Some executive directors of Connecticut’s quasi-public state agencies have seen their salaries increase by six figures over the last six years, with pay growing by upwards of 80 percent or $300,000, far outpacing inflation, according to a comparison of 2020 salaries and current salaries listed on Connecticut’s open data website.

Quasi-public agencies, like the Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC), operate as independent government agencies without some of the usual government controls over their operations. Their CEOs and directors set budgets and pay scales under the governance of a board of directors. Some quasi-publics, like the CLC, send hundreds of millions to the state General Fund, while others operate as investment entities to spur growth in particular areas like housing or the environment.

However, most quasi-public agency employees are considered state employees and are granted state employee health and pension benefits, meaning that increases to salaries will increase their pension upon retirement. 

The largest increase in salary from 2020 to 2026 was for Matthew McCooe, the head of CT Innovations, Connecticut’s quasi-public venture capital arm with roughly $41.5 million in assets. CT Innovations invests in companies to encourage growth within the state and to draw other businesses to Connecticut. 

McCooe saw his salary rise by $134,000, or 35.4 percent, to $514,567, beating out inflation by more than $35,000, and making him the highest paid head of a quasi-public agency in the state. Although his projected salary for 2026 is $514,567, McCooe has for the last three years made much more. He is listed as receiving $680,688 in 2025, marking a roughly $300,000, or 79 percent, increase and received $599,003 in 2024.

A state audit released in 2025, faulted the quasi-public agency for not verifying whether companies who received a total of $93 million in taxpayer funds had retained or increased jobs in the state to the point where they have a majority presence in Connecticut, per the Connecticut presence agreement companies sign to receive assistance from CT Innovations.

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) supports housing development in Connecticut, particularly affordable housing, through leveraging tax credits and offering financing options to both developers and home buyers. CHFA CEO Nandini Natarajan saw her salary increase by $127,396, or 48.5 percent, pushing her pay to $391,189 and beating out inflation by more than $58,000.

According to meeting minutes, the CHFA board voted to increase Natarajan’s salary by $80,000 in 2024, and an additional one percent pay increase based on merit, and a 2 percent cost of living increase in 2025.

Bryan Garcia, head of the Connecticut Green Bank, which is supported in part by Connecticut ratepayers through the public benefits charge on their electric bill and proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, likewise saw his salary increase by $105,141, or 46.5 percent, between 2020 and 2026, putting his current pay at $330,114, beating inflation by $46,467.

According to meeting materials, the Green Bank’s Budget, Operations, and Compensation Committee in 2023, the Green Bank was paying 97.5 percent of market rate for employee compensation. 

According to those same materials and materials from additional years, employees are given variable cost of living increases, have access to a “merit pool” for performance-based incentives, and a 1.5 percent promotion pool. Additionally, the materials indicate that Green Bank adjusts employee pay based on the preceding year of inflation, which in 2023 amounted to 6.7 percent.

Lastly, the pay for the executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) increased by $77,920, or 39 percent, outpacing inflation by $26,244. David Steuber took over as head of the quasi-public agency that seeks to incentivize economic growth in the capital region in October 2025 after longtime executive director Michael Friemuth retired. Freimuth just began collecting a state pension in 2026.

Several other heads of quasi-public agencies, however, saw little to no pay increase, or at least pay increases that failed to keep up with inflation. The position of executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, held by Kevin Dillon until his retirement and subsequent replacement by Michael Shea, was for a long time the highest paid quasi-public position at nearly $400,000 per year. That figure has hardly changed over the last six years.

The heads of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation and the CT Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority have received pay increases of 16.1 and 11.4 percent respectively, but remain tens of thousands of dollars behind inflation. 

The salary for the head of the Connecticut Port Authority (CPA) has not changed at all in six years, according to state records, as the CPA has cycled through executive directors while redeveloping the State Pier to become a hub for offshore wind farms.

Although technically state employees, quasi-public agencies are not subject to the collective bargaining agreements that dictate most of Connecticut’s state government employee spending. Gov. Ned Lamont is currently negotiating another round of pay increases for unionized state employees who have received roughly 4.5 percent increases every year since 2019, pushing the average state employee pay past $94,000.

That average, naturally, includes highly paid doctors and professors and coaches at UConn and UConn Health, along with the directors of quasi-public agencies. Some of those quasi-public agencies have increased their staff size and pay, as well, based on the most recent published financial reports.

Between 2020 and 2024, CT Innovations saw payroll and fringe benefit costs rise from $9.3 million to $10.3 million; CT Green Bank went from a payroll of $3.8 million in 2020 to $9.4 million in 2025; CHFA’s payroll went from $13.1 million in 2020 to $15.8 million in 2024.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income for Connecticut residents increased by 25 percent between 2020 and 2024, the most recently available data. Those figures show median income rising from $79,430 to $99,240 during those four years, beating out inflation despite years marked with high inflation rates.

Some Connecticut quasi-publics were not included in this review because their executive directors are not paid by the state. Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health exchange, “shall not be construed to be a department, institution, or agency of the state,” according to statute, and is funded through assessments levied on certain insurance plans. AHCT’s executive director, James Michel, is not listed as receiving a salary through the state.

Similarly, the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) and its subsidiary, the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority, “does not use taxpayer dollars and is not staffed by state employees,” according to OpenQuasi.CT.Gov. CHEFA Executive Director Jeanette Weldon recently announced her retirement as of June 30, 2026, and the board is searching for a new director, according to a press release.

In July 2024, Gov. Ned Lamont announced David Kooris, formerly the board chairman for the Connecticut Port Authority, would head the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority (MRDA), a new quasi-public agency established by the General Assembly to assist municipalities in transit-oriented development and new housing, according to the press release. 

Although Kooris is listed with a projected 2026 salary of $240,923, he received $331,385 in 2025 as head of the MRDA. 

“The Municipal Redevelopment Authority will be taking a holistic approach to partnering with Connecticut’s municipalities to spur the development of new housing that is easily accessible to transportation options and meets the needs that businesses are seeking,” Lamont said.

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