumers to stream video games via a smart TV in an ad-supported, subscription-free service, with no additional gaming hardware. Swanston has rebranded his Stamford-based company, formerly Swanston Labs, as PHῩND, and says the venture will be his sole business focus going forward. He and his wife Michelle are also engaged in philan- thropy and angel investing. Swanston is the owner, through the Connecticut Sports Group, of CT United Football Club, a new MLS Next Pro team, which is slated to be based at a new stadium in Bridgeport, which the group is developing. A recent impact study projected that the most ambitious iteration of the $1.6 billion waterfront development anchored by the stadium could generate $3.4 billion in economic output and sustain 1,300 new permanent jobs annually until 2050. Originally from the Bronx, Swan- ston moved to Connecticut to attend the Hotchkiss School, and then went on to graduate from UConn. After a brief career in wealth management, he took the plunge into entrepreneurship. 18 Joe Gianni J oe Gianni is one of Greater Hartford's best-known business leaders. As the Greater Hartford president of Bank of America, he has a local lead- ership role at a multinational financial services company with the largest deposit market share in Connecticut. He's held the position since 2018, but has been with Bank of America and its predecessor banks in Hartford for much longer — since 1989. Early in his career, he worked at Connecticut Bank and Trust Co., then Fleet Bank after it acquired CBT. He started at Bank of America in 2004, after it acquired Fleet. He's not only survived each of the mergers, but found a way to rise up the ranks. Before being named president, Gianni focused on government and community relations, engaging with public officials and local leaders on policy priorities, and also becoming well-known within the nonprofit community. He still plays a government-relations role. Gianni graduated from Providence College with a bachelor's degree in political science and humanities. Born in Hartford, he currently resides in West Hartford. engineer its spin out from then-parent company United Technologies in April 2020. She had joined Farmington-based Otis just three years before as presi- dent, becoming CEO in 2019. Prior to Otis, she held senior lead- ership roles at three other major companies — IBM, Lockheed Martin and Siemens AG, where she served as CEO of both Siemens USA and Dresser-Rand. She is the only woman to lead a Connecticut-based Fortune 500 company. Marks is leading Otis during a time of rapid change in the industry, as data analytics and IoT-based service technologies usher in an era of "intelli- gent" buildings and allow for predictive maintenance of elevators and escala- tors — a growing part of Otis' business. The company has 72,000 employees across 80 countries. Its significant operations in China have been one of the challenges for Otis in recent years as softness in that country's construction industry has hit demand for new installations. Marks serves on the board of directors of Otis Worldwide, Cater- pillar Inc. and AdvanceCT. She is on the board of directors of the Business Roundtable and is chair of its trade and international committee. She earned a degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University.