CBIA BizCast

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 una...

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 ana...

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 repai...

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 arti...

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 cultu...

CBIA’s BizCast talks with David Gottlieb, co-owner with his brother Joseph Gottlieb of Goosetown Communications, the integrated solutions company they founded in 1990. The Gottlieb brothers are also first responders, and bring that experience to their work with a range of clients throughout the Northeast. “Connecticut has been an absolute great place to do business,” Gottlieb says. “We want custom...

CBIA’s BizCast talks with Cela Sinay-Bernie, managing partner of Connecticut-based Citrine Power, a developer and investor in renewable power plants. While the woman-owned company operates mostly in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts, they also have a presence in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. “Collectively our team has developed, financed, and built more than 60 projects and $200...

CBIA’s BizCast talks with Rhonda Tobin, the first female managing partner at Connecticut-based law firm Robinson+Cole. The conversation centers around the firm’s 175th anniversary celebrations, which included discussions of their core values of collaboration, civility, and inclusion, and addressing equity issues. Tobin, who has spent her entire 30-year career at Robinson+Cole, said that the suppor...

Wren built a special buffer that enables them to collect the saliva while protecting the COVID RNA sample from any degradation. This is especially important for detecting low viral loads. The lab’s work with the federal Food and Drug Administration indicates the test is highly accurate and will likely detect all known mutants including the Delta or Indian mutation, Kidd said. The test has a 24-hou...

Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick joins CBIA's BizCast to share how the town came together to navigate the pandemic and the innovative strategies her team is employing to support businesses and the recovery. "We're very fortunate that our community has worked well together for decades," Hoydick says. "We knew our strengths from prior tragedies and we deployed those during the pandemic." The first 90 d...

CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima talks with CliftonLarsonAllen managing principal Joe Kask and the accounting firm's chief practice officer for the Northeast, James Watson, about key takeaways from the acquisition of blumshapiro. Kask, the former CEO of blumshapiro, says many opportunities were created because of the January, 2021 merger—opportunities not just for employees, but for clients...

McCarter & English LLP's Moy Ogilvie, Bigelow Tea's Cindi Bigelow, Otis Elevator Co's Robin Fiala, InCord's Meredith Shay, and Medtronic's Valerie Finarty shared stories and insights on leadership and navigating the pandemic at CBIA's May 26 When Women Lead conference. Patience, empathy, and listening skills are what helped these Connecticut business leaders guide their companies through the coron...

CBIA’s BizCast talks with Leander Dolphin, Kent Nevins, and James Ruggeri, the new three partner leadership team at Hartford-based law firm Shipman & Goodwin. The co-managing partners share the background behind the decision to expand the leadership model following the retirement of former managing partner Alan Lieberman at the end of 2020. “The thing that was important to the partnership was to h...

Cigna's Wendy Sherry by Connecticut Business & Industry Association

To kick off Small Business Appreciation Week, CBIA’s BizCast chats with Stefan Bothe, co-founder and CEO of Flexi International Software in Shelton. “Every time I got fired it led to something better,” says the German-born Bothe, who helped found Flexi International 30 years ago, leveraging innovation to successfully navigate market changes, and over the last year, the pandemic. Please rate, revie...

CBIA’s BizCast talks with Matthew Hummel, KeyBank’s Commercial Banking Team Leader for Connecticut and Massachusetts. Hummel discusses the company’s new 2021 hires, their title as a national Paycheck Protection Program lender, and the expansion of its National Community Benefits Plan—which includes $530 million in community investment commitments for Connecticut and Massachusetts. KeyBank will be...

CBIA’s BizCast talks with Katie Witman, senior policy advisor at DoorDash, about the company’s new partnerships and community initiatives. Witman discusses the ways DoorDash is assisting local businesses, including a partnership with the Connecticut Restaurant Association. The company provided $5,000 grants to nearly 100 restaurants, stretching across 57 towns in Connecticut. DoorDash will also so...

CBIA’s BIzCast talks with Connecticut Wealth Management president and CEO Kevin Leahy, partner and cofounder Denis Horrigan, and Tanya D’Addio, the Farmington-based company’s director of firm culture. The company recently took first place in the Hartford Business Journal’s Best Place to Work in Connecticut awards and the trio discuss crafting workplace culture and why work-life balance has never b...

CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima talks with Gov. Ned Lamont during the March 16 Business Day about the statewide vaccine rollout, prioritizing federal relief funding, and what policies he supports to rebuild and grow Connecticut’s economy. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! cbia.com CBIA Twitter: twitter.com/CBIANews C...

BizCast talks with Hubbard-Hall president and CEO Molly Kellogg about the importance of businesses supporting their local community and how state government can support investment and job growth in Connecticut. Kellogg also reflects on leading the Waterbury manufacturer over the past year, how candor, curiosity, and courage shape her approach to business and life, and why she's sidelined from play...

BizCast catches up with Thomaston Savings Bank president and CEO Stephen Lewis about their Community Kitchen Project and why it's important to support struggling businesses and their local community. Lewis also discusses how banks are navigating the latest round of COVID economic relief, and why there's an increase in fraudulent activity targeting small businesses. Stay tuned for a bonus conversat...

BizCast talks with LiquidPiston founder and president Alec Shkolnik about their recent small business innovation award from the U.S. Army. Shkolnik discusses their new rotary x-engine technology and what the Bloomfield company's 2021 outlook is. 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.kr...

BizCast talks with Juliann Blanford, the general manager of Mansfield-based hydroelectric equipment manufacturer NuSTREEM. Blanford discusses hydropower technology, which industries invest in hydroturbines worldwide, and why water is an underrated renewable energy source. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a stor...

BizCast talks with Connecticut Spring and Stamping president Steve Dicke. Dicke discusses the precision manufacturer’s recent expansion to Southington, how sales have weathered the pandemic, and why workforce development is the number one issue keeping him up at night. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support! If you have a story t...