Over $410,000 raised for Barney scholarships and student programming through inaugural F.I.R.M. Executive Leadership of the Year event.
Representatives of more than 60 Greater Hartford companies and organizations came together this fall to honor Greg M. Barats, president and CEO of HSB Group Inc., the parent company of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, and raised over $410,000 to benefit students in the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business.
Barats received the inaugural F.I.R.M. Executive Leader of the Year Award, which acknowledges and celebrates an industry leader in the finance, insurance, risk management, and manufacturing (F.I.R.M) business sectors. While at HSB, Barats has developed and holds seven U.S. business-method patents, and he started HSB’s strategic corporation venture fund that invests in early- to late-stage innovation that drives HSB’s long-term vision and strategy. He also recognizes that there are talent acquisition needs in the industry.
The $410,000 in proceeds from a September 2018 dinner event will provide scholarships, career development, and programming for students in the Barney School of Business, which has a legacy of programs focused on finance, insurance, and risk management. “Emergent technologies represent unlimited opportunities for innovation and growth,” said Barats. “They also allow us to hold a shared vision with institutions like the Barney School to develop a new generation of tech savvy leaders.”
University of Hartford President Gregory Woodward said Barat’s selection as the first F.I.R.M. Executive Leader of the Year “recognizes his deep understanding and commitment to the future of the financial services and manufacturing industries, a future that depends on nimbly managing the intersection of risk, data, and technology.”
The F.I.R.M Executive Leadership of the Year event was the Barney School’s most successful fundraising event to date and will become an annual occasion to honor an industry leader and raise scholarship and student development funds. The 2018 premier sponsor was MunichRe/Hartford Steam Boiler; the title sponsor was Stanley Black & Decker; and the presenting sponsors were The Hartford and the Travelers Foundation. An advisory board serves as the award selection committee. In 2018, it was co-chaired by Richard H. Booth, chairman of Somerset Reinsurance Co., Ltd., and John F. Byrnes, chairman of People’s United Insurance Agency.