Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com August 8, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 5 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Westwood Products, Inc. | Winsted, CT PDS Engineering & Construction served as General Contractor for the expansion of this industrial wood shipping product manufacturing facility. Work involved an addition onto the existing building which was a slab on grade pre-engineered steel structure. Project Features: - Five electric overhead doors - Four gas-fired unit heaters - Liner panels - Galvalume sheet metal roof - Mechanical, electrical and plumbing Project Size: 20,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: MANUFACTURING PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD Epner's Hartford startup aims to ease C-suite headaches By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com R obert Epner drew on his successful experience as a chief operating offi- cer for a multinational corporation to develop a software that makes C-suite executives' lives easier, particularly man- aging and implementing strategic plans, but also merger integrations or other ini- tiatives in large, complex organizations — whether for-profit or nonprofit. He got the idea for Hartford-based Chief- ofstaff.com after leaving ING Group in 2009, where he was COO and chief of staff for the Asia Pacific region and oversaw 12 countries with two businesses each, insurance and asset management, and 10,000-plus employ- ees. The complex- ity of overseeing 24 businesses in differ- ent stages and coun- tries required him to develop methodolo- gies to make it easier to communicate and pull together the businesses' plans, while communicating effectively to headquarters. After leaving ING, he worked a couple years for an insurance industry consul- tant, then began devising tools he would have liked in the C-suite. "I sort of took the practices that I used in that role as COO and chief of staff and married it to this new cloud technology and mobility technology, and that's the inspiration for Chiefofstaff.com," said Epner, 57, who spent most of his career in the insurance industry, including 22 years combined at ING and MetLife. Chiefofstaff.com provides live views into the status of implementing strategic plans as staff update their progress across departments, businesses and countries. "In effect, it provides daily briefings in real time to the senior exec and C-suite from the people who are doing the work, who are accountable for the initiatives … so it's almost like these real-time tweet updates from around the world coming together and allowing you to stay on top of your plan," Epner said. Chiefofstaff.com is breaking ground in a space he dubs CSM, corporate strategy management. Larry Sullivan beta-tested Chiefofstaff. com at a $500-million, global nonprofit he ran and was so impressed he joined Epner to help launch it commercially late last year. He believes it will change the way CEOs work forever. "This (software) gives you a clear line of sight," Sullivan said. "Literally, one tap, I could have a satellite view of every initiative in my universe globally and, with a second tap, I can look at one initiative on one execu- tive's desk and see how it's faring." Epner lives in New York City, splitting time between there and Hartford, where his four senior leaders operate. The com- pany's Hartford base is ideal for one of its target clients, insurance, and the region's talented workforce, he said, envisioning the company growing to perhaps 50 employees in two years. Epner said he tries to bring excitement to management and make people feel like they're growing and contributing. He encourages people to embrace problems no one else wants to solve. Epner's other passion is helping people with autism and their families. He and his wife, Alison Edwards, have a son, David Arthur Epner, 16, who's autistic. Epner co- founded the David Arthur Foundation, which aims to create world-class networked com- munities for adults with autism spectrum disorder that include quality housing, access to jobs, entertainment, stores, health care, sports, culture, churches and synagogues. He's partnered with the Hospital for Special Care and Corporation for Inde- pendent Living and hopes to see the first community developed in Bristol and become a national template. Outside work, Epner enjoys jogging, hiking and playing tennis in Central Park. He also writes poetry. "It's sort of an outlet for me, so I enjoy that," he said. n H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S Robert Epner has developed a corporate strategy management software that allows executives to oversee complex companies. Robert Epner Founder and CEO, Chiefofstaff.com, Hartford Highest education: MBA in finance, New York University, 1982; advanced IT certificate, NYU. Executive insights: " … Seek out where are the problems that your organization is struggling with and … take the initiative and come up with solutions even if no one's asking you for that because that's where creativity and innovation comes from — and particularly difficult problems that maybe no one else wants to try to tackle. Those are the key ones and have the biggest payoffs." EXECUTIVE PROFILE Check out a video clip of Robert Epner's interview at hartfordbusiness.com. 2016 KEVIN OLLIE CHARITY CLASSIC Aug. 21-22 • Foxwoods Resort Casino The Kevin Ollie Charity Classic supports sports for people with disabilities and the building of Kevin's Kourts inclusive basketball courts. KevinOllieGolf.org Help Kevin Ollie Give Every Child A Shot. Diamond Sponsors: David Marks & Ann Sagalyn First Kevin's Kourts opening, Boys & Girls Club of Hartford, June 6, 2016 D KO_HBJ_4.875x6.875_D_Layout 1 7/26/16 11:29 AM Page 1

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