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CBIA BizCast

CBIA BizCast

著者： Connecticut Business & Industry Association
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 A podcast for the business-minded in Connecticut. Interviews consist of business and community leaders who are shaping the future of Connecticut’s economy. The CBIA BizCast provides new content every other week, introduces members of the business community, and tells stories about how businesses are innovating and growing in Connecticut! BizCast provides new content every other week, introduces members of CBIA staff, and tells stories about how businesses are innovating and growing in Connecticut!All rights reserved 経済学
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  • Adventurer Rohan Freeman Gives Back

    Adventurer Rohan Freeman Gives Back
    2025/07/24
    As president and CEO of Freeman Companies, Rohan Freeman runs three successful engineering, construction, and real estate firms. He’s also an accomplished mountain climber and the first African-American to climb the Seven Summits—the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. And he’s completed the so-called “explorers grand slam” which includes treks to the North and South Pole. “Sometimes I pinch myself, I feel pretty fortunate to get here and for some of the things I've accomplished,” Freeman told the CBIA BizCast. Freeman grew up in Jamaica, moving to Hartford after high school and graduating from the University of Connecticut with a degree in civil engineering. He said he started his firm in Hartford because it was home and his mother and brother both worked for the city. “I started my firm, and then starting to get more into the fabric of Hartford and the community and understanding some of the major issues that were impacting the city and realized that maybe I could help in some small way,” he said. Since then, the Freeman Companies has been involved in major projects in the city including Dunkin’ Park and a number school, housing, and redevelopment projects. He also founded Seven Summits Construction, which centers on nonprofits, schools, and community based work and Seven Summits Realty, which develops housing to provide access to those less fortunate. “I felt feel so connected to the city, and that's why I also want to give back,” Freman said. “I lived here, my mom lived here. So it's important to me to give back, especially with the way my career has been shaped by the city.” So how does someone who grew up on the island of Jamaica end up becoming a mountain climber? “Good question,” Freeman said. He said winter in Connecticut was a culture shock, but instead of moving somewhere warmer, he decided to embrace it and learn to snowboard. “I'm like, ‘okay, so this is how you enjoy winter,’” he said. “I'm like, ‘okay, I gotta do something else.’ And then my friends got me into ice climbing, and cross-country skiing.” Eventually, one of his friends asked him if he wanted to climb Kilimanjaro. “When I was a kid, we would talk about Kilimanjaro as some mythical place,” he said. "I'm like, 'Yeah, I want to go.'" He said after doing his research and training, they successfully climbed the mountain. And that got him excited for more. “I wanted to replicate that challenge,” Freeman said. “My mind always goes to, ‘am I saying I can't do it because I'm afraid? And also physically, could I accomplish this?’ “So I have to prove those things to myself.” Over the years he achieved the feat of climbing the Seven Summits. “It's knowing that I could break through these barriers,” he said. “Sometimes you find yourself in some really challenging situation where you feel like you have your last ounce of energy to give, but you really have more. “Going through these situations let me know that no matter how bad things are, there's always a little bit more to give.” Freeman said the lessons he’s learned through mountain climbing have helped him as as a leader as he’s grown Freeman Companies. “You may say, ‘physically climbing Denali, climbing Everest doesn't relate professionally,’” he said. “But I would disagree with you." “When we climb, we climb in a rope team,” he said. “So, when we move, we move together.” “It doesn't matter how strong you are as a leader. You cannot move faster than the weakest guy is capable of moving.” Freeman said that it’s the same in business and everybody on the team has equal importance. “You need everybody to be contributing, and so you have to find that balance for your team," he said. Related Links: Freeman Companies Website: https://freemancos.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/freeman-companies-llc/ Rohan Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohanfreeman/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/
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    34 分
  • Reflecting on a Bioscience Career

    Reflecting on a Bioscience Career
    2025/07/10
    He’s not calling it retirement. But after a successful career as CBIA senior counsel and executive director of the Connecticut Bioscience Growth Council, Paul Pescatello is ready for “a little bit of rebalancing.” Pescatello joined the CBIA BizCast to reflect on his career and the state of the biotech industry. Pescatello started his career as a banking and insurance regulatory lawyer with Shipman and Goodwin. “They needed somebody to do some lobbying to start a new bank,” he said. “There was actually legislation needed to make it happen. “So, I volunteered and that's sort of how I learned how to lobby in Connecticut.” Pescatello’s interest in the bioscience and pharmaceutical industry arose from a family crisis. “My oldest brother, who I was really close to, came down with glioblastoma, which is a really, really terrible form of brain cancer,” he said. “I think when something like that happens to you or to somebody you know really well— you want to do something. “You want to channel your energies into something that would help this person or help people in the future.” He said being involved in his brother’s care and treatment drew him to the research that pharmaceutical companies were doing. “I really love the industry. It was such a fascinating industry,” he said. Pescatello started doing pro bono work in the area and ran a bioscience advocacy organization. He joined CBIA in 2014, and started managing the Connecticut Bioscience Growth Council. Pescatello said his goal was to educate people that the innovation and research done by the pharmaceutical industry was key to solving the healthcare crisis. “People here at CBIA have heard me talk about it over and over again—as costly as some drugs are, they really are a cost saver to the overall health system,” he said. Pescatello said that a major expense in the cost of drugs is the vast amount of research and development that goes into the process. “It's just hard to wrap your mind around the really unique research and development arc of bringing a drug from idea to FDA approved products,” Pescatello said. It takes $2.7 billion and about 10-12 years to bring a drug from idea to product. “When legislators ask, ‘why are drug prices so high here?’ It’s true, we really do pay the world’s R&D.” Pescatello credited the buy-in from legislatures and administrations to understand the importance the industry carries in the state. That buy-in has led to Connecticut being at the forefront of research and development tax credits for biotech companies. “They're spending tons and tons of money, but they have no income coming in,” Pescatello said. “So those research and development tax credits—they can carry them forward into the future.” He said it’s critical for the state to stay competitive to support and grow the industry. “Things like the research and development tax credits—other states have copied that,” he said. “We have to keep in the game on that.” Pescatello said it’s been satisfying to see the growth of the industry in Connecticut. “I drive a lot of satisfaction from the range of companies that are here and the range of products that come out of Connecticut,” he said. “We should all really take a victory lap for how big the industry is in Connecticut and how sustainable it is.” As he “rebalances,” Pescatello said he's looking forward to spending more time with his five grandchildren. But he said he plans to continue his advocacy for the bioscience industry. “I love the industry,” he said. “I really care about it in terms of its effect on all of us and on patients and disease—understanding the mechanisms of disease and finding treatments and cures for disease.” ________________________________________ The CBIA BizCast is made possible through the generous support of Google. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the BizCast wherever you get your podcasts—we appreciate your support!
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    29 分
  • Improving Operational Excellence

    Improving Operational Excellence
    2025/06/26
    For many warehouse companies and distribution centers, dealing with logistics, and facilities, and workforce development can be a challenge. That’s where The TAC Group comes in. “We’re a supply chain operations consulting firm,” Grace Napolitano, the company’s principal and business development executive, told the CBIA BizCast. “We are focused on operational excellence within distribution and fulfillment centers.” Napolitano and her husband Zack started the company in 2023 after he spent his career working with FedEx and other distribution companies. That experience included working with companies to implement new management systems. “He really kind of fell in love with that area and working with different companies to help with their operational excellence,” Napolitano said. “He had so much care for the people that worked for him. He really cared about what their life story was, not just how they could perform for him and for the operation.” Napolitano had a background in business operations, sales and marketing. She previously worked in the media industry including as publisher and lead national ad director for the Chicago Sun Times. “So, I said, ‘If you trust what I can do, I trust what you can do,’ and The TAC Group was born,” she said. Napolitano said the company focuses on helping businesses with third-party logistics, facility layout and design, leadership development. But she said they are most proud of their labor optimization programs. “We’re very passionate about making sure people enjoy coming to work and not just being kind of like a racehorse being whipped go faster, go faster,” she said. She added their goal is to give them “the why behind what we’re doing.” She highlighted the high-paced environment of working in a distribution center. “Distribution is a grind,” she said. “It’s 24/7—it’s multiple shifts. There are reports coming in at 3 am, there are holidays being missed, there’s birthdays being missed. “With The TAC group, it’s really our focus to connect with the frontline workers on a personal level.” Napolitano said that workforce retention is a significant challenge for distribution centers. She said when workers leave for a different company, it costs an average of $8,000 to replace and train them. “If we could just put that investment into coaching and training the managers to work with their frontline workers, to make them feel like they’re part of the organization, that they’re valued and that they matter—that really will help the businesses keep jobs here in Connecticut,” Napolitano said. Napolitano said a big part of their work is to train managers to work with and support their employees. She added many of those managers were previously frontline workers themselves, and don’t necessarily know how to coach and guide other workers. “We’re giving them that skill set to be great leaders and great managers of the next generation of managers and executives,” she said. Related Links: The TAC Group Website: http://thetacgrp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tacgroupconsulting/ Grace Napolitano on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracenapolitano/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/
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    24 分

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