Bob Stefanowski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Stefanowski
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Robert Vincent Stefanowski
May 21, 1962 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Education | Fairfield University (BS) Cornell University (MBA) |
| Political party | Republican (2016–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Amy Stefanowski |
| Children | 3 |
Bob Stefanowski was born on May 21, 1962. He is an American businessman and a politician. He grew up in North Haven, Connecticut. Before becoming a politician, he worked as a top executive for several big companies.
Bob Stefanowski lives in Madison, Connecticut. He ran for Governor of Connecticut as a Republican in both 2018 and 2022.
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Early Life and Education
Bob Stefanowski's father was a scoreboard assistant at the Yale Bowl. Bob graduated from North Haven High School in 1980. He then went to Fairfield University, where he earned a degree in accounting in 1984. Later, he received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Cornell University in 1992.
After college, Stefanowski started his career as an auditor in Hartford, Connecticut. He worked for a company called PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Business Career Highlights
Bob Stefanowski had a long career in business before entering politics. He held important roles at several large companies.
Working at General Electric
Stefanowski joined General Electric (GE) in 1994. He worked there until 2007, holding many senior positions. In 2003, he became the president and CEO of GE Commercial & Industrial Finance. From 2004 to 2005, he led GE Telecom, Media & Technology Finance. He worked at the GE Capital main office in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Other Leadership Roles
From 2008 to 2011, Stefanowski was a chairman and managing partner at 3i Group plc in London, England. After that, he became the chief financial officer (CFO) of UBS. There, he helped reorganize their Investment Bank to meet new financial rules.
From 2014 to 2017, he was the CEO of Dollar Financial Group. This company had offices in London and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since early 2019, Stefanowski has been working in senior roles for Neom. Neom is a large, planned futuristic city project in Saudi Arabia.
Political Journey
Bob Stefanowski has run for Governor of Connecticut twice. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Running for Governor in 2018
In September 2017, Stefanowski announced he would run for the Republican nomination for governor. He wanted to change the state's taxes. His ideas included slowly getting rid of the state income tax and other business taxes. He also wanted to use a special budgeting method called zero-based budgeting. This method means every expense must be justified each new period.
His tax ideas were supported by famous economic experts like Arthur Laffer and Larry Kudlow. During his campaign, Stefanowski also said he would not support more gun control laws in Connecticut.
He started running TV commercials in January 2018. These ads criticized the Democratic governor at the time, Dannel P. Malloy. Stefanowski used his own money and donations to fund his campaign.
Many people supported him, including other Republican politicians and local leaders. At the Republican convention in May 2018, another candidate, Mark Boughton, was endorsed by the party. However, Stefanowski still got on the primary ballot by collecting enough signatures.
In August 2018, Stefanowski won the Republican primary election. He received 29.4% of the votes. After he won the primary, Donald Trump supported his campaign. In the main election in November 2018, Stefanowski was narrowly defeated by the Democrat, Ned Lamont.
Running for Governor in 2022
On January 19, 2022, Bob Stefanowski announced he would run for governor again. He won the Republican nomination at the convention on May 6, 2022. Laura Devlin was chosen as his running mate. In the November 2022 general election, Stefanowski was defeated by Ned Lamont again. This time, the difference in votes was larger.
Election Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Stefanowski | 42,119 | 29.4 | |
| Republican | Mark D. Boughton | 30,505 | 21.3 | |
| Republican | David Stemerman | 26,276 | 18.3 | |
| Republican | Tim Herbst | 25,144 | 17.6 | |
| Republican | Steve Obsitnik | 19,151 | 13.4 | |
| Total votes | 143,195 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ned Lamont | 694,510 | 49.37 | |
| Republican | Bob Stefanowski | 650,138 | 46.21 | |
| Independent | Oz Griebel | 54,741 | 3.89 | |
| Libertarian | Rod Hanscomb | 6,086 | 0.43 | |
| Total votes | 1,406,803 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ned Lamont (incumbent) | 710,186 | 55.97 | ||
| Republican | Bob Stefanowski | 546,209 | 43.05 | ||
| Independent | Robert Hotaling | 12,400 | 0.98 | ||
| Green | Michelle Louise Bicking (write-in) | 98 | 0.0 | ||
| Total votes | 1,268,893 | 100.0 | |||
| Democrat hold | |||||
Personal Life and Achievements
Bob Stefanowski lives in Madison with his wife, Amy, and their three daughters.
He wrote a book called Making M&A Deals Happen, which was published in 2007. He is also a Wharton Fellow. He has taught at several universities, including NYU Stern, London Business School, Cambridge University, and Oxford University.
Stefanowski is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). These are special certifications in finance and accounting.
See also
- 2018 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election
- 2022 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2022 Connecticut gubernatorial election
