Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 11, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 7 Richard D. McFee; and Chief Operat- ing Officer Howard S. Hurd — who each had 30 years at the firm. A mountain of details went into HRP's past and latest succession schemes, Titus and Goetcheus say, including cur- rying input from lawyers, accountants and other advisers. Most succes- sion-planning advisers bristle at watching so much talent and institutional memory depart at once, the two men said. "It's just sort of an odd way of doing it,'' said Titus, 48, of Coventry, who has been with HRP more than 20 years. "A lot of lawyers and accountants would advise against it. But this is the fourth time we've done it.'' About two years ago, HRP's leader- ship began having quarterly discus- sions with Titus and Goetcheus about their futures as the company's next leaders. In 2011, seven years before the lat- est transition, two of HRP's partners left, triggering an unspecified "finan- cial event'' at the company, executives said. HRP applied much of what it learned through its previous leader- ship transitions. For example, HRP officials now realize the value of tapping existing leaders' engineering and client-re- lationship knowledge and expertise and transferring as much of that as possible to the new leadership crop. That meant assigning Titus and Goetcheus, 52, a Tolland native and 30-year-plus HRP veteran living in Greer, S.C., near one of HRP's offices, leadership tasks and goals to help them hone those skills early. The biggest challenge this time around, according to Titus, involved the interpersonal engagement between the exiting leaders, the new- comers and HRP's staff. "It's a big thing for someone to decide to retire and have a year-long transition,'' he said. That, he said, poses challenges in handing off decision-making author- ity from one generation to the next. Another complication arises if, as in HRP's case, the leadership transition also involves a transfer of financial equity between parties. "If you plan to transfer equity with- out a sale, don't underestimate the amount of time it takes,'' Titus said. Goetcheus, who runs HRG's South Carolina office, one of its four in the U.S., agreed, but added his top three recommendations to any enterprise anticipating or undergoing a suc- cession plan. "Open communication,'' Goetcheus said. "Open communication. Open communication." Amy Allen, Partner, blumshapiro PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. 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The makerspace, organizers said, is being spurred by recent growth in small business manufacturing, tech innovation, "do it yourself" building, and a growing network of incubators and tech programming in Hartford and across the state. In addition to a newly minted in- cubator program at Hartford insurer Nassau Re, the Capital City also houses the Stanley+Techstars Additive Manu- facturing Accelerator, reSET Social Enterprise Trust and other tech pro- grams at incubator and co-working space Upward Hartford. Mayor Luke Bronin speaks at the preview opening of MakerspaceCT. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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