Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com decemBer 26, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 19 BOOK OF LISTS & ECONOMIC FORECAST 2016-2017 "We have a lot of successes to cel- ebrate and we're probably at the best point we've ever been in the history of the hospital in terms of being known outside of the New Britain community, but we can't stop," Ricci said. "We have to really leverage that because that's going to bring us philanthropy, it's going to bring us grants, it's going to continue to bring us really great employees." It's a pivotal time for Ricci, 57, who succeeded Dr. John Votto as president and CEO of HSC on Oct. 1, 2015, and added the additional role of president and CEO of HSC's parent, Center of Special Care Inc., also held by Votto, on Oct. 1, 2016. While new as CEO, Ricci — who lives in Killingworth, is married and has two adult children — has been with HSC since 2004, most recently as chief operating officer. She oversees HSC, a therapeutic rid- ing program with 10 horses in Middle- town and a satellite hospital program within St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center's north campus. About 1,100 employees treat patients in areas includ- ing pulmonary, acquired brain injury, neuromuscular, spinal cord, autism, cardiac and complex pediatric care Roughly 75 percent of HSC's patients are on Medicaid, presenting financial challenges. HSC is entering its 10th year without an increase in Medicaid reim- bursements, while patient loads and oper- ating costs rise. There's talk nationally of converting Medicaid to block grants, which could mean states losing some federal matching dollars, Ricci said. With HSC's heavy reliance on Medic- aid, "it makes us certainly more vulner- able," she said. That's why HSC tries to avoid over- lapping other hospitals. Its autism pro- gram, for example, attracts patients from throughout Connecticut. HSC also serves about 250 of the state's 300 ALS patients. HSC plans to build a new, specially designed 12-bed autism inpatient unit that would replace the eight-bed unit in converted space, but fundraising for that is probably a couple years off, Ricci said. More immediately, HSC is hiring a second Parkinson's disease doctor in early 2017 to reduce the months-long wait for new patients to see the current specialist. The Parkinson's program, like others at HSC, is attractive for its continuum of care, Ricci said. HSC also is challenged in receiving patients discharged more quickly from acute-care hospitals who are sicker and demand more services as payers seek shorter stays or home care to lower costs, she said. Ricci calls HSC a safety net for the state, caring for patients who would have nowhere else to go. While state Medicaid payments are flat, Connecti- cut has provided other valuable sup- port, including for the inpatient autism unit and electronic medical records system, she said. The fiscal environment requires care- ful management to protect bedside care. Votto, who stepped down after 19 years as HSC CEO, said Ricci is suited to the challenge. HSC's employee cul- ture has been important to its success and he said Ricci understands the cul- ture, is energetic, collaborative, person- able and smart. Her challenge is retaining those positive forces amid uncertainties sur- rounding U.S. healthcare policy and reimbursements. "Obviously, it gets harder and harder when the finances are cut," Votto said, stressing HSC's focus on efficiency, mul- titasking and nimbleness. "I think she's going to be successful and the hospital's going to continue to be successful," Votto said. "You can't sit on your laurels. I think you've got to work at it every day." That includes looking for new oppor- tunities, such as potentially consult- ing other autism programs nationally, something Ricci could begin in 2017. "It's a challenging environment," Ricci said, but there's potential in exporting some of HSC's talents. n president and COO in 2013 before replacing the retiring John Lundgren this year. The Black & Decker integration team remains largely intact and the company will use the same integration methodol- ogy with Newell, Loree said, expecting good results "because the organization has good muscle memory." He called the Newell deal simpler than the Black & Decker purchase, which com- bined two equal-sized companies. Stanley Black & Decker, with revenues this year between $11 billion and $12 billion, is digest- ing a tools business with 2015 revenues of $790 million, "so it's a different scale … nonetheless, I never want to minimize the challenges associated with integrating acquisitions." Newell won't be Stanley's last buyout. Acquisi- tions will be nec- essary to reach the company's aim of doubling rev- enues by 2022. Asked about a report the compa- ny was interested in Craftsman tools, which Sears Hold- ings wants to sell, Loree was vague. "We're kind of covered by confi- dentiality in that regard," he said. "However, Crafts- man is one of America's great tool brands and in some ways we'd love to have that brand as part of our portfolio, but there are challenges associated with it that may or may not be insurmountable." Future acquisitions could include expan- sion of Stanley's core tools business, and additions in its industrial and security sys- tems areas, Loree said. The company can grow 4 to 6 percent a year organically through its focus on digitization, innovation and commercial excellence, he said. "We really are focused on becoming one of the world's great innovators … and that will fuel our growth for years to come," Loree said. An example is its new DeWalt FlexVolt, a 60-volt battery system that can extend a 20-volt cordless tool's runtime by up to four times. It also can power miter saws and other tools that require more power and haven't been cordless before, he said. Two FlexVolts can power a 120-volt cordless power tool. "It's an incredible innovation story because it was just a concept about two years ago," he said. Special teams also are working in busi- ness units to stay ahead digitally because industrial companies aren't immune from digital disruption, Loree said, adding the company's view is: "Let's disrupt our- selves before somebody disrupts us." Corporate social responsibility also is important to Stanley, which is infus- ing sustainability into all aspects of its design, manufacturing and distribution process and been recognized nationally for its progress, he said. David MacGregor, a senior analyst at Longbow Research in Independence, Ohio, who follows Stanley, said in an email he expects a substantial new prod- uct roll out in 2017, featuring 60- and 120- volt tools, a higher-voltage area of the cordless power-tool category that's still relatively unpopulated. However, with the FlexVolt, growth in 60- and 120-volt tools will pull along battery sales and cre- ate a meaningful incremental earnings stream, he added. MacGregor also expects Stanley's indus- trial business to benefit from anoth- er good year of new automotive sales. Also, Stanley's CRC- Evans subsidiary, focused on pipeline i n s pec t ion /weld - ing /ma intena nce, could benefit from "improving energy- sector business and an emerging pro-pipeline view in both Washington and Ottawa." As for Loree, he's a well-respect- ed executive with a track record of delivering for share- holders, MacGregor wrote. "Culturally, Jim's influence is already pervasive throughout the organization, so incremental improvements associated with his having taken over the CEO role will be more nuanced," MacGregor said. Loree has three daughters, 3, 4 and 20, and is married to Rebecca Kennedy Corbin Loree of Corbin Perception Group LLC. Their Jim and Rebecca Loree Foundation supports STEM education, schools like Grace Academy in Hartford, and the arts. The drive to help the arts is intensified by Loree's concern as a business leader seeing GE pull its headquarters from Connecticut and the potential for others to follow, eroding the state's economic base, talent recruitment and arts support. Loree says he's involved with government leaders to help improve the state's busi- ness climate and is cautiously optimistic the state can right itself. "It's not a sustainable model right now, and so that has to change," Loree said. "That's why I think a business-government partnership could be good because I think the business leaders in the community would rally around a government that said, 'OK, we're going to address the structural fiscal problems once and for all from a cost point of view and you, businesses, you figure out how to bring the jobs in' — and that's the partnership," he said. n Loree Ricci Clarke said. But Bronin has no regrets about his approach. "Anybody who thinks you can hide a crisis of that magnitude from the ratings agencies is fooling themselves," he said. As for his first year as mayor, Bronin said he's proud of the tough stance he took on ballpark construction, calling the bond on the developer when work was overdue and over cost. While that decision may have delayed the project's completion date even fur- ther, Bronin said the city was sending a message that no developers are going to take advantage of Hartford — some- thing that's happened in the past. Bronin also takes pride in regular town hall meetings and in the Hartford Youth Service Corps, a teen employment pro- gram he helped launch over the summer. Despite being the bearer of bad news about the city's finances, he insists he loves being mayor. "No regrets whatsoever," he said. As Clarke sees it, Bronin's strengths lie in his relationships in state government and with other city mayors who he expects will be in his corner come January. Clarke said he believes state legis- lators will pull the city back from the brink of insolvency. "I just hope we can get as much as we can of what we're going to be request- ing," Clarke said. "It's going to be a nail- biting session." n ▶ ▶ ' We really are focused on becoming one of the world's great innovators … and that will fuel our growth for years to come.' Jim Loree, president and CEO, Stanley Black & Decker Inc.

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