Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Aetna CEO: HQ move to have ‘minimal impact’ on most Hartford employees

  • Money
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • June 2, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Aetna

Aetna headquarters in Hartford

Aetna’s chairman and chief executive, Mark Bertolini, told his employees Friday that designating another city as the company’s headquarters would have a “minimal impact” on the “vast majority” of employees in Hartford.

“A new headquarters location will consist of a few hundred associates who would be a mix of new hires and existing leadership staff who would relocate over time,” Bertolini said in an internal message.

Aetna has more than 5,000 employees in Connecticut. Its total employment is 49,500.

“I find it reassuring,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. “And that’s why we’re very hopeful the vast majority of those jobs will remain in the state, one of the reasons. I mean, it’s a very helpful sign.”

Bertolini said the company’s strategy, as he has previously shared with them, is to “continue to grow in the digital space and bring new innovations to market, requiring us to expand our access to talent for the knowledge economy.”

The company acknowledged Wednesday it was in negotiations with other states for a new headquarters location, saying a final decision would be made early this summer. The company already has a significant presence in New York City, where Bertolini has a residence.

“I want you to know that we remain committed to the Hartford community,” Bertolini said. “Several of our business units would continue to be based in Connecticut. We remain committed to supporting a vibrant and healthy Hartford as it has been our home for 164 years.”

Aetna’s relationship with Hartford and Connecticut is unique.

Morgan G. Bulkeley, the president of Aetna Life Insurance Co., as the insurer was known before it expanded to a broad array of coverage and then narrowed to health insurance, was mayor of Hartford, governor of Connecticut and a U.S. senator at various times during his 43-year tenure as CEO. He was succeeded as Aetna’s president by his nephew, Morgan G. Brainerd, who led the company for the next 35 years, until the late 1950s.

Bulkeley famously had Aetna pick up the state’s bills for nearly two years when the legislature refused to fund state government during a legal battle over the outcome of the 1890 election to pick his successor.

Under Bertolini, Aetna has focused on health insurance.

In his message to employees, he alluded to the fiscal problems facing the city and state without directly saying they played a role in his decision to base himself and senior staff elsewhere.

“The State of Connecticut  and the City of Hartford face significant economic challenges and we hope that our political leaders will come together and make a long-term commitment to make our state vibrant once again,” he said.

“Our headquarters location project represents an exciting opportunity for us to create a renewed energy around our transformation into a health company and will be emblematic of the type of environments we want to create at all our major locations in the future.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
A little-known technical bill could be the key to more money for core programs
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Appropriations Committee leaders have a new strategy to more pump state dollars into education, social services and health care.

Auditors: UConn Hartford campus construction cost $30M more than budgeted
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million. Final cost: $116.7 million.

CT to start collecting family-leave tax from its workers next week
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state will begin deducting the new tax to support family and medical leave benefits from non-union employees this month.

CT continues to get high marks for improved fiscal management
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut received high marks from a nationally recognized think-tank for its huge reserves, its fiscal planning and its budget transparency.

Connecticut businesses could owe up to $1 billion in unemployment taxes. They want the state to cover it with federal relief funds.
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Business leaders said the state’s economy simply can’t recover if companies remain on the hook to cover the debt.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion College students in Connecticut should be vaccinated now
by Dayna Vadala

If the state of Connecticut wants its institutions of higher learning to return to normal in the fall, it’s going to have to get shots into the arms of the students.

Opinion Connecticut, be a International leader against hair discrimination among children
by Faith D. Crittenden, Jade A. Anderson, MD, and Whitney L. Stuard

On March 1, 2020, Connecticut became the eighth state to pass the Crown Act, a national legislative movement that recognizes natural hair and cultural headwear discrimination as a form of racial discrimination in the workplace. While we are  in strong support and advocate for this law, it is important to recognize the limitations of the Crown Act and how it can be improved upon in future policy.

Opinion Three lessons for schools across America from Secretary Cardona’s hometown
by Mark Benigni

Over the past decade, Meriden Public Schools -- where U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona served as assistant superintendent -- has become a unique laboratory for new ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible in public education. And many of those ideas have paid off.

Opinion A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO