Michael and Shari Cantor are one of Greater Hartford’s foremost power couples.
Michael is co-managing partner of Hartford intellectual property law firm Cantor Colburn LLP and board chair of Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public venture capital arm.
Shari Cantor is the mayor of West Hartford, one of the region’s wealthiest towns. Last September, the married couple and former UConn alums announced their support to help fund a new entrepreneurship course at their alma mater, which will include working to solve problems faced by startup companies in Greater Hartford.
As public and private actors in the state work toward boosting entrepreneurship in Connecticut, Michael Cantor has become a central player bringing both worlds together. He’s also a major Hartford cheerleader.
As board chair of CI, he’s helped the firm become a leading player in funding and promoting Connecticut-based startups.
As a leader at Cantor Colburn — which was founded in the 1990s with three attorneys — Cantor oversees a major U.S. patent legal practice employing more than 100 attorneys and 300 total staffers across offices in Hartford, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Atlanta and Houston. In 2020, Cantor Colburn was ranked as the No. 4 law firm in the country for patents issued, according to industry tracker Harrity & Harrity.
Shari Cantor has been West Hartford’s mayor since 2016 and won reelection this past November. She’s spent much of the last two years dealing with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and helped launch a successful outdoor dining scene in West Hartford Center that not only helped restaurants survive but thrive.
West Hartford is also the focus of several major apartment redevelopments that aim to add hundreds of residential units to the town, known for its diversity, quality schools and vibrant downtown restaurant scene.
Shari Cantor is a CPA who formerly worked for PwC and Cigna and was inducted into the UConn Business Hall of Fame in 2017.