{"id":159893,"date":"2020-04-14T08:33:19","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T12:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=159893"},"modified":"2020-04-14T08:33:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T12:33:19","slug":"three-members-uconn-nation-among-hbjs-women-business-honorees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2020\/04\/three-members-uconn-nation-among-hbjs-women-business-honorees\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Members of UConn Nation Among HBJ\u2019s Women in Business Honorees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Three remarkable leaders in their fields and strong advocates for women – and each one a proud member of UConn Nation –\u00a0 have been selected by the Hartford<\/i> Business Journal<\/i> as recipients of its 2020 Women in Business Awards.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The honorees include: Radenka Maric, vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship; Medina K. Jett \u201908 MBA, founder and CEO of Integrated Compliance Solutions Group; and Shilpa Manaktala ’04 Business ’04 MSA, a partner at PwC. The awards are scheduled to be presented in June.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Radenka Maric Oversees UConn\u2019s $260 M Research Programs<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Before becoming an educational leader, champion of research, and a familiar presence at UConn, Radenka Maric worked as an engineer developing hydrogen fuel-cell innovation and clean energy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Her many responsibilities today include managing a staff of 250 and overseeing UConn\u2019s $260 million in research programs both in Storrs and at UConn Health. She also leads the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park, which is the University’s center for academic-industry collaboration, and the Technology Incubation Program (TIP) that launches and supports startups.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Maric attributes her career success to a lifelong love of science. Born in the former Yugoslavia, she developed interest in technology and clean energy as a child. She graduated from Belgrade University and then went to Japan, where the advancement of clean energy technology was a national priority. After spending 12 years at the University of Kyoto working on hydrogen fuel-cell innovation, she moved to the U.S. in 2001. She served as head of the Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation at the National Research Council Canada in Vancouver before joining UConn in 2010.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople can make a difference when they have education and knowledge. For me, it\u2019s a guiding principle to help as many people as I can get educated,\u2019\u2019 she said. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of her recent accomplishments is the creation of the Dr. Radenka Maric Graduate Fellowship that provides financial assistance, social interaction, and professional development for graduate students.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that my legacy is two-fold. I hope that my efforts help more women reach leadership roles and not settle or give up their dreams after graduating from college,\u2019\u2019 she told the publication. \u201cAs a scientist and inventor, I hope that cars of the future will run on the clean-energy, fuel-cell technologies I\u2019ve developed. Sustainability is the foundation of both of these dreams\u2014I hope my legacy supports environmental and cultural sustainability that will make the world a better place.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Radenka<\/a>
Radenka Maric (Courtesy of J. Fiereck Photography\/Hartford Business Journal)<\/div><\/div>\"Medina<\/a>
Medina Jett (Courtesy of J. Fiereck Photography\/Hartford Business Journal)<\/div><\/div>\"Shilpa<\/a>
Shilpa Manaktala (Courtesy of J. Fiereck Photography\/Hartford Business Journal)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Medina Jett ‘o8 MBA Owns Only Black Woman-Owned Compliance Company in the World<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Medina Jett is the founder and CEO of Integrated Compliance Solutions (ICS) Group, the only compliance company in the world owned by a black woman. Her company, with offices in Farmington, Atlanta, and Austin, provides counsel to investment advisory firms throughout the U.S. and in Africa.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She built her business with 30 years of experience as an attorney and compliance officer in the asset-management industry. She earned her UConn MBA in 2008.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Client JoAnn Price, co-founder of Fairview Capital of West Hartford, described Jett\u2019s approach as outstanding. \u201cShe\u2019s very structured, disciplined, works cooperatively, and is an exceptional listener, taking the time to understand a business and what it needs,\u2019\u2019 Price said. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jett\u2019s key to business success? \u201cExceeding our clients\u2019 expectations each and every time so that they want to tell others about their experience working with us, has been a key part of the success equation,\u2019\u2019 Jett said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She said she wants to empower women by sharing the strategies that worked for her, including networking, building relationships, taking risks and \u201calways knocking the ball out of the park.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jett\u2019s latest ventures include a book and speaking engagements, which she hopes will help women and minorities advance up the corporate ladder and close the wage gap. \u201cI strongly believe that to whom much is given, much is required,\u2019\u2019 Jett said. \u201cThere are so many young women and people of color who didn\u2019t grow up learning about finances and who didn\u2019t have exposure to corporate careers or entrepreneurship. I want to create a path to success for these people.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PwC Partner Shilpa Manaktala \u201904 Business, \u201904 MSA Dedicated to Compassionate Leadership<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Shilpa Manaktala \u201904 Business, \u201904 MSA, became one of only four partners in the Hartford office of accounting giant PwC when she was promoted last year. One of the traits that she thinks a good leader needs, and which has served her well in her 15-year accounting career, is to be adaptable to change.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChange is about being comfortable with the uncomfortable,\u2019\u2019 Manaktala said. Ultimately that\u2019s how you grow, she added.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy legacy will be shaped by the next generation of leaders that I had the privilege to mentor and coach,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cI hope to be remembered as a caring and compassionate leader who invested in people and inspired others. I am guided by more core values of integrity, commitment and ambition.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Manaktala, who was at the top of her class at UConn and eagerly recruits students from her alma mater, is passionate about diversity and champions it at PwC. \u201cDiversity and inclusion are a business imperative and it\u2019s my personal goal to continue to attract, develop and retain diverse talent,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cThe ultimate measure of success will be our ability to build a sustainable pipeline of diverse leaders and partners to support our firm\u2019s strategies.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A mom of three, Manaktala also believes in work-life balance for herself and her colleagues. \u201cI try to be a champion for flexibility so when employees are at work, they\u2019re present and engaged, but open and upfront about other commitments they have,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Partner Keith Hubert has watched her shape that culture. \u201cShilpa provides a positive example through her energy and drive, but also spearheads lunch breaks and health habits for her team, especially during the firm\u2019s busy tax season,\u2019\u2019 he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three extraordinary UConn women have been honored by the Hartford Business Journal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":159902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076,1862,2225],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-159893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-busn","category-uconn-storrs"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-09 20:40:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159903,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159893\/revisions\/159903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/159902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159893"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=159893"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=159893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}