Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 27, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 17 Quality Construction + Butler Manufacturing = Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 The Belknap White Group, Hartford, CT | 2012 | 15,300 sq. ft. Northeast Beverage, Orange, CT 2006 | 97,000 sq. ft. Contact us at 1-855-BUILD-86 or visit us on the web. public sector relationship. That kind of relationship existed previously when the region's so-called "bishops'' plotted the course of the Hartford region's economic and political prospects. Travelers' Bessette has volunteered his leadership to the Alliance alongside Griebel's from the time of its formation 16 years ago. Into his second stint as Alli- ance chair, Bessette said Griebel brought credibility to the job as a former Bank of Boston executive. When Griebel was hired, there were two organizations engaged in promoting economic development in the region — the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and the Hartford Growth Council. In 2001, the pair merged, creating the MetroHartford Al- liance, with Griebel as its first CEO. Griebel actively recruited business members — and collected dues for — the new organization, said Bessette. Travelers is a "leadership'' investor in the Alliance. "He's been a very important leader in convening the entities in a public-private partnership,'' Bessette said. "What he did to lead the organization, we should celebrate.'' Who's next? Similar traits are being sought in Griebel's successor, said Bessette, who describes himself as de-facto chair of the half-dozen member search committee. He said Griebel's replacement should be in place sometime in the first quarter of 2018. But two traits, in particular, will be front and center among the successor's qualifica- tions and achievements, Bessette said. "You need a strong leader who can convene the business community," Bessette said, "and has strong economic-development objectives, which is growing jobs, growing compa- nies and growing economic develop- ment in the Greater Hartford region." "We want a sea- soned professional who has brought tens of thousands of jobs to a region,'' he said. Bonnie Malley, chief operating officer for the city of Hartford, chaired the Alliance board from 2015 to 2016, when she left local insurer The Phoenix Cos. to join the city. Malley said Griebel's leadership is respected beyond the Alliance and the Hartford region, to include other regional chambers and economic-de- velopment partner- ships. He also has emerged, she said, as a passionate ex- pert and promoter of a cohesive trans- portation policy. Griebel chaired from 2001 to 2005 the former state Transportation Strategy Board, which became, he said, a "strong advocate'' for improved roads and bridges — and consideration of tolls to fund them — the CTfastrak busway linking Hartford and New Britain, a Springfield-Hartford- New Haven rail, and enhancing the state's port system. Malley hopes the Alliance makes at least one change under its next leader. "What I believe the organization needs — and I think the organization and Oz recognize — is that you can't be all things to all people,'' she said. She said much of the Alliance's agenda is driven by its membership, nearly all of whom are busi- nesses, some of them major re- gional employers. Anthony P. "Tony" Rescigno, chief executive officer of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, said he worked with Griebel on various legislative issues, including recent efforts to try to persuade state lawmakers to adopt a budget. Griebel, Rescigno said, displayed leader- ship statewide through his willingness "to engage other chamber heads. He always gave the other major chambers a chance to sign on.'' "The guy is a true professional,'' said Rescigno, who also is retiring at yearend after 17 years leading the New Haven Chamber. "He takes the bull by the horns. He's a guy that is looking at things way ahead of everybody else.'' Rescigno said he was unaware that Griebel is contemplating a run for gover- nor, but said he isn't surprised. "I think he'd make a great governor,'' the former GOP first selectman of North Haven said. "If he does run, I think he'd be formidable.'' Bonnie Malley, Chief Operating Officer, city of Hartford Anthony P. "Tony" Rescigno, Chief Executive Officer, New Haven Chamber of Commerce Redevelopment of downtown's Front Street (top) began and peaked with the opening of UConn's Hartford campus (above) during Oz Griebel's watch as MetroHartford Alliance CEO. 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