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12 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 ing the construction of a new headquarters for Pratt & Whitney. But it's not just UTC that's an economic anchor for Connecticut. Electric Boat in the southeastern part of the state has developed a network of suppliers along the shoreline, while in Fairfield County the bevy of cor- porate headquarters has resulted in a large number of spin-off firms and suppliers set- ting up shop along the Gold Coast. ere are currently 16 Connecticut- based corporations on the Fortune 500 list, including Fairfield-based General Electric, UTC and three insurance companies — Aetna, CIGNA and e Hartford Financial Fortune 500 companies based in Connecticut • General Electric, Fairfield • UTC, Hartford • Aetna, Hartford • Cigna, Bloomfield • The Hartford, Hartford • Xerox, Norwalk • Praxair, Danbury • Stanley Black & Decker, New Britain • Charter, Stamford • Terex, Westport • EMCOR, Norwalk • Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Stamford • W.R. Berkley, Greenwich • Priceline.com, Norwalk • Pitney Bowes, Stamford • Frontier Communications, Stamford Source: Fortune.com TOP REASONS › Yale University in New Haven is one of many "anchor institutions" in Connecticut that spurs economic development in the state. Pictured is Yale's Sterling Library. Services Group. From the perspective of Jack Condlin, president and CEO of the Stamford Cham- ber of Commerce, the explanation for the myriad of large corporations calling Fairfield County home is simple. "Success breeds success," he said, explaining that Stamford in particular was positioned to capture headquarters in the 1980s thanks to urban renewal efforts of the 1970s. While the concentration of corporate headquarters waned through the economic slumps of the 90s and the late 2000s, the Stamford area has weathered the most recent economic crisis well and continues to be seen as a lower cost alternative to New York City and Boston. Most recently, billion-dollar money manager Bridgewater Associates selected Stamford as its new home. When that move is official, Condlin expects to see the positive impact in the local economy. "When these companies come into town the ripple effect is a lot stronger than the company itself coming into town," Condlin said. ❑ PHOTO/YALE-MICHAEL MARSLAND > Continued from page 10