Hartford Business Journal

14 Hartford Business Journal • May 20, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay and Greg Bordonaro gseay@hartfordbusiness.com, gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com D avid Lehman, Connecti- cut's newest economic- development commis- sioner, sees himself as a life-long learner. Two books on the credenza in his upper-floor downtown Hartford office overlooking the Connecticut River — "Industries of the Future," by Alex Ross; and "The New Urban Crisis," by Richard Florida — speak volumes about the crossroads in the Greenwich resident's life and career. They also hint at where the former Wall Street banker will look for solutions to Connecticut's decade-long, sluggish economy as well as new opportunities for innovation and job creation. Like his predecessor Catherine Smith, a former insurance executive turned De- partment of Economic and Community Development (DECD) commissioner, Lehman is a newcomer to the world of economic development and will be forced to learn while he's on the job. He knows he faces a daunting task. "It's clear from the last 10 years of economic growth and outmigration and the fact that we haven't regained all the jobs that we lost during the recession, there are real challenges we need to ad- dress," he said. "But I think the state has a lot of the structure and bones in place to regain its greatness." After facing a tough nomination process, in which his background as a Goldman Sachs partner during the 2008 financial crisis came under scru- tiny, Lehman says his top priority is revitalizing Connecticut's cities, espe- cially Hartford, while also rejiggering how the state uses incentives to spur private-sector jobs and investment. He's also helping to redefine, observ- ers say, a new, deeper relationship between his agency and its economic- and market-research affiliate, the Con- necticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). Gov. Ned Lamont bared plans earlier this year for a reconstituted CERC board helmed by former Webster Bank CEO James Smith and ex-Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi. CERC, Lehman says, will focus on new and better ways to market the state's inherent economic assets like its skilled, well-educated workforce, thriving advanced-man- ufacturing sector, and proximity to Boston and New York. Smith says he's interacted often with Lehman during his first months on the job, describing him as "a strong, highly motivated, skilled leader who is going to make good things happen in economic and community develop- ment in Connecticut." Also holding the title as Lamont's senior economic adviser, Lehman is "the speartip'' for the governor's business recruitment and retention ambitions, Smith said. He also will have policy influence with the state's other business-facing agencies, such as transportation, labor, and energy and environmental protection. "That will make it possible for him to collaborate with all of the other agencies that have a say on business policy," Smith said. Also, Lehman is forming, Smith said, a business-advisory panel made up of statewide corporate leaders and busi- ness owners who will provide DECD with valuable intelligence on market- I n an interview with Hartford Business Journal, new Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman discussed myriad topics. Here's a Q&A on some of them. Answers have been edited due to space constraints. HBJ: What is the biggest difference be- tween the private and public sectors? LEHMAN: The biggest difference is really the decision-making appa- ratus. In the private sector, I could make decisions and there's a certain amount of what I'm responsible and accountable for. But obviously when you talk about legislation there are lots of different stakeholders involved, understand- ably and appropriately so. That's probably the biggest distinction is this kind of consensus building, and you're seeing it with the budget process right now. It takes a little bit longer and there is a lot of back-and- forth. But I knew that coming in. HBJ: Connecticut's regulatory envi- ronment is often panned by the busi- ness community. Do you envision a big regulatory reform push, if not this year, maybe next year? LEHMAN: I want to thoroughly study it. Rightly or wrongly, there is the perception out there that we do have too much regulation in the state. I hear a lot of rhetoric. I want to understand the data and dig into it deeper. I'd like to convene the business community on what regulations are out there that they view as unneces- sarily burdensome and see if there's Development Blueprint DECD Commissioner David Lehman airs his early plans to jumpstart CT's economy 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. HBJ PHOTO | BILL MORGAN

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