CBIA BizCast

CBIA BizCast

By Connecticut Business & Industry AssociationBusiness
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CBIA BizCast episodes

  • The Future of Commercial Real Estate
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Sentry Commercial co-founder and president Mark Duclos about post COVID-19 trends in leasing large office and industrial spaces.
    Duclos said remote and hybrid work environments changed what large corporations needed for space. He said landlords of larger buildings now have to evaluate if they can rent out a full space to a single company, need to divide it up for several, or even knock a building down.
    However, because of the e-commerce boom during the pandemic, Duclos said he saw large corporations seeking out more land in Connecticut and industrial spaces.
    “Land rich towns that are well located centrally are going to do well and certainly Windsor was one of those, South Windsor, East Windsor, and Enfield more specifically than East Windsor,” said Duclos.
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    26 min
  • Oma’s Pride Maintains Family Legacy
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Oma’s Pride president and CEO Capri Brighenti and her son Adam DeJulius, the company’s COO.
    Brighenti said her grandmother, an entrepreneurial spirit, started the business in 1950 when she began selling eggs from the family’s Avon farm.
    Miller’s Food expanded to include the Oma’s Pride pet food brand in 2001. Keeping it in the family, DeJulius took over as COO three years ago.
    “You know in your heart the work that gives you meaning,” DeJulius said. “I knew in a way that this was always pulling at me.
    “There were some serendipitous happenings that brought this together.
    “Mom and I have always worked well together and saw things mostly through the same light and have the same drive which is unique.”
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    37 min
  • Bead Industries CEO Jill Mayer
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Bead Industries CEO Jill Mayer about the challenges of running a business in the post-pandemic world.
    Among those challenges is getting women back to the workplace, an issue with particular resonance at family run Bead, where women make up 60% of the workforce.
    As a mother, Mayer understands how tough it is to return to work after maternity leave and wanted to make it easier for employees at the company's Milford and Cheshire locations.
    Bead employees bring in their newborns for the first few weeks and are able to designate volunteers to watch their baby when they have a meeting.
    “It was my sister and I bringing in our babies which made us realize what an important transition it is for women in the workplace, especially first time moms,” Mayer said.
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    18 min
  • Woman-Owned Business of the Year Untapped Potential
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Candace Freedenberg, founder and chair of the woman-owned social enterprise Untapped Potential.
    Freedenberg says the organization works to remove barriers and create necessary stepping stones for women to get back into the workforce.
    “I looked at this as an economic opportunity,” said Freedenberg.
    “Whenever you have stagnated talent, a skilled workforce, and those with education and experience that are not able to add to the labor market, it’s untapped human capital.”
    Launched in 2015, Untapped Potential was this year named Woman-Owned Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    26 min
  • AI Engineers’ Kevin Hussain Talks Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with AI Engineers’ Kevin Hussain about the need to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
    Hussain, who is associate vice president of bridge inspections at the Middletown-based engineering firm, immigrated to the U.S. from the Caribbean.
    He chose to attend Capital Community College and the University of Hartford because each was affordable and he could get to classes using public transportation.
    “If I had a seat at the table, the first thing I am going to say is, I took a bus to college and to community college, how are we going to make this project or this university accessible for different people,” Hussain said.
    “That’s the key part of it; it comes down to this first part of DEI. Having people like us have a seat at the table, having those conversations, how do we improve
    infrastructure and transportation?”
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    31 min
  • Avelo Air Fights Inflation in the Skies
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Travis Christ, chief marketing officer for Avelo Air, about the airline maintaining its low-fare strategy as inflation drives up the cost of fuel and other supplies.
    Avelo launched in 2021 in Burbank, California, and made its maiden flight from Connecticut’s Tweed New Haven Airport last November.
    The demand was so high for the flights Avelo offered to six Florida cities, Christ said it expanded to a total of 14 destinations, despite many airlines facing a shortage of pilots.
    “We do fly 737s, which is a main line big jet which is what pilots want to fly,” said Christ.
    “For the pilots who want to fly home every night and do not want to be on the road all the time, it's a great option.”
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    20 min
  • Green Check Verifies Cannabis Business Financing
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Paul Dunford, co-founder of Green Check Verified in North Haven.
    Green Check Verified helps provide cannabis banking solutions and expert advisory services for financial institutions.
    The company began exploring the industry in 2014 and noticed that firms didn’t know how to connect with banks who were willing to work with them.
    “The biggest thing we had at the beginning was figuring out how we get financial institutions who have been told for years and years you cannot touch this, that you can, and here is how,” said Dunford.
    Dunford and co-founder Kevin Hart developed software that analyzes in real time the sales and inventory data flowing through each cannabis business in a portfolio and identifies any exceptions to the applicable regulatory requirements for their license type.
    The two first financial institutions Green Check worked with were in Connecticut.
    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 Ali Warshavsky.
    24 min
  • Athletic Brewing’s Race to the Top
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with John Walker, co-founder of Athletic Brewing in Stratford.
    Walker helped Bill Shuflet brew the original ales in 2017 when the avid athlete decided he wanted to enjoy a beer without worrying about alcohol affecting his performance the next day.
    Athletic Brewing was recently named to TIME’s list of the most influential companies, with Walker saying that the rapid growth is due to the passion behind the product and the brewery’s mission.
    Athletic is investing some of the proceeds from its success in philanthropic projects, including donating 2% of sales to protecting and restoring local trails.
    “It comes down to the team and it comes down to a passionate group of people who want to do this, who love what we do, who are making great products but are also making a huge impact in our environment and our communities,” said Walker.
    Athletic Brewing will celebrate the grand opening of its new MIlford headquarters in June. The company also has a location in San Diego.
    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.
    16 min
  • Workforce Top Priority for CSCU’s Cheng
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Terrence Cheng, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system.
    Cheng was previously the campus director of UConn Stamford. He said he took this role last July as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a difference across the state, managing 12 community colleges, four state universities, and Charter Oak State College.
    As the state struggles to resolve the labor shortage crisis, Cheng said he is exploring ways to speed up the process to get students the experience and training they need to enter the workforce.
    “What we have been doing is attaching that internship, apprenticeship type work into curricular for sometime now,” he said.
    “How do we make it even more accelerated? How do we offer more credentials?”
    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.
    19 min
  • Blending English Tradition with American Innovation
    CBIA BizCast host Ali Warshavsky speaks with Adam von Gootkin, co-founder and CEO of Highclere Castle Spirits.
    Gootkin and his family have distilled spirits since the 1800s in Connecticut.
    Their history inspired him to first create Onyx Spirits Company and now Highclere Castle Spirits.
    Highclere Castle Gin is distilled in England using botanicals from the Highclere Estate, but is headquartered in Essex, Connecticut.
    “I wanted to liquify the spirit of the castle that set the incredibly high bar for hospitality,” said von Gootkin.
    The castle name gained even more fame after the popular television series Downton Abbey was filmed there.
    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.
    18 min

About CBIA BizCast

From the publisher's feed

A podcast for the business-minded in Connecticut. Interviews consist of business and community leaders who are shaping the future of Connecticut’s economy. The CBIA BizCast provides new content every other week, introduces members of the business community, and tells stories about how businesses are innovating and growing in Connecticut!