Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • November 27, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com T o R. Nelson "Oz" Griebel's way of thinking, Connecticut and Greater Hartford may not pos- ses the natural resources and enticing climate of more allur- ing regions competing against this state for jobs, but they have plenty of other assets to leverage into sustainable economic vitality. "This state is full of many well-inten- tioned people. But we don't have natural- gas wells here. We don't have 80-degree weather in January,'' Griebel said recently, referencing the energy-rich Southwest and sun-soaked Southeast. "How you play your face cards when you're dealt is important,'' he said. Griebel, a downtown resident, is close to playing his final hand, retiring at yearend as the first and only chief executive officer in the 16-year history of the MetroHartford Alliance, a nonprofit economic-development promoter also based in the center city. The Alliance has hired New York econom- ic-development consultancy Camoin Associ- ates to assist with the search for its next CEO. Travelers Cos. Executive Vice Presi- dent and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Bessette, who chairs the Alliance's board, said the nonprofit seeks to have a successor in place by early 2018. Griebel — "Oz'' as he's known to thousands of entrepreneurs, business and civic lead- ers and politicians — sat recently with the Hartford Business Journal for an expansive interview, recounting the highs and lows of his tenure as CEO of an organization whose mission statement espouses its focus on "jobs, capital and talent" in the region. HBJ is a paid member of the MetroHartford Alliance. He also confirmed what many inside and outside his inner circle have known or speculated about for some time: Griebel is weighing a possible second run for gover- nor in Connecticut. He mounted a failed GOP campaign for the same seat in 2010. "Yes, I'm considering it,'' he said from MetroHartford Alliance's fifth-floor office at 31 Pratt St. He declined to elaborate, saying his focus for now is on Alliance affairs. Griebel, 68, said he decided to step away after some personal reflection and discus- sions with members of the Alliance board. "Change is good for everybody,'' he said. "Sixteen years is a long time." Asked to list his "successes'' in his role essentially as the Hartford region's chief economic cheerleader, Griebel defers. "There are no individual successes,'' he said. "The contributions this organization has made since we began belongs to every- one — the board, the chairs of the board, (etc.). … I have been able to tap the intellec- tual capital of many people.'' "This organization is in very good shape. Our balance sheet is in very good shape,'' he said. The Alliance's fiscal 2017 revenue was $5.6 million, mostly from members' dues. Though Griebel is generally credited with launching the Alliance's financial-services clus- ter, to rally Hartford's insurance, banking and wealth-management providers around shared issues, he said the idea came from former Hartford Financial Services Inc. Chairman and CEO Ramani Ayer. Ayer chaired the Alliance from 2002 to 2003. The Alliance also launched a health-services cluster on Griebel's watch. Plenty else has happened to the local, state and national economies during his tenure, the biggest of which was the Great Recession from 2008 to 2010, which hit the city and state hard. Since then, state bud- get-setters have faced constant wrangling to get their arms around Connecticut's fis- cal crisis, which led to two of the biggest tax increases in state history. In addition, Connecticut's image has been sullied as an unfriendly place to do business because of over-regulation and high income and property taxes. More recently, health in- surer Aetna, which was founded in Hartford more than a century ago, announced it was moving its headquarters to New York City. Also during Griebel's tenure, the city's fiscal woes mounted edging Hartford to the brink of insolvency. "I'm confident we'll continue to work to- gether to address those fiscal woes,'' he said. Griebel lists a number of pluses for the city and region during his tenure as Alliance head, starting with downtown's Adriaen's Landing project that led to redevelopment of Front Street and ultimately to UConn relocating its campus there. The presence of UConn and more downtown apartments has led to expanded retail, including more restaurants, in the center city. Regionally, pluses include the facilities expansion of Bradley International Airport and the addition of nonstop flights to the West Coast and to Ireland, Griebel said. "Connecticut's bones, Hartford's bones, the region's bones, are very strong," Griebel said. Public-private partnerships Another focus during Griebel's tenure has been trying to attract and retain more Millennials to the region, which has become a major economic development mis- sion around the country. It was under Griebel's steward- ship that the Alliance seeded the Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group (HYPE) in 2006. Griebel said the vision for HYPE came from a 2005 visit to Minneapolis- St. Paul, Minn., by him and other Alliance officials. The Twin Cities' chamber, and another in Oklahoma City, Griebel said, are exem- plars of the kind of sustained public-private sector dialogue around shared interests in economic growth that he hopes can be replicated in the Hartford region. "Other regions of the country have had demonstrable, sustained economic growth,'' he said. "I attribute it to those regions hav- ing sustained engagement between private- sector leaders and elected officials.'' "What I've not done well,'' Griebel said, "is ensuring there is sustained dialogue between the CEOs of the corporate sector and elected officials.'' Griebel points to past attempts, including during the administration of former Gov. John G. Rowland, to promote a business- Chief Promoter As Oz Griebel exits MetroHartford Alliance, gubernatorial run may be next Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Travelers Cos. R. Nelson "Oz'' Griebel, an ex-banker who is the Hartford region's chief economic-development promoter, on Pratt Street, where the MetroHartford Alliance's offices are housed. HBJ PHOTO | GREGORY SEAY

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