CBIA BizCast

CBIA BizCast

By Connecticut Business & Industry AssociationBusiness
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CBIA BizCast episodes

  • Lessons in Leadership
    Over the course of the last year, business leaders from across the state joined the CBIA BizCast to share stories of how their businesses innovated, overcame challenges and found new levels of success.
    Whether it’s manufacturing, healthcare, real estate, public service, law, or banking—all of our guests have had something in common—they have learned invaluable lessons along the way that have gotten them to where they are today.
    As 2024 begins, we are taking a look back at some of those lessons, experiences, and advice.
    20 min
  • UConn Tech Park Drives Innovation
    Just on the outskirts of the UConn campus in Storrs sits the UConn Tech Park, a center for cutting-edge research, collaboration, and innovation.
    “The Tech Park is a really amazing initiative that the state and university funded to act as a kind of front door for industry into the services that are available at the university,” said Michael DiDonato, business development manager for the Innovation Partnership Building.
    The Innovation Partnership Building is the first and flagship building of the Tech Park.
    The facility features 19 centers focused on four pillars: sustainability, defense materials, cybersecurity, and systems manufacturing.
    The goal of the Tech Park is to connect businesses with their research facilities and technology services.
    35 min
  • 'Looking Through the Windshield'
    “We need to be looking through the windshield, and not the rearview mirror, because that's where the opportunities lie,” says Fuss & O’Neill CEO and newly elected CBIA board chair Kevin Grigg.
    Grigg sat down with CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima for a special episode of the CBIA BizCast.
    He said for the state to achieve its economic goals, it’s important to focus on issues like housing, education and training, workforce development.
    “This is kind of like the threshold of opportunity,” he said.
    “I think we have all the elements in place to really accelerate the growth and prosperity of the state, and I'm looking forward to doing whatever I can to help.”
    30 min
  • Talking Manufacturing with RSM's Dan Wheadon
    RSM partner Dan Wheadon joins the CBIA BizCast to break down the results of the 2023 Connecticut Manufacturing Report.
    Among the findings: 86% of manufacturers report difficulty finding/and or retaining employees, with 48% calling the issue the greatest growth challenge.
    “The manufacturing industry is really going through a pretty significant change in recent years with industry 4.0, and a number of new technologies out there, and now the emergence of AI and machine learning,” Wheadon said.
    32 min
  • COBS Bread Bakes Success
    With hundreds of locations worldwide, COBS Bread's Karen Frost-Spokes talks to the CBIA BizCast about plans to expand in Connecticut and the U.S.
    “It's a pretty simple concept,” she said. “It's really just about focusing on great bread, great customer service, and then connecting with the community and giving back.”
    “The intent is to replicate that here in the Northeast."
    COBS already has franchises in Stamford and Greenwich.
    Their third location, in Westport, is set to open by the end of November with more locations in Connecticut and the Northeast planned for the next 12 months.
    “It's risky, but I think we've got a great product out there," she said.
    30 min
  • Yale New Haven Health's O'Connor Comes Home
    For Chris O’Connor, becoming president and CEO of Yale New Haven Health was something of a homecoming.
    “I was born at Yale New Haven Hospital,” O’Connor told the CBIA BizCast. “I was a little premature, so I needed their special care unit and grew up here in New Haven.”
    He joins the CBIA BizCast to share his story and what is ahead for the health system.
    25 min
  • Manufacturing the Future Workforce
    Nearly 600 middle and high school students from two dozen schools spent part of their school day recently learning what Connecticut's manufacturing industry has to offer.
    They took part in EXPLORE MANUFACTURING: A Stop on CT Manufacturing Roadshow '23 Sept. 28 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.
    It was a chance for more than two dozen manufacturers and training and support organizations in attendance to meet young people, and expose them to the industry.
    “We're really excited to really plant seeds early of manufacturing in young people's minds,” said Chris Jewell, president of Collins & Jewell Company
    22 min
  • Supporting Manufacturing Success
    TD Bank's Mike LaBella joins the CBIA BizCast to discuss ways the bank is supporting manufacturers' growth and success.
    “The bank’s been a tremendous supporter of all industries, but especially manufacturing, because it's so key to our economy,” LaBella said.
    TD Bank is sponsoring CBIA’s Made in Connecticut 2023 Manufacturing Summit Oct. 11 at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville.
    With interest rates rising, liquidity winding down, and ongoing challenges from the workforce shortage, LaBella said “it’s more important than ever to really have a strong bank relationship.”
    “I think manufacturers really need to take that long-term view now of what's going to make them more productive, reduce their cost of operations, and bring them into a better position technologically for their future growth.”
    31 min
  • 2023 Survey of Connecticut Businesses
    Marcum LLP's Hartford office managing partner Michael Brooder joins the CBIA BizCast to break down the 2023 Survey of Connecticut Businesses.
    The survey highlights some of the top concerns for businesses, including workforce and the costs of living and doing business in the state.
    “These days? It’s labor, labor, labor, and costs,” said Brooder.
    “If you look at the open jobs and the availability of people that are there to fill them, it's just that they're not there.
    “Let's figure out how to grow, and let's figure out how to be competitive, and let's figure out how to make Connecticut a place where people want to do business.”
    21 min
  • G.R.I.T. Students Showcase Summer Learning
    As students across Connecticut begin the new school year, some are returning to class after a summer filled with learning.
    More than 70 students recently completed ReadyCT’s G.R.I.T. (Get Ready! Immersive Traineeship) summer program.
    The CBIA BizCast team traveled to Pathways Academy of Technology and Design Aug. 9 for the annual G.R.I.T. showcase.
    “It really just allows them a way to learn more skills while still practicing a real business project," said Rachel Bader, Travelers assistant vice president, multi-national and chair of the Insurance and Finance Pathway at Weaver.
    "G.R.I.T. and Travelers have taught me how to communicate and work with others and step outside my comfort zone,” said Darren Burdette, a rising junior at Weaver.
    15 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!