DECD’s new commissioner has a broad vision for economic development success
Greenwich resident David Lehman brings Wall Street experience and a penchant for data analytics to reboot Connecticut’s economy as commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
Gov. Ned Lamont (left) named Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, and retired Webster Bank CEO Jim Smith as co-chairs of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.
Peter Denious is president and CEO of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.
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Connecticut is bringing corporate star power to lead its economic-development efforts, in a strategic move to safeguard and build the state’s business and industrial base.
During his first term in office, Gov. Ned Lamont announced plans to restructure the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and he’s brought in top former business executives to lead the charge.
That includes David Lehman, a former Goldman Sachs executive who now serves as DECD commissioner as well as the governor’s senior economic advisor.
Lehman is revamping how DECD and the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) function and interact with one another to support and promote economic development. While the two entities have collaborated in the past, he would ultimately like for businesses to “think about the CERC-DECD team as one.”
DECD is already focused on making it easier for companies to do business in Connecticut – by rolling back some unduly burdensome regulations and eliminating certain fees, for example – while also working to streamline development processes, enhance inter-agency collaboration, promote private investment, and support workforce development.
CERC will serve as the “primary marketing and sales engine of the state,” both for recruitment and retention.
“You have to have the right policies and the right strategies but then, in my mind, it just comes down to old-fashioned client coverage and salesmanship,” Lehman said.
Most importantly, the two organizations will be working to better communicate and promote the state’s strengths, including top workforce talent, excellent colleges and universities, a high level of innovation, an enviable quality of life, and one of the highest levels of productivity in the world.
The state also enjoys “an ideal location between two massively vibrant economies,” said Jim Smith, the former CEO of Webster Bank who is now a co-chair of CERC with former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. “Build on all of those and there’s no telling what we can achieve. I absolutely think that Connecticut has started to climb, and a lot of things are starting to go our way.”
Smith said he is working with industry experts and leaders to develop sector clusters that “will be continually identifying the needs and making policy recommendations to Lamont and legislators to enhance each industry’s primary competitiveness and focus on workforce development needs and logistical considerations.”
Meantime, Nooyi, who also sits on Amazon’s board of directors, is heading CERC’s marketing, branding and communication efforts, aimed at spreading the word about all that Connecticut has to offer.
Another high-profile executive who will be promoting Connecticut is Peter Denious, a respected private equity and venture capital professional – and CERC’s new president and CEO.
Denious will spearhead what Lehman calls “proactive and targeted outreach” to companies and industries to ensure that they are getting what they need from the state. He said in a competitive national environment, with other states always looking to attract new business, it’s critical to ensure that Connecticut-based companies feel they are being heard, and that any concerns or suggestions are being addressed.
Lehman also believes DECD needs to concentrate on building and maintaining areas where it has a competitive advantage and critical mass -- like Hartford’s reputation as an insurance and financial hub, Eastern Connecticut’s success in the defense industry, and New Haven’s concentration in technology, bioscience and health care.
Asked about his goals, Lehman noted that he’d like to see Connecticut become a “top-quartile performer relative to other states – certainly relative to other states in this region that we compete with.”
There are promising signs that the state is moving in the right direction, Lehman said, including recent changes to the Transfer Act that will make it easier for individuals to transfer contaminated real estate for cleanup and development, and a focus on facilitating development in “opportunity zones” in urban areas.
He noted that the state passed “a strong budget” that kept spending in check and will limit borrowing.
Lehman said ensuring that Connecticut’s fiscal house is in order will encourage economic development in a more sustainable way than offering incentives for companies to come here, or to stay here.
Smith said he is bullish about Connecticut’s future.
“As a businessman himself, the governor understands that he’s got to have a sustainable long-term fiscal situation to have long-term economic growth. If businesses have tax certainty and public investment and a reduction in regulatory burden, their confidence will increase,” he said.
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