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38 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Day Pitney expands environmental practice with new partner Attorney Kirstin M. Etela has joined law firm Day Pitney as a partner in its environmental practice. Etela, who is based in the firm's Stamford office, was previously the U.S. General Counsel of Tradebe Environ- mental Services LLC, an environmental services and hazardous waste manage- ment company. Etela's corporate and law firm experi- ence includes real estate, environmen- tal and regulatory law, commercial, product liability, employment litiga- tion, and corporate compliance. Sacred Heart Univ. announces new finance VP, communications pro Sacred Heart University in Fairfield recently promoted Peter Ward of Shel- ton to vice president for finance. Ward will serve as a member of the Catholic univer- sity's leadership team, working closely with the president, provost and senior leaders. He will provide strategic and opera- tional direction to ensure the univer- sity's long-term financial stability. He also will manage the finance division and take responsibility for all financial and compliance reporting. Ward is a certified public accountant. He joined the university in September 2008 as a controller and was promoted to associate vice president for finance in August 2020. St. Vincent's Medical Center has new VP of philanthropy St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport announced that Karen Kaiser is the new vice president of philanthropy for Hartford Health- Care's Fairfield region. Kaiser most recently served as the senior director of development at Fairfield University. Kaiser has also served as director of economic development for the town of Stratford. Kaiser is also a partner and co-founder of Strategic Initiatives LLC, a consulting firm. Union Savings Bank hires new treasury VP Danbury-based Union Savings Bank announced that Dianne Provenzano has joined the bank as vice president, head of treasury services. Provenzano, a Bristol resident, is responsible for the development, mar- keting and delivery of the bank's non-credit corporate cash management and electronic banking services for corporate and municipal customers. Provenzano worked for the past 17 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently as vice president, treasury solutions officer. Yale New Haven Health appoints new CFO e Yale New Haven Health system is hiring Gail W. Kosyla as its new chief financial officer. Kosyla is slated to begin her new posi- tion on Nov. 28. Kosyla has been with RWJBarnabas Health since 2019, with her most cur- rent role as execu- tive vice president of system financial operations. Kosyla, a certified public accountant, has had senior roles at multiple region- al and national health care systems. Her experience includes time as chief financial officer for the central region for RWJBarnabas Health. Inbox Health names new chief revenue officer New Haven-based Inbox Health, a medical billing company, has appoint- ed Dan Simenc as its chief revenue officer. Simenc will lead sales, customer suc- cess, marketing, strategic partnerships and business development initiatives. Simenc will help extend the company's business further into hospitals, physi- cian groups and independent practices. Simenc comes to Inbox Health from Solutionreach, a SaaS patient relation- ship management company, where he drove sales growth as chief revenue officer. C - S u i t e Peter Ward Karen Kaiser Dianne Provenzano Kirstin M. Etela Gail W. Kosyla E x p e r t ' s C o r n e r By Steve Henn T he September inflation numbers were awful. Overall, inflation stood at 8.2% while "core inflation" — a measure of price changes that does not include food and energy — rose 6.6%, which is the highest increase in over 40 years. Given the recent rise in oil prices due to OPEC+ cutting production, there is every reason to expect inflation will not ebb any time soon. For business leaders planning for 2023, understanding what is really happening with inflation is important to meet your business objectives. Not all inflation is really inflation Even the most economic savvy media use the term "inflation" as shorthand for two very different types of price increases. e first kind of price increase is due to the increase in the money supply. at is, there are a lot more dollars in the economy chasing the same amount of goods. is is what economists mean when they say "inflation." e second type of price increase is due to supply chain issues or a reduction in the supply of a good, such as when OPEC+ cuts oil production. In that case, there are the same amount of dollars chasing fewer goods. e difference is important because the first type of inflation — monetary inflation — is very difficult to control. Further, the remedy calls for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to slow down the economy, which very oen will put the economy into a recession. Recently, the Fed has been doing exactly that and has indicated that it will continue to raise rates until inflation is under control. Consequently, we can expect recessionary pressures well into 2023. e second type of inflation tends to recover quickly under normal circumstances. Consequently, the prices of goods that were restricted due to supply chain or supply issues will come back down once the supply has been normalized. Of course, "normal" is not a word oen used to describe the 2020s. So, as a chief executive, what should you be looking for, and what should you keep in mind? What to look for On the monetary side, there is a tug of war between President Biden and the Fed. If the Biden administration continues to pursue and pass large spending bills, the Fed will continue to push interest rates higher until it is comfortable that inflation is under control. ese actions will leave the economy with both high inflation and low or no growth. On the supply side, things are no better. Oil prices will continue to have a large impact on the supply chain. e OPEC+ production cut combined with continuing restrictions on domestic production will put upward pressure on all oil products. While the Biden administration has used the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offer temporary relief, the reserve is near a 40-year low, so its ability to counteract market forces are limited. e war in Ukraine has forced disruption in grain supplies and, indirectly, in oil supplied by Russia. ere is a looming railway strike aer one of the unions rejected a tentative agreement with freight carriers. What does it mean for your business? e Fed's action will affect the economy across the board, so you need to prepare for a broad decrease in customer demand by keeping inventories tight(er), especially in long lead-time manufacturing, or for inventory subject to spoilage. If the Biden administration is able to spend for its priorities, the demand for those products and services will not be as affected, but will still face supply chain headwinds. Issues with the supply side of the economy will be erratic and uneven in their effect, though transportation costs will remain high. For manufacturers, when less equipment is purchased, existing equipment will need more servicing and repairs. ink about your ability to increase service revenue. If your customer demand is less sensitive, take advantage of periodic opportunities to acquire inventory at attractive prices. e end of 2022 and then 2023 will present economic challenges we have not seen in over 40 years. While harder to find, there will be opportunities to thrive for business leaders who can understand and then take advantage of the larger macroeconomic changes. n Steve Henn is a former technology CEO and a current professor of finance and economics at Sacred Heart University. 'Inflation' means two different things; Executives should know the difference Steve Henn

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