CBIA BizCast

For nearly 140 years, Hall Neighborhood House has been a staple in the Bridgeport community. “It’s a busy place,” the community center’s director of development Nick Sentementes told the CBIA BizCast. “We serve about 500 people on a daily basis.” Hall Neighborhood House got its beginning in the 1800s when a woman named Sarah Hall opened her doors to immigrant women and children. Hall helped them find jobs and enroll children in school. Sentementes said over the years, the center expanded to serve people across the east side of Bridgeport. Today, the center features numerous programs for people of all ages from preschool and childcare to elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as a senior center, health and dental clinic, university partnerships, and sports clinics. “It’s busy from 7 am to 9 o’clock in the evening,” Sentementes said. One of the center’s most popular programs is its STEM classroom. “We have 3D printers, we have I-Bots, we have microscopes, and the kids really love it,” Sentementes said. “I think they love STEM as much as they love gym.” And Hall Neighborhood House’s impact goes beyond the center’s walls. The organization is working to bring STEM classrooms to Bridgeport’s public schools. The initiative was started by a prominent donor and named in honor of Alan Wallack, a longtime Bridgeport educator who passed away several years ago. Sentementes said Hall STEM classroom teachers train staff at the schools and provide the curriculum and equipment at no cost to the schools. “The goal was to put a STEM classroom in all 30 of the Bridgeport K through eight public schools, and today, there are 22,” he said. “We have eight more to go, and we've had nothing but great results and good publicity regarding it.” Sentementes joined the center after a 30-year career in the banking industry. “I wanted to do something else,” he said. He joined Hall Neighborhood House after speaking with executive director Bob Dzurenda. “I found a sense of camaraderie," Sentementes said. “Everyone's helping each other, sharing their thoughts and ideas, best practices, and everyone's looking to assist each other.” The center has about 120 employees—Sentementes said many of them used the center as kids. “It’s kind of a family environment,” he said. As director of development, Sentementes works with businesses, executives, and philanthropic organizations to build support for Hall Neighborhood House. And he said the response from the business community has been great. “The most rewarding for me is going out and meeting interesting, successful, generous, philanthropic people that want to help, and that makes it worthwhile,” he said. Sentementes said it’s a busy time as the center looks to expand. “We have a waiting list for all our programs, so we're in the process of trying to add 10,000 square feet to our building,” he said. They’re also looking into the possibility of using a piece of property next door to add a soccer field, a playground, or a splash pad for the kids. Sentementes called Hall Neighborhood House a “hidden gem” and said it’s his job to make sure people know what the center is all about. “Our mission is to educate, empower, and enrich the local residents of the east side of Bridgeport,” he said. “So we're bringing in people, and I really don't have to say much—the place kind of speaks for itself.” Related Links: Hall Neighborhood House Website: https://hallneighborhoodhouse.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hall-neighborhood-house-inc./ Nick Sentementes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-sentementes/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

The landscape surrounding tariffs and international trade has been at the forefront of conversations since President Donald Trump came back into office in January. Within the last week, the U.S. and China agreed to a temporary pause on triple-digit tariffs as the two countries work to negotiate a trade deal. Despite the pause, the administration’s tariff policies and trade negotiations have led to increasing uncertainty for businesses. To get a better understanding of tariffs and their impact on businesses in Connecticut, Ulbrich Steel board chair Chris Ulbrich joined CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima May 5 on the CBIA BizCast. Ulbrich Steel imports about 30% of its products from outside the U.S. including China and Europe. “We’re trying hard to figure this all out,” Ulbrich said. And Ulbrich added that the economy is just starting to feel the increased costs from the tariffs. Ulbrich said the company recently shipped metal from China at $100 a pound, but by the time it reached the U.S. the actual cost was closer to $300 a pound. He added that the only company in the U.S. that makes the product sells it for $400 a pound, leaving companies with a difficult decision to make. “Then the trick is—the domestic producers—are they going to tailor what they need?” Ulbrich asked. “Will we start seeing them increasing their prices?” Ulbrich added that they are currently “a couple million dollars behind” with costs that haven’t moved down the supply chain. But he said the added costs of tariffs will impact customers. Ulbrich said the way their supply chain flows, it can take six-to-eight weeks for them to bring in raw materials and another six-to-eight weeks to get it out of their facility to the customer. “You’ve got to make the product,” Ulbrich said. “You’ve got to collect the money from the customer.” Ulbrich said adding to the unknowns is what happens to the products they ship to China from Connecticut. “All our orders are basically on hold because the customer, the Chinese customers, do not want to pay 145% tariff on our product,” he said at the time of the recording. Ulbrich said he can see positives from Trump administration trade policies. “We are seeing reshoring,” he said. “People want to buy from the U.S. So there are jobs coming back.” Still, Ulbrich said that reshoring brings its own set of challenges and uncertainty. A lot of the materials they use are not made here, noting that 90% of stainless steel rod is imported. “You don’t build a billion-dollar steel mill here overnight,” he said. Ulbrich also said that a big concern is finding the workforce needed to take on the potential new demand. “Even if all this works, and they negotiate great treaties this week and in the months ahead, and more reasonable tariffs are put in, we need a workforce,” he said. “Where are the people going to come from?” With 82,000 open jobs, Connecticut is already dealing with a labor shortage. Ulbrich said the state can help by addressing important issues like housing, workers’ compensation, and finding ways to develop and get polluted sites back on municipal tax rolls. “I’ve heard Gov. Lamont say, ‘76,000 people, if we can find jobs for those people, that’s 76,000 people paying taxes,’ and it’s wonderful,” Ulbrich said. As the tariff situation unfolds, Ulbrich said its important for business leaders to meet with their employees regularly. “Everybody knows,” he said. “They see on the plant floor maybe the jobs are half what they used to be. “Full communication, I think, helps so much.” Related Links: Ulbrich Website: https://www.ulbrich.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ulbrich-stainless-steels-&-special-metals/ Chris Ulbrich LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-ulbrich-66a21b11/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

Twenty five years ago this summer, The Latimer Group CEO Dean Brenner thought he’d be in crunch time training for the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  He was sailing professionally and he and his wife quit their day jobs because they thought he had a shot.  While their second place Olympic selection trial finish wasn’t the outcome they’d hoped for, it led them on a journey to starting their own business, one that is thriving, and helping other teams achieve their goals.  “One door closes, another door opens is the cliche,” said Brenner on the CBIA BizCast.  Brenner and his wife, Emily, built their business around their strengths and what they believed in–the power of effective communication. Today, The Latimer Group employs 15 people and works with corporations around the world to provide training and coaching to people and teams on powerful and persuasive communication skills.

Lawrence Ward will mark his first year as University of Hartford president in July. Ward sat down with the CBIA BizCast to discuss his journey to lead UHart, his first year, and his goals for the university. UHart is something of a homecoming for Ward, who grew up in Vernon and graduated from the University of Connecticut. Ward’s career actually started in sales and marketing at Aetna. But said the “seeds for being an educator were first planted as a young child.” Ward said growing up, he looked up to his mother—a high school social studies teacher. With the help of several mentors, Ward shifted to consulting for an organizational training company, and ultimately becoming an associate dean at American University and a dean and vice president at Babson College. Ward said he was drawn to UHart's ethos of being a private university that works to serve the public good. He also said coming back to Hartford was a full-circle moment for his family. Ward’s grandmother, who didn’t have more than an eighth grade education, worked as a chambermaid to help put three children through school. “The only thing that makes my story possible, and that of my family, is the promise of higher education,” he said. “So it's really important, it's very personal, and it is a tremendous honor to come back as president.” Ward became president during a period of transition for the university. That includes post-COVID financial realities and the controversial decision to shift from Division I to Division III athletics. “I have a challenge of rebuilding confidence in this institution and rebuilding confidence in ourself organizationally,” he said. “That’s a cultural challenge.” Ward said its been important to him to be present, engaged, and accessible to really understand the community. "I really prided myself on these first nine months, on doing exactly that," he said. "I have been really heartened by the university community's response to me and my leadership." Ward said his immediate goal is to make UHart a preferred destination for students and families. A big part of that is developing programs that prepare students for in-demand careers like nursing, robotics, and business. “We've got some really strong market-facing in-demand programs, and we need to match that with really high-quality student focused experience on campus,” he said. To do that, Ward said they are stepping up their efforts to engage with companies to create unique partnerships that will create career pipelines for students, benefitting the businesses and the university. Ward said as the university evolves, it’s important they live up to their name and help lift up the Hartford community. “We feel as though we have a responsibility as a University of Hartford to be supportive,” he said. “Success for the region will mean success for the University of Hartford.” The CBIA BizCast is made possible through the generous support of Google. 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 Amanda Marlow. Related Links: University of Hartford Website: https://www.hartford.edu/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-hartford/ Lawrence Ward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencepward/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

CBIA BizCast: Mentoring Next-Generation Talent How do you interest students in a career they may not know anything about? That’s a question the team at Mercer Investments is working to answer. Mercer principal Siddhartha Kalita joined the CBIA BizCast to highlight the company’s mentorship program, designed to inspire high students from disadvantaged backgrounds to explore financial services careers. Kalita said the initiative was created to bring the concept of financial awareness and career opportunities to young people while they’re still in school. “I had a good foundation at home,” Kalita said. “My parents pushed me to a math program, and that helped me to get that first, first head start into this world of financial industries. Not everyone has that background.” To put the initiative into action, Mercer connected with several schools including Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven. They then built a three-phase program: Phase 1: Employees visit the school to tell students about careers in financial services. Phase 2: Interested students visit Mercer’s Norwalk office to see firsthand what a financial services career entails. Phase 3: Mercer mentors work one-on-one with a small group of students on a research project that gives them about 50 hours of hands-on experience. About five students end up completing the program each year, which is now in its third year. Kalita said he'll know the program is a success when one of the students joins the workforce. “We try to bring them to the reality of what they have in the future when they get out of college, if they go to college, and then how could they be really happy in life,” Kalita said. Kalita said the program is part of Mercer’s long-term efforts to build a diverse and inclusive workforce. “Inclusion is in the genes of our organization,” he said. “This is one way for our company and for us to contribute back to the society, to actually create a diverse pool that one day will become the employment pool.” Related Links: Mercer Website: https://www.mercer.com/en-us/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mercer/ Siddhartha Kalita on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddhartha-kalita/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/ The CBIA BizCast is made possible through the generous support of Google. 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 Amanda Marlow. Related Links: Mercer Website: https://www.mercer.com/en-us/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mercer/ Siddhartha Kalita on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddhartha-kalita/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

When you think about restaurants and dining experiences, you probably don’t think about insurance companies. But that’s exactly who is behind one of Hartford’s new destination restaurants. Hartford Steam Boiler recently opened The Foundry on the 20th floor of One State Street in downtown Hartford. “We consider one State Street to be one of the preeminent buildings in Harford,” HSB president and CEO Greg Barats told the CBIA BizCast. “We've always had a top tier restaurant in here.” Those restaurants include The Polytechnic Club and On20. Like many restaurants, On20 closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly five years later, Barats said now was the right time to reopen. “We've been seeing an ongoing reinvestment in the downtown Hartford area,” Barats said. “A lot of other restaurants opening in the area, small businesses opening, more people coming back. We thought, okay, this is the time to do it.” Barats said they used the opportunity to reimagine the restaurant space and pay tribute to the company’s history and the city’s “can do” spirit. “We wanted to make a statement,” he said. “We want to give something back to the community and the capital that I think everybody can be proud of.” The Foundry offers a dining room with panoramic views of the city and multiple spaces that can be used as meeting spaces. Barats said the design honors the city’s industrial and manufacturing heritage. The restaurant also has several nods to HSB’s background, with rooms and areas dedicated to the company’s 158-year history. One room, The Sultana Room, pays tribute to a maritime disaster that led to the company’s founding in 1866. The Sultana was a steamship that was bringing prisoners home after the Civil War. Tragically, the ship was overloaded and its two steam boilers exploded, leading to the single largest maritime loss in U.S. history. Because of that tragedy, the Polytechnic Club, a group of engineers, formed HSB to solve the engineering design flaws. “We feel this restaurant's got a soul and we try to bring that through,” Barats said about the importance of leaning into their history. To help realize the vision of The Foundry, Barats and his team turned to a familiar face to lead the kitchen. Executive chef Jeffrey Lizotte is a Connecticut-native and the previous executive chef of On20. “We interviewed a lot of other chefs in the area,” Barats said. “Jeffrey was our pick. He's a hometown boy. He does exceptional work. He's just a great person, and we think he matched us very well.” Chef Lizotte’s team has created a menu that Barats described as American Contemporary with a little European flair. “Very familiar dishes, but with more of an elevated, exceptional add to it,” he said. While its doors have been open for several weeks, The Foundry celebrated its grand opening March 11 with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. Barats said they’ve been embraced by the community and the restaurant is booked 40 days in advance. Barats said HSB’s and The Foundry's goal is to be part of the community and help Hartford’s resurgence. “I think the more you're involved in, the live, work, play in a city, the more vibrant it can be,” he said. He said with restaurants like The Foundry and others, along with new housing, hotels, and street commerce, the city is returning to that vibrancy. “Every day, every week, every month, we try to be part of that,” he said. “I hope it continues to bring pride, you know, and something to look forward to and come and enjoy here in Hartford.” Related Links: Hartford Steam Boiler Website: https://www.munichre.com/hsb/en.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hsb/ Greg Barats LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-barats/ The Foundry Website: https://thefoundryct.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoundryct/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

Join Dr. Albert Green, the new CEO of QuantumCT and a physicist with over 20 patents, as he delves into the exciting world of quantum technology. He discusses Connecticut's ambition to become a leader in this field, leveraging partnerships with Yale and UConn. Green shares insights about transitioning innovations into consumer-friendly applications and the critical role of collaboration in a thriving business ecosystem. He draws intriguing parallels between the rise of quantum computing and AI, emphasizing the potential for transformative impacts across industries.

Bryn Tindall, CEO of Rebellion Group, shares his vision for an agency built around disruption, fostering creativity and innovation. Joined by Sam Barrett, a U.S. Army veteran turned marketing leader, they discuss the company’s evolution and the significance of believing in one’s potential. They explore the transformation of workplace culture post-COVID, and the importance of community engagement through their event series. Tindall and Barrett advocate for empathetic leadership, emphasizing tailored management approaches for team dynamics.

The Lee Company president and CEO Marietta Lee never saw herself leading the business her grandfather started 77 years ago. Today, the Westbrook-based manufacturer employs 1,200 people making miniature hydraulic components for the aerospace, medical, and automotive industries. “We are a family business,” Lee told the CBIA BizCast. “We’ve always treated our employees as our family and we’ve benefited from a lot of loyalty from our employees over the years.” But Lee, who was elected CBIA board chair in December 2024, started her career journey not just outside the family business, but far from the manufacturing floor. “It really wasn’t my dream to work there at all,” she said. “I went off to school and became a lawyer.” “I worked in TV news for a long time, that was what I wanted to do.” After several years working as an investigative journalist and having children, Lee moved back to Connecticut to be closer to family. “My dad came to me and said, ‘Have you ever thought about working at the company?’” she explained. After a lot of “soul searching” she decided to join the family business. Lee worked her way up, including earning a master’s degree in engineering management. “I worked in a lot of different facets of the company on my way to where I am now, which has been really invaluable,” she said. Lee became CEO of the company in 2023, but she points to the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point in her career. Lee said she not only worried about her workers’ safety, but about getting groceries for her family as so many stores were impacted. “Somebody said, ‘How are you doing?’ And I just lost it,” she said. “I was like, ‘I am not good. I go home, I cry.’ I just totally let down my guard. “And the woman looked at me, and she was like ‘me too.’ And we had the best conversation.” Lee she’d previously emulated the styles of those that came before her, which she perceived as stoic and strong. “It sort of dawned on me that I need to be authentic. I need to be me.” she said. “I don’t have to be somebody else’s leader or lead the way somebody else does. I can be myself. It was refreshing.” Lee said that by being authentic and vulnerable, she works to empower the people that work for her. “I think people respond to it. And I make better decisions as a result,” she said. Lee acknowledged that being a woman in manufacturing isn’t easy. “I am usually the only woman at the table, and that’s kind of a lonely place,” she said. She said that when she joined The Lee Company, there were a lot of women, including young mothers. But there were not a lot of women in middle and upper management—something that has changed during her tenure. Lee also started “The Ladies of Lee,” an informal group that gets together every few months to talk about issues unique to being a woman in the workforce. “It’s always going to be tough, but to know that you have a little bit of a support system at work, I think is really great,” she said. Lee’s term as board chair comes at an historic time for CBIA and a pivotal moment for the state’s economy. “For the first time ever, we have more women than men on the board, which is really great,” she said. Lee said the diversity of the board of directors is critical, not just when it comes to gender, but also the size of the companies and the different industries represented. “Connecticut, I think, is in a really good place right now, and we have a great opportunity to make Connecticut even better for our business community,” she said. “I think it’s very important that we work hard to make Connecticut an affordable state for both potential employees and for businesses.” Related Links: The Lee Company Website: https://www.theleeco.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-lee-company/ Marietta Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marietta-lee-17729410a/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

With the start of the 2025 General Assembly session, the CBIA BizCast team sat down with CBIA vice president of public policy Chris Davis to discuss the session and CBIA’s ReimagineCT policy solutions. Supported by a bipartisan group of 73 lawmakers and a growing coalition of businesses, the policy solutions are designed to drive economic growth, address the high costs of living and running a business, expand career pathways, and foster innovation. "If legislators were able to really sit back and think about, 'Is this making Connecticut more affordable, and is it making easier to employ people here in Connecticut,' I think you'll see a lot of good legislation get passed," Davis said. CBIA developed the solutions in collaboration with residents and business leaders from across the state. “What’s really impressed me is the level of engagement that our business community has, especially around public policy issues,” Davis said. “These are items that they have said to us, ‘If we can implement these changes, we can really start moving the needle here in Connecticut to grow our economy and improve our workforce.’” Davis said the ReimagineCT policy solutions are a way to build coalitions around critical issues to the business community. “It's a way for us to really have those conversations across party lines about these real solutions that will really grow our economy and our workforce," Davis said. "Because at the end of the day, that's not a partisan issue. “Trying to get your constituents more access to jobs and trying to help those businesses within their communities, is something that transcends party.” While Davis and the CBIA’s policy team will be advocating for these solutions at the State Capitol, he said CBIA members and the business community also play an important role. “One of the key things that we do on our public policy team is getting out and meeting with members,” he said. “We oftentimes will bring a legislator with us and have them have the opportunity to see firsthand exactly how that business operates here in Connecticut. “Hearing directly from your own constituent business can play such a huge role in your decision making process as a legislator.” Related Links: ReimagineCT: https://www.cbia.com/news/media-center/reimaginect-cbia-2025-policy-solutions-2 https://www.cbia.com/resources/issues-policies/reimaginect-general-assembly-pledges CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/