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10 n e w h a v e n B I Z | F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m O N T H E R E C O R D | Q & A Jeff Hubbard on the future of CBIA, Liberty Bank's expansion PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo Jeff Hubbard Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking Regional Manager Liberty Bank commercial banking regional manager at Liberty Bank in New Haven. Hubbard has been leading the Middletown-based bank's growth in the New Haven area. Liberty is the state's oldest bank, having started in 1825. Between last spring and the end of the year, Liberty secured $314 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for about 3,600 small business customers and non-customers. Its bankers continue to help small businesses, including with the loan forgiveness phase of the program. New Haven BIZ recently sat down with Hubbard for his insights on what the future holds for the state's business community and Liberty Bank. What have you been hearing so far from business leaders about changes they would like to see? The changes that people seek are very broad — it is legislative, it's taxes. It is, how do we create jobs in Connecticut? A lot of focus is on COVID today and the response. In my personal opinion, Gov. Ned Lamont and the state have done a wonderful job in addressing the COVID issues. There is no easy answer, but I think the state has been certainly transparent in its interest and concerns in beating COVID. So people on the business community side are interested in COVID, they are interested in jobs. There is interest in transportation, though transportation is not as big an issue because more people are working from home. The concerns around growing your business and attracting new employees continue to remain the same. How can the CBIA help bring changes about? The CBIA is the largest business community in the state, so it has a voice and a consistency around public and private issues in Connecticut. What it brings to concerned business owners is size and scope and an ability to reach into the legislature. What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long term as CBIA chair? I am very excited to improve communication with legislators. They are the key. They are very busy people, and we need to find ways to interact with them more frequently. I think that is the one thing I am passionate about — improving our communication with individual legislators as often as we can. We have a very large board. We have a lot of folks who we can engage to understand the needs of the legislators, helping them do their job, being a voice. One that listens Extracurricular activities: Chairs board of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association Previous employer: KeyBank Education: Bachelor's degree from the University System of New Hampshire; mastery certificate from UConn Business School; ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking Residence: Guilford Age: 59 W hen banking executive Jeff Hubbard recently took over as the new chair of the board of directors of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, he vowed to help guide its efforts to rebuild the state's economy. Hubbard has challenges ahead, with many businesses struggling due to the restrictions and lost business caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In his new role, Hubbard says he plans to continue the CBIA's efforts to engage the business community, drive change and foster growth. Meanwhile, expansion is at the forefront for Hubbard in his role as senior vice president,

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