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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m For more B2B news visit AUGUST 17, 2015 Volume 23, Number 38 $3.00 Subscribe online GreenGuide C O N N E C T I C U T Reach decision-makers in the Green business community. Look for the Fall and Winter 2015 editions, publishing in August and October. Index ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ Focus: PG. 8 ■ The List: PG. 10 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 11 ■ Corporate Profile: PG. 19 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20 FOCUS: TRADE Market Research To help boost Connecticut exports, the U.S. Department of Commerce office in Middletown is developing and will begin to sell market research reports and consultation about foreign market opportunities and risks. PG. 8 Risk Manager Thomaston Savings Bank CEO Stephen Lewis spent the early part of his career examining hundreds of Northeast banks as a safety and soundness examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Find out how that experience helped launch his executive banking career. PG. 5 Continued on page 12 CT small, medium businesses lack planning for leadership changes By Brad Kane bkane@HartfordBusiness.com U p to 85 percent of the small and medium-sized companies in Connecticut don't have solid succession plans, posing a significant threat to the economy as more business owners retire in the next 10 to 15 years. The worst-case scenario: Business owners looking to cash out won't have any interested local buyers and must rely on out-of-state investors to take over control, which could lead to business clo- sures, relocations and/or significant layoffs. "In the case of exit planning, it is never a question of 'if', it is a question of 'when.' Sadly, too many owners just don't give it any thought," said Michael Camerote, mergers and acquisitions adviser for Enfield M&A consultant Touchstone Advisors. As Baby Boomers head into retirement, the concerns among suc- cession planners and industry officials is that small and medium-sized businesses — particularly family-owned cmpanies — aren't adequate- ly preparing the next generation to take over, leaving them unable to deal adequately with bankers, customers, suppliers and employees. That threatens the short- and long-term viability of the company. For business owners to successfully transition to the next leader — whether it is a family member, high-ranking employee, employee- ownership group or an outside party — they need to plan for years in advance to ensure a smooth transition and prevent loss of customers, top-notch employees and financial backers, UNAMI SILVER S Connecticut's Succession Challenge IRS '99-ing' fraud probe ensnarls 80 state workers By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com A n ongoing Internal Revenue Service income-tax withholding probe has exposed payroll-deduction abuses among dozens of Connecticut state workers, leading to convictions of several of the worst scofflaws and a withholding-compliance crackdown by the state. Officials with the IRS's New England region- al office in Boston, the Connecticut U.S. Attor- ney's Office, the state Department of Revenue Services, plus several other state agencies, recently confirmed the probe's existence follow- ing the high-profile indictments and convictions of at least three current or former state workers by the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's office. Continued on page 14 P H O T O | S T E V E L A S C H E V E R P H O T O | L U C A D P, S H U T T E R S T O C K . C O M One of the first steps Pat Ryan and his daughter Lindsay Ryan Jensen took when establishing their succession plan was to meet with their accountant to see what Ryan's financial needs were in retirement and to ensure he left the company in good financial shape.