CBIA BizCast

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Steve Weiss, vice president of human resources at New Haven-based biopharma company Arvinas. Arvinas is one of a number of bioscience companies participating in the Sprint Initiative—Student Program to Ready Interns for Next-Generation Talent. Launched by the New Haven Regional Bioscience Collaborative, the program is designed to provide real-world job experience for students attending Colleges and universities in Connecticut. Weiss said students will intern at a bioscience company, with an option to focus on areas like IT or accounting if they aren’t studying the life sciences. “We definitely see New Haven specifically as a biotech hub and we want to be a part of that growth and attract that talent and retain that talent to the area,” he said. The program coincides with the Life-Science Sprints in Connecticut campaign, designed to increase visibility and boost the growth of the state’s bioscience industry. The collaborative was launched last May by the Governor's Workforce Council, with industry leadership and support provided by the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Connecticut’s first chief manufacturing officer Colin Cooper, who is retiring from the role. CBIA, affiliates CONNSTEP and ReadyCT, and the Connecticut Manufacturers' Collaborative championed the need for the position, which the legislature created in 2019. The former CEO of the Whitcraft group took office just months before COVID-19 shut down the state. Cooper said his favorite part of the role was getting to tour the state and see the breadth and diversity of the state’s manufacturing sector. “There are so many companies that I have been to that I had never heard of before and I had spent my life in manufacturing,” said Cooper. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with StamfordNext president Wes Bemus about the nonprofit collaborative’s mission to invest in the start-up ecosystem and generate economic growth. The state considers Stamford one of Connecticut’s four “Innovation Places.” State funding and grants are dedicated to turning the city into a data science ecosystem. Bemus said that while Stamford has seen a lot of large corporate companies come and go, many of their employees want to remain in the city. He said StamfordNext aims to provide resources for those who want to launch their own startup in data science. “Looking 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years down the road, what are the companies doing with that data?,” he asked. “How are they going to be looking into the massive sets of numbers and data from their customers and their clients and how are they going to benefit from it?” “This has really shown that artificial intelligence and data science are the real future for how the industries will be successful.” Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Paul Lemmo, president of Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company. Lemmo was the keynote speaker at CBIA’s recent Made in Connecticut 2021: Manufacturing Summit, where he spoke about the company’s digital transformation. He also addressed workforce development, noting the company’s approach to to recruit talent from those taking STEM courses at nearby colleges and universities. Lemo says those graduates want to come to a manufacturer with the best technology. “It boosts our efficiency and effectiveness,” he said. “We don't need maybe quite as many employees, but also the skill sets are higher that we are looking for because the jobs are more integrative and more complex.” Sikorsky has partnered with Boeing to develop and build its candidate for the U.S. Army to succeed the company’s iconic Black Hawk helicopter. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Jean Pierre Bolat, CEO of MOVIA Robotics in Bristol. The company designs robot-assisted instruction systems to help teach children with autism. University of Connecticut professor and scientist Timothy Gifford founded MOVIA Robotics in 2010. Bolat joined the company three and a half years ago after a long career in the U.S. Navy and in cybersecurity. He was inspired by the company's mission because he has a son on the spectrum. Bolat said MOVIA’s system helps children on the autism spectrum focus, increase their attention span, and accelerate their learning trajectory. “They do some movement activities together and they have a discussion,” he said. “They learn how to communicate together. What we do is we have the child answer a question and the robot answers via a tablet. “The child can positively answer through a tablet. The data of the child's answers are collected in a laptop computer.” Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with General Dynamics Electric Boat president Kevin Graney. Graney is the keynote speaker at CBIA’s Jan. 21 Economic Summit + Outlook conference. Graney took over as president of the Groton-based submarine manufacturer in 2019. He says Electric Boat is in a period of heavy growth, driven by major U.S. Navy contracts. That growth requires hiring thousands of skilled workers over the next few years, which Graney recognizes as a significant challenge. “We are looking everywhere we can, we are expanding our focus area from the immediate area of Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island to further and further out,” said Graney. “You can't watch an NFL game without seeing an Electric Boat commercial and that's how I want it. I want people to know we are open for business.” Graney will share further details about Electric Boat’s workforce development strategy and how the company is navigating supply chain bottlenecks at the conference, which is now virtual because of the surge in COVID-19 positivity rates. Registration for the 2022 Economic Summit + Outlook, made possible through the generous support of Webster Bank, is free for CBIA members. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with CBIA HR counsel Diane Mokriski about the most frequently asked questions of 2021 and what she expects in 2022. Mokriski addresses a range of questions, including whether an employee should be paid if they are out with COVID-19, paying employees for snow days, and if a company can offer unpaid internships to college students home over winter break. “Unpaid internships—the labor department doesn't favor them,” said Mokriski. “They really want people to get at least minimum wage, with limited exceptions.” CBIA members can use the HR Hotline for free and speak with Mokriski directly about their HR problems or questions. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Dr. Charles Lee, director of The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Farmington. Lee’s team is responsible for determining which COVID-19 variants are present in Connecticut, using genomic sequencing to identify strains in positive samples. The state is using resources like Jackson Labs to sequence 25% of all positive cases to determine how many cases of the original variant, Delta, or Omicron cases there are in Connecticut. “The entire length of the virus is 30,000 bases so we sequence the entire 30,000 bases and look for the changes along all 30,000 bases,” Lee said. “Of course doing that by hand is a nearly impossible task—we have computers that help us do that quickly.” They then notify the state lab of which variants they detect. Lee said they primarily analyze positive tests from nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Ninety-nine percent of the variants analyzed recently were the Delta strain of the virus. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Jacqueline Gallo, the chief operating officer of Whitcraft, about the aerospace manufacturer’s work release program. Gallo started filling open positions on the second shift at the company’s Eastford facility with Enfield Correctional Institution inmates in 2018. Gallo said not only did Whitcraft need workers, she personally witnessed family members have a hard time finding a meaningful career after incarceration. “They are getting a fair wage and have full benefits,” said Gallo. “When they get released we keep them on as employees and hope they will continue to work with us.” Gallo said Whitcraft is working with the state to develop the first women’s work release program at York Correctional Institution. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Foxwoods Resort Casino president and CEO Jason Guyot. Guyot, who began his career at Foxwoods as a bellhop in 1995, became interim president in April 2020 while the casino was closed during the pandemic. He was named president and CEO in March this year. “It wasn't like there was any one day where I said ‘hey, I want to be CEO of Foxwoods,’” said Guyot, the first member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to lead the company. “I have been here for almost 20 years of my career and built my career here and had a lot of support through that. “Last year in 2020 when the council asked me to fill in in the interim role, I really jumped at the opportunity. I felt I was ready.” Foxwoods currently has about 3,000 employees, down from a pre-pandemic high of more than 5,000. Guyot said Foxwoods is using a variety of tactics to address the labor shortage, including hosting job fairs. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story to tell, contact Ali Warshavsky.