CBIA BizCast

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky has some special guests put president and CEO Chris DiPentima in the hot seat to celebrate the podcast’s 100th episode. As DiPentima begins his second year as president,Compass MSP CEO Ari Santiago and the state’s first chief manufacturing officer Colin Cooper want to know what he’s hearing from manufacturers and what needs to be done to strengthen the industry's workforce. Fox 61 news anchor Jennifer Bernstein has some questions for DiPentima about how new national mandates will affect the state’s businesses. Former CBIA board chair and Murtha Cullina LLP managing partner Jennifer DelMonico wants to know DiPentima’s hidden talent. Can you guess? 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 Rob Lia, President of Wheelhouse Group in Stamford. Brent Montgomery, known for creating a reality TV empire, is the founder of Wheelhouse. He promoted his long-time counsel, Lia, to president in 2019. Wheelhouse Group has offices in New York and Los Angeles as well. Lia said the tax credits offered by the state to media companies was the incentive they needed to bring the business to Stamford rather than Queens, New York. “Fairfield County is filled with incredible talent and most of it goes into New York City everyday,” Lia said. Lia oversees The Village, which is the building that includes Wheelhouse’s Stamford production offices, Cisco Brewery and The Wheel restaurant. He said the goal was to create a collaborative space where creative minds can meet. 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 Tom Romagnoli, Downes Construction’s assistant director of operations, about the company's partnership with Lynn Ricci and Jeff Lawton from New Britain’s Hospital of Special Care. Ricci, the hospital’s CEO, approached Downes in 2019 to build and renovate a partial hospital unit for kids with autism spectrum disorder. The unite provides an intensive day program for those not able to participate in other treatments or school programs safely. It’s unique and one of 11 in the country. Romagnoli said they ordered their supplies before the pandemic hit and were able to finish the project on time despite supply chain challenges COVID-19 caused. They implemented daily health checks for onsite workers and thorough contact tracing. “As people were driving to work there were billboards and things telling people to stay home,” said Romagnoli. “First and foremost we needed to make sure our workforce felt safe and comfortable coming to work.” 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 West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor and economic development director Kristen Gorski about their efforts to keep the town’s business districts thriving during the pandemic. Cantor said her team was very proactive during the height of the pandemic, including purchasing and installing jersey barriers to create outdoor spaces for restaurants. “We were one of the first communities in the state to expand outdoor dining and that was a real quick expansion,” Cantor said. Gorski said communication between the town’s 4,000-plus employers was key to letting businesses know what state and federal relief dollars were available. “What we did was very fast and furious to try and update our businesses through those email communications in live time,” Gorski said. “As many people will remember, it was information coming out quickly and it was important to get it to the businesses so they had the best chance to be successful as possible.” Hear more from Cantor and other lawmakers at CBIA’s The Connecticut Economy conference September 30. 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.

Funding Alzheimer’s Treatment by Connecticut Business & Industry Association

CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Bob Hersh, Grant Thornton’s national managing principal of the manufacturing industry and practice leader for the Metro New York and New England areas. Grant Thornton is hosting an Aug. 26 conference on how the industry is adapting to working through and beyond the pandemic. Hersh says COVID-19 disruptions hit manufacturers extremely hard, with most unable to shut down as they were making essential products. He noted that the pandemic created significant supply chain issues, although advances in e-manufacturing could resolve those. “I have a couple clients that are dealing with 3D printing in the industrial space, CNC, a lot of things where the design is driven electronically,” he said. Hersh added that digital technologies provide companies with a blueprint to generate inventory and relieve supply chain bottlenecks. 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 Patti Compton, Head of Statistical Programming and Analysis at Pfizer’s Groton location, the company’s largest research hub and home to over 4,000 scientists. “Every Pfizer product has been developed in some part by folks in Groton,” said Compton. When COVID-19 took hold last year, the Groton location pivoted to vaccine development. Employees helped analyze the results of clinical trials and antibody treatments. Compton’s key role was to help analyze the results of 40,000 trials, determining the vaccine’s efficacy and safety. “It was clear, made by our own CEO, that this was the prime focus,” said Compton. “Never have I seen an organization pivot that way and really turn its attention to one compound simultaneously, really pulling out the stops to find out if it was a safe compound, would it work?” Compton said a large portion of the Groton community was willing to participate in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trials. 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 Barnum Museum executive director Kathleen Maher about keeping PT Barnum’s legacy alive through three natural disasters and a pandemic. In 2010, the museum in Bridgeport was hit by a tornado. Some of the 20,000 objects were soaked when the tornado tore through. The museum was then hit by hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy before it could fully be repaired. “There has not been a moment of rest trying to figure out a EF 1 tornado impact on nationally significant buildings, with collections,” said Maher. Barnum had originally purchased the building the museum is in to turn into his own museum. Since 2012, a gallery has been open to show the artifacts but the goal is to raise enough money to reopen a brand new museum. That has been further postponed by the pandemic. P.T. Barnum was born in 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut and spent most of his life in Bridgeport. Not only did Barnum become the famous name behind the American circus, Maher spent time in the state general assembly and had a goal to make Bridgeport a manufacturing hub. Maher said Barnum faced five major fires in his career as well as a large financial setback. She said they have learned from his examples of how to persevere through the toughest times. “The Barnum Museum has become not just a Connecticut or national, but a global model for disaster resilience and recovery,” said Maher. “I have spoken all over the world about it.” 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 New Canaan Chamber of Commerce executive director Laura Budd and town administrative officer Tucker Murphy about the creative ways they have encouraged the community to visit town businesses during the pandemic. Murphy said some stores permanently closed their doors this past year. Instead of empty storefronts downtown, they collaborated with local artists to fill the windows with pictures of New Canaan landmarks. “It gave us a way to enhance the look, the overall look, we are loving doing it,” Murphy said. “We are trying to put them in a few more. The good news is, the number of empty storefronts is going down.” Budd said no matter what the event was in town last year, and whether it was held virtually or in person, the goal was to drive new and old residents to the downtown area. “We had a very abbreviated sidewalk sale in August last year when it's typically in July,” she said. “We spread it over two days. We had a quarter of the vendors we usually have but focused on the New Canaan brick and mortar stores and allowed them to do that.” 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’s BizCast talks with Roberta Wachtelhausen and Andi Campbell of WellSpark Health, the Farmington-based employee well-being solutions company. “We’re really trying to help employers develop a culture of well-being, not just offer a suite of benefits,” said Wachtelhausen, who is president of the ConnectiCare affiliate. “We’re trying to go beyond that by helping that employer bring forth a culture that is focused on the well being of the entire workforce.” Campbell, the chief growth officer, said this type of culture mitigates future healthcare costs, improves productivity and engagement, and reduces absenteeism. “The best and most successful programming when it’s related to wellness or well-being happens outside of HR,” she said. “There’s a set of workplace behaviors that are foundational components to building well-being in a company’s DNA.” 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 Katie Krajcik (katie.krajcik@cbia.com).