Meet Bob
Fiscal Discipline · Financial Leadership · Turnaround Expert · Family Man
Bob Stefanowski grew up in a family like many of us are blessed to have.
His roots are on Dixwell Avenue in New Haven, where his family lived in a three-family home. Having his grandparents on the first floor meant lots of stories about how his family came to America through Ellis Island from Poland. Bob’s great grandmother shucked oysters in Fair Haven, he’s always been proud to have a family history in some of the world’s finest oysters!
Eventually, Bob’s parents saved up enough to move his family to North Haven. Bob’s dad worked his way up from the mailroom at SNET (Southern New England Telephone) and ended up working in management, while his mom worked as a unionized clerk. She took time away when he and his sisters were little, only to go back into the office to help put them through college.
Bob learned the value of a dollar and the importance of hard work from his parents who both worked multiple jobs to save up and provide for their family.
Bob attended Fairfield University and after graduation started a job as an auditor at Price Waterhouse Cooper, working at the Gold Building in Hartford, where he met the love of his life, Amy. Since then, Bob has built a career rooted in accountability, leadership and humility; and a family grounded in faith, honesty and respect.
Bob is both a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Analyst. He received his Master’s in Business Administration from Cornell University, and served as a Wharton Business School Fellow, taught as an adjunct faculty at NYU Stern Business School, London Business School, Cambridge University and as a visiting professor of management practice at Oxford University.
Bob’s experience spans the globe and includes positions as Chief Executive of some of the world’s largest companies, including General Electric, formerly based in Connecticut, and UBS.
Bob’s financial expertise is exactly what Connecticut needs to root out waste, fraud and abuse, and make sure every dollar that is paid by taxpayers is spent with respect for the hard work that went into earning it.
As an executive and global business leader, Bob has taken on tough assignments, reforming business practices to create a culture of transparency, fairness and accountability. Bob is not afraid to make unpopular decisions if it means doing what’s right.
When Bob took over as CEO of a global company, the first thing he did was move out of the corner office sending a message that Bob didn’t feel he was better than anyone else. Then he got rid of the lavish company cars and raffled off his company car, a perk he felt sent the wrong signal to employees and shareholders.
Bob is going to do the same in state government. Bob is going to get Connecticut working for the people again, not political insiders.
Beyond his business experience, Bob has been involved in community organizations throughout Connecticut for decades including his service on the Board of Directors of the Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport.
In 2020, Bob and Amy co-founded and launched “Masks for Heroes”, in an effort to help the state fight COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic when PPE was in dire need.
Through a network of volunteers and donors across the state, this grassroots initiative would provide more than 1.6 million masks for hospitals, first responders and nursing homes in Connecticut who were desperate at that time for any protection.
They went on to also co-found Masks for CT and organized over 14 mask distribution drive-up events across CT to ensure anyone still unable to obtain a mask who wanted one had one. At its height, the organization would oversee three events per week with countless volunteers helping to give away up to 60,000 masks per day!
Bob oversaw product sourcing, procurement and receiving as well as event promotion and marketing with event partners. Amy oversaw distribution, event planning, marketing, event and sponsor logistics and volunteer coordination.
In the summer of 2020, Bob and Amy co-founded Masks 4 Schools and hosted 4 Youth mask give-away events with washable youth size cloth masks for children, teachers and bus drivers to make sure families and teachers felt ready to head back into the classroom!
The Masks for CT initiatives earned Bob and Amy an NAACP Award from the Waterbury NAACP Youth Council and a Citation from the City of Torrington in appreciation of their efforts.
Bob is a proud dad to his three daughters who are a daily reminder of what’s most important in life.
