Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com July 25, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 59 2013 Winner List: Anthony G. Barrett Joseph Bierbaum Matthew R. Boehm Mario J. Bruno Matthew Carbray Ray Cocozza Maria Conlon Dawn Crayco Christopher Davis Marc A. DiBella Derek Donofrio Sara-Beth Donovan Brandon Dufour Brandon M. Frame Meghan Freed Emily A. Gianquinto Alyssa Goduti Terese Guerrero Melissa Harris Tauheedah Jackson Michael J. Kolosky Julie Krug Carolyn Kuan Heather Lombardi Jeremy Lowe Concetta Maratta Michael Mascaro Brian Mauriello Paul Mounds Jr. Reem Nouh Nathan Quesnel Josh Reese Jennifer Rizzotti Carrie L. Rocha Kendrick Tever Roundtree Sr. Shaun Sheridan Scott Slifka Jack Soos Caitlin Thayer Julia E. Wayner Past Classes:2013 JUNE 6, 2013 XL Center slated for $35M in upgrades The XL Center will be getting a multi-million dollar facelift, which should help extend the life of the 37 year-old facility for another decade. AUGUST 9, 2013 Amazon eyeing Windsor for fulfillment center Amazon.com is coming – to Windsor. The online retail-sales giant wants a 1.5 million-square-foot fulfillment center at 801 Day Hill Road, abutting the Bloomfield town line. OCTOBER 7, 2013 NU Succession - Shivery passes final torch in NStar merger On Thursday, the final piece of the Northeast Utilities-NStar merger will be put in place. Charles Shivery will retire his final leadership position, ending a near 10-year reign as the president, chief executive and chairman of one of only 17 Connecticut Fortune 500 companies and what is now New England's largest utility firm. A look back at what made business headlines in 2013: Rizzotti looks to take coaching credentials to new heights By John A. Lahtinen Special to the Hartford Business Journal T hings have certainly been busy over the past few months for longtime University of Hartford women's basketball head coach Jen Rizzotti. In April, the former UConn legend and 17-year leader of the Hawks accepted the head coaching job at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Rizzotti amassed more than 300 wins during her tenure at UHart turning the program into a peren- nial America East Conference power. The Hawks also made six trips to the NCAA Tournament dur- ing that time. Following the 2009-10 season, she was named a finalist for the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year award after leading the Hawks to a 16-0 conference mark, a school-record 20-game winning streak, and a national ranking — the first in the program's history. Already a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, in June Rizzotti was inducted into the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Now she is focused on moving her family to Wash- ington and preparing for the challenge ahead of trying to take George Washington to new levels of success. Rizzotti's husband, Bill Sullivan, an assistant coach for the Hawks will also join the staff at George Washington. The couple has two sons, Holden and Conor. "Moving my job and my life after 17 years in one place is a big undertaking," Rizzotti said. "I want to make sure that the quality of life I can have in the D.C. area is good for my family. We also want to live close enough to D.C. so we can take advantage of all that the city has to offer and give our kids great educational experiences outside of school." Professionally, Rizzotti says, she already started recruiting future players and getting to know the current Colonials roster so the team can hit the ground running for the upcoming 2016-17 season. "GW is a much different recruiting platform from Hartford," Rizzotti said, "so I need to learn all I can about the University, it's setting and it's culture so I can find high-level athletes who are also looking for a great academic opportunity." Her tremendous success in Connecticut both as a player and a coach begs the question, why the change? "I took the job at GW because I wanted to be chal- lenged at another level professionally and I thought I needed to get outside of my comfort zone at Hartford to do that," Rizzotti said. "At GW, I want to continue to finish at the top of the A-10 Conference, make the NCAA tournament and bring our teams regularly to the sweet 16. I also want to continue to recruit high character student athletes and make sure I help pre- pare them to be successful in life after college. "I am passionate about coaching because I never feel like it's 'work.' I love what I do, I love that my fam- ily is a part of my career, and I'm driven to give my student athletes the kind of experiences that I had in college and relationships that will last a lifetime." 'Moving my job and my life after 17 years in one place is a big undertaking.' Now Title: Head Women's Basketball Coach School: George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Age: 42 Then Title: Head Women's Basketball Coach School: University of Hartford Age: 39 PROFILE: Jen Rizzotti Rizzotti, 2013 Rizzotti, today Winner Concetta Marratta, signs the 40 Under Forty 'Wall of Fame.' Remember When: Class Photo:

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