Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 25, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 7 WHAT'S AHEAD: ■ 6/1 Focus: Health Care ■ The List: Largest HMOs ■ Nonprofit Profile: Wheeler Clinic CALENDAR THURSDAY, JUNE 11 Executive Symposium for Manufacturing Excellence Engineer consultant and manufacturing technology supplier Barry- Wehmiller International is hosting a symposium for Connecticut manufacturing executives June 5 at the Marriot Hartford Downtown, 200 Columbus Blvd. The theme of the symposium, which runs from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., is "Successful Methodologies for Business Transformations." The one-day event is geared toward C-level manufacturing executives and includes a diverse group of partners that will focus on a variety of manufacturing topics including Lean Six Sigma, organizational redesign, business strategy and technology enablement. Guest speakers include: William Fricks — managing partner, Barry-Wehmiller International; Brian Johnson — audit partner, Dannible & McKee CPAs; Matt Whiat — director of outreach, Barry- Wehmiller; Jerry Solomon — former vice president of operations, MarquipWardUnited; Eric Kimberling — managing partner, Panorama Consulting Solutions; and Ravi Sudalaimuthu — head of delivery/ engagements, Barry-Wehmiller International. Cost to attend is $495. For more information or to register go to: http:// info.barry-wehmillerinternational.com/symposium-registration. BANKING & FINANCE CT's pension fund investing $145M in CT Inc. Connecticut's state treasurer is committing up to $145 million from the state employees' pension fund to invest in businesses housed in the state. Treasurer Denise L. Nappier said the new initiative will invest in Con- necticut companies of varying sizes and stages of development — from mature to startup — to boost the state's economy and jobs, while maximizing re- turns on state workers' investments. "This is, by no means, merely an al- truistic policy,'' Nappier said in a state- ment. "It's about making profitable investments that have the ancillary benefit of a positive macroeconomic impact on our state. Performance will be measured, first and foremost, by risk-adjusted returns, followed by oth- er factors such as job creation and re- tention and overall economic growth." To achieve that, Nappier said her office plans to hire three outside fund managers seasoned in private debt and equity and venture-capital markets, to identify investment opportunities. INSURANCE Allstate looks to CT market expansion Allstate Insurance Co. said it hopes to recruit 40 agency own- ers and insurance salespeople in Connecticut over the next year. The Illinois-based property-casualty insurer is looking for 10 mid-level managers who are attached to other agencies and want to operate their own business. Qualified candidates need $50,000 to invest in the agency. And anyone who refers an owner candi- date who is ultimately hired will receive $5,000. An additional 25 salespeople would partner with the 10 owners to sell life and retirement insurance products, Allstate said. The Connecticut plans are part of a push by Allstate to grow its New England business by 16 percent. Cyber concerns rise in Travelers biz-risk survey Nine of 10 businesses list cyber risks and data breaches among their top five concerns, according to the 2015 Travelers Business Risk Index. Cyber risks were the overall second-highest concern among 1,210 business risk managers surveyed by Hart Research As- sociates on behalf of the property-casualty insurer. That was up from fifth place in 2014, a rise driven by several high-profile data breaches over the past year, Travelers said. Most concerned about cyber risk were banks, which also were the most likely to have a breach response plan in place. Retailers showed the lowest level of concern, and were least likely to have a response plan formulated. Medical-cost inflation remained the top perceived risk in this year's index. In third place was increasing employee-benefit costs, followed by the challenge of finding and retaining skilled labor. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW OPM: Deficit rises $3.2M The state's budget deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30 climbed nearly 2 percent in the past month, according to projec- tions released last week by the Office of Policy Management. OPM's latest projection for fiscal year 2015 is a deficit of $164.9 million, up from $161.7 million last month. The reduction is the result of a downward revision in revenue projections, largely offset by lower spending, OPM said. The latest projection falls between State Comptroller Kevin Lembo's May 1 deficit estimate of $161.7 million and the Office of Fiscal Analysis' April 30 projection of $184 million. INSIGHT CAN CREATE IT. To succeed today, you need industry expertise and transformative advice to drive your business forward. Find out what CohnReznick thinks at CohnReznick.com. Forward Thinking Creates Results. Joe Torre Baseball Executive, Hall of Fame Inductee YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A GAME CHANGER cohnreznick.com CohnReznick is an independent member of Nexia International Treasurer Denise L. Nappier

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