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2015 | Doing Business in Connecticut 5 Our Founding Partners Connecticut Has Enormous Economic Potential Proud of our 200-year partnership with Connecticut's business community, CBIA is committed to making our state a great place — not only to do business, but to live, work, and raise a family. We believe Connecticut has enormous economic potential, particularly given the diversity of companies, large and small, located here, across a wide range of industries, and the tremendously talented workforce. Those companies are an integral part of the social and economic fabric of our state. They pay high wages, provide excellent benefits, and sup- port local schools, charities, and numerous other organizations within their communities. They also represent the very best in their industries, making Connecticut a world leader in innovation, research and development, and productivity. We're honored to represent our member companies before the state legislature and regulatory agencies. Our advocacy work sees us serving in many capacities, including as a key source of data and analysis to guide policymakers in evaluating the economic impact of legislation on state budgets, taxes, business costs, healthcare, educa- tion, the environment, and other issue areas. We are indebted to our members for the expertise they bring to all of our collective efforts to strengthen Connecticut's competitive advantages and overcome obstacles to economic growth and job creation. Connecticut is a small state, yet the level of involvement by the business community makes CBIA one of the largest, most effective business organizations in the country. We're confident that by working together, we can secure a brighter future for our state. – Joe Brennan President and CEO Connecticut Business & Industry Association ECHN takes great interest in the health of Connecticut. As a lead- ing provider of health care services, improving the well-being of Con- necticut residents is our mission. However, as an employer and busi- ness partner to the thousands of people who live and work here, we also care a great deal about the state's economic health and the well-being of its business climate. We believe the key to doing business in Connecticut is innovation. More than just lead- ing-edge technology or scientific breakthroughs, innovative businesses must have forward- thinking leaders who anticipate and prepare for a constantly changing future. Twenty years ago, the innovative leadership of Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital recognized that the health care landscape was changing. They knew that merging the assets of both institutions to create a network of ambulatory care, home care, skilled nursing care and acute hospital services would help control the overall cost of care for payers and providers. It was one of the first hospital mergers to take place in Connecticut and established ECHN as one of the lowest cost, high quality providers in the state. Today, as many hospitals and health care systems continue to struggle to adapt to new concepts introduced by the Affordable Care Act and other reforms, ECHN is already well-positioned to deliver ef- ficient, coordinated care among professionals and patients to create better informed consumers with more control over their care. As health care continues to evolve, ECHN will adapt and grow in innovative ways to keep Connecticut residents healthy — and that's good business. – Peter J. Karl President & CEO Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Inc. Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) SPONSOR MESSAGES Every year, the University of Connecticut generates roughly $3.4 billion in economic activity in our state, making us a vital component to the region's economy. As a nationally ranked university, our mission ranges from educating the workforce of tomor- row to fostering innovative thinking and help- ing new businesses spring from cutting-edge research. We're correspondingly proud of our partner- ship with the Doing Business In Connecticut initia- tive, which spotlights our state's vital entrepre- neurial spirit. "Innovation" is a word on everyone's lips, and we're pleased to say that in Connecticut, business and community leaders, lawmakers, and others have begun taking important steps to making sure our region is able to capitalize on it. UConn research and innovation currently generates nearly $400 million a year, but we're only at the beginning of a major transforma- tion. Thanks to initiatives aimed at invigorating our presence in the 21st century fields of the STEM disciplines, UConn is poised to make an even greater contribution to the economic life of the region. Connecticut has a long and storied history of fueling world-chang- ing innovations. We're excited about the opportunity to participate in the next stage of that development. I invite you to join us as we take our rightful place as a state among the pace-setters of the new century. – Susan Herbst President, University of Connecticut University of Connecticut (UConn)