Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1541914
HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 15, 2025 19 FOCUS | 5 WE WATCHED that will support parts bound for either Groton or EB's Quonset Point yard in Rhode Island. The facility is meant to address a shortage of warehouse space and reduce truck traffic at the Groton waterfront. EB is also focused on creating more employee parking as the waterfront workforce grows. It spent $5 million this year to acquire three parcels of land adjacent to the yard on Thames Street in Groton. Managing the supply chain All of this activity rests in part on Rayha and his team delivering on a program that has faced major delays and cost overruns. They are working to complete the first submarine in the new Columbia class, a project being built jointly with Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The Navy intends to build 12 Columbia class boats as a replacement for its aging Ohio class fleet. It has set the total price tag at around $126 billion. The first sub, USS District of Columbia, is currently more than a year behind schedule, another of the huge challenges Rayha has been tasked with solving this year. "We took a very aggressive approach," he said, adding the shipyard's process has been completely reorganized. "We put a senior leader in charge of the lead ship delivery. We have directors on the floor with the modules, both engineering directors and operations directors. We started putting shipbuilders down with Newport News, we increased our presence at suppliers." He set a goal of bringing all the District of Columbia's modules to Groton by year's end and said they are on track to meet it — progress he hopes will ease concerns within the Navy and General Dynamics' senior leadership about ongoing cost overruns. He said delays are due in part to the Columbia class being the first subma- rine designed in 3D digital models instead of 2D drawings, a change that has posed a steep learning curve for the yard's young workforce. "The planners that we're hiring are learning," he said. "Not only are they learning how to issue the design and do the planning work, they're learning how a ship goes together more generally." On the supply chain issues that have caused so much angst in recent years, Rayha says he's seeing improvement in some areas, particularly as federal and state money is utilized by companies to implement technological advances like additive manufacturing. However, he says there's work to be done to diversify the supply base, particularly in areas where the yard is still relying on one company for a critical part — he cites a recent fire at a supply chain company as a wake-up call on that issue. among the smallest academic medical centers in the nation and struggles with high costs and limited scale. Agwunobi, who returned as CEO in May 2024 after previously leading UConn Health from 2014 to 2022, said the solution lies in building a multi-hos- pital network that can spread costs across a larger patient base while maintaining private-sector efficiency. UConn Health plans to acquire Waterbury Hospital, Bristol Hospital and Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam. In November, UConn Health bid $13 million to purchase Waterbury Hospital By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com A bout a year and a half after returning as CEO of UConn Health, Dr. Andrew Agwunobi is pushing a dramatic expansion of Connecticut's public academic medical center through a series of proposed hospital acquisitions intended to achieve the economies of scale experts say the system needs. The strategy aims to address findings from a 2024 Cain Brothers report, which concluded UConn Health was Turnaround Effort Amid Agwunobi's return, UConn Health pursues statewide growth and acquisition strategy from bankrupt Prospect Medical Holdings, and subsequently outlined a $225 million, three-year turnaround plan that would return the facility to nonprofit status. Negotiations are ongoing with Bristol and Day Kimball. "Our focus, our primary focus, is on turning around those hospitals," Agwunobi said. "But we believe that through this process, we will be able to achieve economies of scale by spreading some of our services." Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO of UConn Health, is pursuing the acquisition of Waterbury, Bristol and Day Kimball hospitals as part of an expansion strategy. Contributed Photo The former Macy's store in Waterford's Crystal Mall. Photo | Costar Housing needs Rayha is also seeking outside support as hiring accelerates, particu- larly around the challenge of workforce housing. He said he has had productive discussions with state officials and leaders in Waterford and New London about the need for more housing in southeastern Connecticut. Waterford is currently weighing a new access route to the Crystal Mall, a move that could improve connectivity and potentially open adjacent land for housing development. Overall, Rayha says his first year in the job has flown by. "I'm having a good time," he said. "I won't say it's easy, but I'm having a great time doing it." He points particularly to the team around him as a source of strength in challenging times. "If you're having a rough day, you walk through the shipyard, you talk to shipbuilders, you talk to especially young shipbuilders that are learning, and they're so excited, and they want to show you what they've done," he said. "The excitement that's building here is tangible. And so, being able to be part of that — it's energizing." Continued on next page DR. ANDREW AGWUNOBI CEO & EVP of Health Affairs UConn Health Education: Medical degree, University of Jos (Nigeria)/ pediatric residency, Howard University Hospital; MBA, Stanford University