Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 30, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Sharpshooter Ciulla steps off Webster's bench as president By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com J ohn R. Ciulla's promotion as Webster Bank's newest president — and its third in the last two years — rewards his lead- ership and performance successes, but doesn't guarantee he's next in line for the top seat at the Waterbury lender, its sitting CEO says. Webster CEO James C. Smith announced in September that Ciulla, 50, was the choice of Webster Financial's board of directors to succeed Joseph Savage, Ciulla's mentor, as president. Savage was elevated to vice chair- man at the parent company. In a recent interview, Smith said Ciulla's ascension 11 years after joining Webster "recognizes his value to the organization and rewards him for his efforts.'' However, all of Webster's senior officers, Ciulla included, Smith said, are the focus of rigorous succession planning and train- ing, to identify everyone who is capable of ascending its ranks. In Ciulla's case, Smith said it is expected that "he will continue to lead well. That he will influence the strategies of the company within its business units, and that he will broaden his influence bankwide.'' Ciulla now reports directly to Smith. But one banking analyst whose company regularly tracks Webster's performance and has drawn fees from it for advisory services, says Ciulla has been a "rising star" at Web- ster for some time. This new post, the ana- lyst said, could well position him to succeed Smith, although the CEO has shown no signs that he's ready to slow down. "Jim Smith is very much in command as CEO and will be in that role for a while,'' said Mark Fitzgibbon, research director for finance-industry investment advisor Sandler O'Neill + Partners. "That will give [John] a chance to work side by side, to hone the skills that he might need to develop." Ciulla got his first exposure to banking as a loan officer for former Connecticut National Bank in downtown Hartford, from 1987 to 1989. It was so fulfilling that, after time away to practice law, he returned to banking. "It's a good, challenging career,'' the North Haven native said recently in Webster's down- town CityPlace II office, blocks from where he got his banking start. "It's got a sales-man- agement aspect to it. There's a risk-manage- ment side. And it's good for society.'' Within a few years, after working at Peo- ple's United Bank's predecessor for several more, Ciulla pursued his Fordham University Continued Webster Bank President John Ciulla got his banking start in downtown Hartford. H B J P H O T O | G R E G O R Y S E A Y William Barnett, Ph.D. Dean of Graduate Studies Trinity College gradstudy@trincoll.edu http://gradstudy.trincoll.edu THREE-YEAR FLAT TUITION RATE FOR M.A. STUDENTS CONTROLLING THE FUTURE As George Orwell's 1984 reminds us, those who control the past control the future. Presently, however, cultural institutions that focus on history or the arts face declining sources of revenue, especially public support. As a result, we risk forgetting our cultural past, thus forfeiting valuable perspective that could help improve our future. For our social health, we should ensure that our cultural and educational institutions can continue to preserve our heritage and teach us how the past influences our present and future. For example, what sort of conditions caused Hartford to become an insurance center that continues to exist today? Why did various business and industrial sectors decline while others prospered? How did Connecticut support the arts in the past? How did the tragic legacy of slavery and the struggle for social justice in Connecticut shape our increasingly diverse society of today? By helping teachers and museum profes- sionals explore these and other questions, the American studies program at Trinity College supports maintaining our cultural heritage in order to enrich and improve our community. We invite others to join us.

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