Hartford Business Journal

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Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103 Stay Connected For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to: www.HartfordBusiness.com HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on Linkedln:www.linkedin.com/company/the-Hart- ford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend: www.hartfordbusiness.com/enewsletters Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published bi-weekly, 27x per year — including two special issues in November and December — by New England Business Media, LLC, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Tom Curtin | President, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Drew Larson | Web Editor, ext. 121 alarson@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Energy Michael Puffer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate, Economic Development, Banking & Finance Hanna Snyder Gambini | Staff Writer hgambini@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Economic Development, Arts, Culture & Tourism Skyler Frazer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Government, Manufacturing, Cannabis David Krechevsky | Staff Writer, ext. 702 davidk@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care, Bioscience Stephanie R. Meagher | Research Director Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer Business Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Jessica M. Quinn | General Manager, ext. 137 jquinn@hartfordbusiness.com Daniel Schilke | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 135, dschilke@HartfordBusiness.com Emily Paskind | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 133, epaskind@hartfordbusiness.com Donna Hogan | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 101, dhogan@hartfordbusiness.com Paul Stone | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 136, pstone@hartfordbusiness.com Tracy Rodwill | Human Resources Manager trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Production Bartosz Zinowko | Production Director, ext. 147 bzinowko@hartfordbusiness.com Trinity Sunderlin | Graphic Designer tsunderlin@hartfordbusiness.com HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 29, 2024 3 A Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter on the company's Stratford shop floor. Sikorsky to lay off hundreds after U.S. Army cancels development of scout aircraft program S tratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft will lay off hundreds of employees as a result of the U.S. Army's recent decision to cancel its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said the company is reducing less than 1% of its positions within its Sikorsky business segment. Lockheed Martin, which has about 122,000 employees worldwide, did not provide an exact number of job cuts. The reductions are across Sikorsky's U.S. locations, which include its main plant and offices in Stratford, along with facilities in Trumbull, Shelton and Bridgeport, and in other states including Texas, Florida and Alabama. The Army began the FARA program, which involved developing a next-generation scout aircraft, in 2018. Two years later, it picked up designs by Textron's Bell and Sikorsky, according to Reuters. In February, the Army dropped the program after spending $2 billion on it, according to Reuters. Trinity College President Berger-Sweeney announces retirement plans One of Hartford's top college leaders has set a retirement date. Joanne Berger-Sweeney announced she will retire from Trinity College on June 30, 2025, after leading the Hartford-based high- er-education institu- tion for 11 years. She began her tenure as Trinity College's 22nd president on Oct. 26, 2014. The school announced it will immediately begin a search for Berger-Sweeney's replacement. Berger-Sweeney is the first African-American and first woman to serve as president of the liberal arts college since it was founded in 1823. According to the school, she has been a champion of a "liberal arts education, improving campus equity and diversity, fostering community and global engagement, connecting with the school's proud alumni, and preparing students to lead bold and transformative lives." Before joining Trinity, Berg- er-Sweeney served as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University. CT lawmakers urge DECD to recruit N. Carolina businesses in light of controversial gubernatorial candidate Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are asking the state Department of Economic and Community Development to reach out to businesses in North Carolina offering to help them relocate to Connecticut, in light of the southeastern state's contro- versial gubernatorial candidate. The letter, sent to DECD Commissioner Daniel H. O'Keefe, targets the gubernatorial nomina- tion of Republican Mark Robinson, currently North Carolina's lieu- tenant governor, who has a "history of making inflammatory and divisive comments, which should be alarming to North Carolinian businesses," the letter states. The letter cites a Vox article that describes Robinson as "off the rails even by MAGA standards," saying he has "hurled hateful remarks at everyone from Michelle Obama to the survivors of the Parkland school shooting." Also, Robinson has made antise- mitic comments, called the LGBTQ community "filth," threatened to use his AR-15 against the government if it "gets too big for its britches" and wants to outlaw all abortions, according to Vox. "These remarks not only under- mine the values of inclusivity and tolerance of our nation, but should also raise significant concerns about the business environment and social climate in North Carolina under potential leadership that condones or ignores such divisive rhetoric," the letter states. The letter — signed by Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven), Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Nor- walk) and Sen. Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury) — urges O'Keefe to explore opportunities to attract North Carolina businesses to Connecticut, which "prides itself on its commitment to diversity, equality and fostering an environment where businesses can thrive while upholding ethical standards and respect for all." New York Life acquires minority stake in West Hartford's Fairview Capital West Hartford-based Fairview Capital Partners Inc., one of the largest minority-owned private equity investment management firms in the United States, said that New York Life has acquired a minority owner- ship stake in it. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. New York Life, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States, said it has committed $200 million to Fairview since 2021 as part of its initial $1 billion impact invest- ment initiative to help bridge the racial wealth gap by investing in underserved and undercapitalized communities. Fairview co-Founder Larry Morse, who also serves on New York Life's Impact Advisory Board, assisting with its investment strategy, said the part- nership and capital will create even more opportunities for Fairview. "This includes accelerating our growth and expanding our investing with the industry's foremost venture capital firms, along with the leading diverse and emerging fund managers," Morse said. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED JoAnn Price and Laurence Morse, co-founders and managing partners of Fairview Capital in West Hartford. HBJ FILE PHOTO Joanne Berger- Sweeney

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