On January 29, 2014 more than 200 participants attended CEO Evolution, a panel discussion featuring four exceptional Connecticut CEOs discussing the challenges they’ve faced while leading their businesses through tremendous periods of growth.

Named after his column in the Business Journal, panel moderator Mark Fagan, managing partner of the Norwalk office of Citrin Cooperman, believes that CEOs should focus their attention on strategic activities versus tactical ones, adding that the success of a company is heavily weighed on a CEO’s understanding of the business, anticipation of changes and strategic thinking.

Roundtable panelists featured Linda McMahon, co-founder and former CEO of WWE in Stamford; Austin McChord, founder and CEO of Datto in Norwalk; Paul Senecal, partner of United Services of America, in Bridgeport; and John Votto, president and CEO of the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain.

In addition to emphasizing hard work and dedication as traits for success, all four panelists stressed the importance of hiring qualified staff and allowing them to do their jobs so that the CEO can devote all efforts toward keeping their business on track.

Held at UConn Stamford, the event was hosted by the School of Business and Citrin Cooperman.