Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • October 29, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 29 OTHER VOICES Private investment already crucial to Connecticut airports By Kevin Dillon I n response to the Oct. 16 column entitled "Private investment in state assets? CT should explore it," I wanted to take a moment to note the significant ways in which the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) has already fully embraced this approach. Our agency is a strong proponent of working with private businesses, as evidenced by our recent history and plans moving forward. First, it is important to note that the lion's share of development at CAA airports is already private. Think of the CAA as a landlord. While we own the land and key facilities at our airports, we regularly work with private enti- ties that are inter- ested in investing in our airports. This can take the form of hangar develop- ment, concession build-out and more. We have negotiated development deals with a wide array of entities across our entire airport system, with particularly significant hangar developments recently completed by TAC Air at Bradley Airport. In these scenarios, the private entity negoti- ates a lease term in return for making their own investments into facilities that will inevitably revert back to CAA control at the expiration of that term. This is similar to the concept that was employed at JFK airport in their reno- vation program. In fact, since the CAA took control of our five general aviation airports from the Department of Trans- portation, we have negotiated roughly 1.7 million square feet of development from private entities, with investment com- mitments totaling roughly $50 million. At Bradley alone, we have negoti- ated well in excess of 600,000 square feet of developments and more than $15 million in private investment over recent years. Looking towards the fu- ture, we have a master plan at Bradley totaling $1.4 billion worth of projects, a vast majority of which will come through utilizing private investment. Another major example can be found with the ground transportation center that we are planning at Bradley Airport. In this case, the rental-car companies at Bradley will be jointly developing the nearly $215 million facility on property leased from the CAA. While the project will be backed by airport-generated bonding, the rental-car companies are the primary funding partners, and they will inevitably bear the cost of con- structing and operating this facility. Again, after the lease term expires, the facility will revert to CAA control. While we believe that we are still years away from justifying the expenditure for new terminal facilities at Bradley, we fully intend to review opportunities for private investment for that major project. Private-sector investment is a key part of what we do at our airports, and we certainly do not intend to break that trend when presented with such an attractive opportunity. In short, private investment has been core to many of our recent successes. We fully agree that private-sector engagement is important in develop- ments across the state, and we plan to continue our aggressive use of this development tool in the future. Kevin Dillon is the executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: Should UConn Health merge with another hospital or hospital system? NEXT WEEK'S POLL: Should taxpayers stake a plan to convert Hartford Regional Market into a higher-profile tourist attraction? To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS How to sell yourself without bragging By Jim Pawlak "It's Time to Brag! Five Amazing Steps to Sell Yourself" by Jeannette L. Seibly (BizSavvy Books, $13.95). Brag (n.) — Speaking too proudly about what you've accomplished. How can you impress others without sound- ing like a shameless self-promoter? Seibly shows readers that business- savvy bragging focuses on the middle ground between humility and hubris. She believes that bragging highlights your accomplishments with authen- ticity, pride and enthusiasm. By showcasing your credentials, you provide others with information that creates conversation. Example: Susan and Joan are co- workers; they attend a manufacturing engineers networking event: 1. Susan introduces herself: "I am an engineer who works at General Motors." 2. Joan introduces herself: "I am a General Mo- tors computer engineer specializing in software development for autonomous vehicles." Joan's introduction will spark far more conversations than Susan's plain-vanilla intro because Joan pro- vided talking points. Business-savvy talking points are the networking version of your résumé. Seibly provides exercise templates that take you from de- velopment to ex- ecution: 1. What you know about yourself ? List the things (including non-work) you'd rate yourself four or five on a five-point scale. 2. In a column next to your "what I know" list, write down the talents (don't forget soft skills) used when im- plementing your knowledge. Keep the descriptions elevator-speech simple. 3. In column three next to talents, describe achievements using action words and numbers wherever possible. With respect to business, your job- hunting résumé will provide a great deal of information. 4. Using the talent and achievement, create a number of brief "I am" state- ments for each knowledge point. 5. "My background includes … " statements build from your differen- tiator-intro and steps one through three; they're used to expand your contributions to conversations. Tie it together: Practice your deliv- ery like actors rehearse lines. 37.9% No 62.1% Yes READER COMMENTS: "No! We have enough medical system mergers as it is, and I have yet to see how it benefits the patients." "No. This is the most expensive health system in the state. UCONN is an undesirable partner unless/until it can get its labor rate under control." "We don't need another health care conglomerate." Kevin Dillon Jim Pawlak Book Review

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