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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m For more B2B news visit MAY 4, 2015 Volume 23, Number 23 $3.00 Subscribe online J U N E 4 T H H A R T F O R D For more info: www.CTBEXPO.com NUMBERSGAME Index ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ Focus: PG. 8 ■ The List: PG. 10 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 12 ■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 23 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 24 Reversing Course Friendly's CEO John Maguire discusses the company's new Connecticut strategy that aims to reverse waning customer satisfaction with the family restaurant chain. PG. 3 EXECUTIVE PROFILE Homecare Tycoon Companions for Living President and Owner Julianne Roth's first business venture didn't succeed but that didn't stop her from building one of the largest woman-owned businesses in the Hartford region. PG. 5 Hospital CFOs say finances aren't as rosy as advertised By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com A s the debate over hospital funding and taxes rages on at the State Capitol, several healthcare CFOs are going on the offensive by trying to paint a clearer picture of the financial shape of Con- necticut's largest healthcare systems, which have been singled out by the Malloy Administration as a ripe target for budget cuts. Recent data showing that Connecticut's 29 acute care provid- ers raked in $469 million in operating profits in 2014, and posted a collective 4.42 percent operating margin — one of their stron- gest showings in years — is misleading, CFOs say, because it only Continued on page 16 Eastern Connecticut Health Network CFO Michael Veillette says hospital finances are tricky business and need to be analyzed through a broader lens. P H O T O | P A B L O R O B L E S By Brad Kane bkane@HartfordBusiness.com T he state's plan to help munici- palities develop ultra-high-speed Internet fiber networks is moving forward with an initial funding partner, despite objections from the business community over the public costs and competition with private enterprise. The Office of Consumer Counsel and the city of New Haven are hold- ing a conference on Monday at Yale University to educate municipalities on how to develop gigabit networks. At the same time, the OCC and its public partners in the gigabit initiative are working with New York City invest- ment bank MacQuarie Capital to develop an option for cities and towns to install gigabit infrastructure using long-term, shared-risk financing. "This is such a unique thing, it is sort of developing as it goes along," said Consumer Counsel Elin Swan- son Katz. "We are trying to organize towns around a need we feel has been identified." Katz, along with her state and local partners, sees a statewide gigabit net- work as an economic development tool where companies using large amounts of data can achieve ultra-high-speed Internet at a cost significantly cheaper than current market rates. The busi- ness community, particularly telecom companies, however, is wary of public Elin Swanson Katz, Consumer Counsel State, telecom industry clash over gigabit network expansion Continued on page 19