The award recognizes outstanding young professionals in Greater Hartford who have demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and community involvement. The award ceremony will be Sept. 11 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.
The Hartford Business Journal's "40 Under Forty'' award will be presented in September to 40 business standouts, including four who are affiliated with the UConn School of Business.
The recipients include: Haley Heslin, Director of Human Resources at LAZ Parking and a student in the UConn MBA program; Thomas "Tommy'' Hyde '19 MBA, Chief of Staff at AdvanceCT; David Steuber '08, '21 MS, and Andrew "Drew'' DiSilvestro Jr. '15 EBV Cert., President of AmeriTech Contracting.
The award recognizes outstanding young professionals in Greater Hartford who have demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and community involvement. The award ceremony will be Sept. 11 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.
'They've Never Put a Ceiling on Me'
Haley Heslin has been promoted seven times since she joined LAZ Parking in 2017, rising from a temporary recruiter to Director of Human Resources in the Northeast.
One of the influences in her career has been learning about LAZ Parking CEO Alan B. Lazowski's parents, who are holocaust survivors. Their strength of spirit permeates the business and has shaped Heslin's outlook.
"When the going gets tough, you don't stop. You persevere until you find a solution,'' she said. "Eight years in and I'm happy coming to work every day. They've never put a ceiling on me!''
LAZ, headquartered in Hartford, has garages from Boston to San Francisco to Miami. It is the largest and fastest-growing privately owned parking operator in the U.S., with more than 2 million parking spaces and some 20,000 employees.
Heslin is half-way through her UConn Online MBA degree, which she plans to finish in May 2026. The degree will add depth to her business knowledge. "I wanted to get the financial background, the true 'business of business' exposure that helps bring an organization together,'' she said.
As a human resources professional, she encourages college students to apply to companies where the corporate culture matches their values, to raise their hands for
new projects, and to pursue opportunities that prepare them for their next career jump.
Focusing on the Generations to Come
David Steuber's interest in politics and government began at an early age.
"My Dad watched 'The Evening News with Dan Rather' every night, and by middle school I was reading TIME magazine,'' recalled Steuber, Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
Steuber triple majored in in economics, political science, and philosophy as a UConn undergrad. He served as president of the UConn College Democrats for three years, and organized rallies for now-Governor Ned Lamont during his unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in 2006. Steuber and his team tried to knock on every dorm door, and are credited for a 720 percent increase in student voting versus the election four years earlier.
He worked as a policy analyst for the Connecticut General Assembly, as a Senior Program Manager for Connecticut Innovations, and as Chief of Staff for the City of Hartford under Mayor Luke Bronin, before starting his current job in January 2024.
"I was immersed in state politics and policy with a bent toward economic development,'' he said. " My claim-to-fame as a policy analyst at the legislature was helping to create the fiscal guardrails, which have reduced the state's pension debt by $8.6 billion, and helped to turn around the state's finances from consistent deficits to surpluses.''
In 2018, he returned to UConn to pursue a master's in Business Analytics and Project Management (MSBAPM) at the School of Business.
"I wanted a graduate degree, and instead of pursuing a more traditional law degree or an MBA, I wanted to set myself apart. I thought, 'What could I bring to the table in government that would be a little different?'" he said.
"I use the project management skills every day,'' he said. "I also became versed in data analytics and machine learning, which is increasingly relevant with the rise of artificial intelligence. It has been valuable in helping think about public policy in a
time of rapidly evolving technology. The MSBAPM program is very compelling; I recommend it every chance I get.''
"I try to bring a long-term perspective to public policy work. The default in politics is to focus on the next election,'' he said. "It is helpful to have people think about problems over the long haul, the things that effect our economy. That's the lens I try to bring to the work I do. I enjoy working to grow our state economy and putting Connecticut in a better position for the generations ahead.''
Attracting, Retaining the Coolest Companies
Thomas "Tommy'' Hyde is the Chief of Staff for AdvanceCT, a private, non-profit economic development organization that attracts new businesses to the state, and strives to retain existing companies and help them with financial assistance to expand.
Hyde began his current job in January, after more than four years as the CEO of the Naugatuck Valley Regional Development Corporation. He also served as the Director of Government Affairs and Special Projects for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
"What I most enjoy about my job is the mission of making Connecticut a better place by attracting, retaining, and expanding the coolest companies,'' he said. "I especially enjoy making introductions and highlighting the state to a prospective company.''
Hyde, a Connecticut native, earned his bachelor's degree from Trinity College, and earned his MBA at UConn in 2020.
"My MBA experience was amazing…I'd do it all over again!'' he said. "What I liked most was getting different perspectives about current policy topics and world events from those outside government, including lawyers, doctors, and engineers.''
Two professors from the program left a lasting impression. Professor John Glascock told his students that incentives matter in every business decision, something Hyde often recalls when approaching a situation or a problem.
Professor Wayne Bragg allowed Hyde to explore the idea of creating a regionalized police department, by applying business principles to government agencies. It was an experience that Hyde relished.
Hyde said he is honored to be in the company of both past and present "40 Under Forty'' award recipients. Having developed a network of talented colleagues and friends, Hyde has noticed some common traits.
"I believe the best job candidates are hardworking and have a good attitude,'' he said. "Those are the people who go farther in their careers.''
A Fusion of Trust and Teamwork
Andrew "Drew'' DiSilvestro, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a Senior Master Sergeant in the Air National Guard, is the owner of AmeriTech Contracting LLC in Berlin, Conn.
His company procured more than $130 million in contracts this year, and it employs more than 70 people. Veterans make up nearly the entire leadership team and represent 40 percent of the staff.
DiSilvestro started his civilian career working in residential construction. In preparing for deployment, he had to sell his company and took advantage of a gap to work as a government contractor. He earned an executive MBA from University of New Haven and, in 2014 he received a certificate for completion of UConn's Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV), an intensive course serving military veterans who want to start or grow a business.
"The greatest thing about the EBV was the camaraderie, it's really a unique thing,'' he said. "I'm driven to create that environment, that culture and that energy that we experience in the brother and sisterhood of the military. It is a fusion of trust and teamwork.''
DiSilvestro served four tours of duty with the Air Force and now leads a civilian engineering team in the National Guard. He is also the former Vice President of the Veteran Chamber of Commerce in Connecticut.
The majority of his company's work is for the Veterans Administration and that is something that makes him proud. "This is work that has meaningful purpose. We feel the camaraderie, the trials and tribulations of the people we are serving and understand what they've been through. We have been there with them and we use the same VA facilities that they do.''
