Hartford Business Journal

20 Hartford Business Journal • August 29, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com OPINION & COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Fishman leaves indelible mark on Travelers, Greater Hartford C onservative and low profile. Brave and inspirational. A leader in business and in life. Those are all words and statements that have been used over the last few weeks to accurately describe former Travelers CEO and executive chairman Jay Fishman, who died Aug. 19 after battling ALS. His passing has had a profound effect on Greater Hartford, where Fishman firmly implant- ed and grew Travelers' presence over the years, making the property and casualty insurer the Capital City's largest corporate resident. When many corporate leaders were shrinking their footprints in downtown Hart- ford, Travelers not only stood its ground, but grew its presence over the last decade, and invested tens of millions of dollars to refresh its historic Travelers Tower, preserving a key piece of center-city architecture. That's a testament to Travelers' top leadership — led by Fishman — believing in a city that doesn't always get the benefit of the doubt from its corporate residents. With operations in New York and Minnesota, Travelers was never beholden to Hartford, yet Fishman and some of his top lieutenants believed in the city and region as a whole. That was one of the reasons he led Travelers' backing of the PGA Tour's Greater Hart- ford Open golf tournament, which almost ceased to exist about a decade ago when corpo- rate support for the event was drying up. The Fishman-led Travelers Cos. stepped up and took over title sponsorship in 2007 and turned the tournament into a world-class event. Since then, the tournament has generated about $13 million for more than 500 charities. This year's Travelers Championship raised a record $2.8 million for charity, largely in support of ALS research, which Fishman had championed since being diagnosed last year with the progressive disease that affects nerve and muscle function. Not only did Fishman direct the tourna- ment's fundraising proceeds for ALS treat- ment and research, but he also shined the spotlight on a disease that affects 30,000 Americans. He bravely became the dis- ease's chief spokesman during the Travel- ers Championship earlier this month, giving speeches and meeting spectators in a wheel- chair, while using a breathing tube at times. Ironically, the very public battle Fish- man waged against ALS toward the end of his life went against the ethos through which he led Travelers as a chief executive. Although he helped build one of the most financially stable and successful property and casualty insurers in the world, Fishman kept a very low profile, skirting the media spotlight – for the most part – that some other well-paid Wall Street executives crave. A 2011 Forbes article accurately called Fishman "Wall Street's Honest Man." His conservative nature helped steer Travelers out of major troubles during the 2008 financial crisis, when many companies overleveraged and bet big on risky investments that eventually soured. While many insurers took a government bailout to stay afloat, Travelers didn't need or want one. Fishman said he always took a long-term view of things when managing Travelers, a rare position to stake out at a time when many executives acquiesce to the pressures of quarterly earnings expectations. "I don't want to be [just] a caretaker," Fishman said in the 2011 Forbes article, during a rare media interview. "I want to leave something behind that was better than what I got." Fishman not only left behind a company that was better than when he got it, but also a city and region. n OTHER VOICES Congress must act to promote U.S. exports By James T. Brett S hortly after Labor Day, the U.S. Senate will reconvene for a brief session before the November elections. In those few weeks, the members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs could begin the process that could help create thousands of Ameri- can jobs, unleash billions in economic opportunity, and return hundreds of millions of dollars to the taxpayers. How is this pos- sible? The leaders on this committee need only vote to confirm Mark McWatters to be a member of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. From July to December in 2015 the Export-Import Bank — America's official export credit agency (ECA) — had no charter under which to operate. As a result, the Ex-Im Bank in fiscal year 2015 enabled only $17 billion in exports, support- ed approximately 109,000 American jobs and returned about $431 million to the Treasury. For the year before, in comparison, the Ex-Im Bank enabled some $27.5 billion in exports, sup- ported approximately 164,000 American jobs and returned $675 million to the Treasury. Many believed when the long-term reau- thorization of the Ex-Im Bank's charter was enacted into law last December, the bank would be able to return to its prominence in export promotion. However, the lack of a minimum three-member quorum on the Export-Import Bank board of directors has limited the bank's ability to approve transac- tions over $10 million, curtailing the bank's capacity to fully do its job. A three-person quorum would help alleviate this concern, but for more than six months now, the nomination of McWatters — a Republican nominee to fill the pivotal third slot on the board of directors — has been held-up in the Banking Committee. A vote on his nomination is not currently on the Committee's fall schedule. In June, the Ex-Im Bank released its annual assessment of the Ex-Im Bank's com- petitiveness as it relates to other ECA's from around the world. This 2015 "Competitive- ness Report" notes that "in the aftermath of the 2015 lapse in authority and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the board of direc- tors, (the Ex-Im Bank) continues to decline in competitiveness." Against this backdrop, the report states that other ECA's from around the world are expanding their involvement in promoting exports. Indeed, the report indicates China has "increased its trade-related invest- ment support by an estimated 13 percent," while their Ex-Im Bank equivalent "is expected to increase its activity in Africa alone to at least $1 trillion over the next decade." Exports are an integral part of our economy and busi- nesses should be able to rely on the Ex-Im Bank when regular financial backing is unavail- able to do business overseas. Congress asserted that belief when it approved a renewal of the Ex-Im Bank's charter late last year; the Senate should now follow-up on that effort and approve the nomination of McWatters. In so doing, they would unleash the eco- nomic opportunity that the Ex-Im Bank can provide to large and small businesses all across the nation. n James T. Brett is the president & CEO of The New England Council, a nonpartisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private orga- nizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL Should Connecticut eliminate mandatory minimum pricing laws for alcohol? ● Yes ● No To vote, go online to HartfordBusiness.com. Last week's poll results: Is privatizing care for the developmentally disabled good policy? 67.3% Yes 32.7% No James T. Brett ▶ ▶ Many believed when the long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank's charter was enacted into law last December, the bank would be able to return to its prominence in export promotion. Send Us Your Letters The Hartford Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and guest commentaries for our opinion pages. Electronic submissions are preferred and welcome at: editor@HartfordBusiness.com. ▶ ▶ Not only did Fishman direct the tournament's fundraising proceeds for ALS treatment and research, but he also shined the spotlight on a disease that affects 30,000 Americans.

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