New DECD Commissioner: Conn. Needs To Be Business-Friendly

The soon-to-be new commissioner of economic development for the state spoke to a full house in Mystic Friday morning, and declared “Connecticut is open for business.”

Catherine Smith, who officially assumes the role of commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development next week, spoke to the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut at Latitude 41, the restaurant at

Smith is leaving her job as CEO of ING Retirement Services to take the state job. She told business leaders from throughout eastern Connecticut that she accepted the offer from Gov. Dannel Malloy because “the mission could not be closer to my heart, and closer to what we need in the state.”

Smith reiterated what Malloy has been saying both during his campaign and since he took office, that “Connecticut is open for business.”

Malloy wants Smith to “figure out how to get Connecticut out of the bottom in job growth,” she said. “In business, it is extremely important to have the top guy or gal on your side, and Governor Malloy is 120 percent committed to this, to promoting Connecticut and making it a more friendly place for business.”

Smith told the chamber members that she has been on a listening tour, and in addition to the three key elements she has identified for improving the state’s business climate, that tour has added two more to her agenda.

She cautioned that these are “overarching observations and goals, and our strategy is not yet baked.”

The first area she has identified is “to be more friendly to existing businesses in the state, and make sure the environment is right for growing those businesses.”

Secondly, “We need to do a better job of innovation and allowing start-ups to get a foothold in Connecticut. … Have we created an environment that these companies want to start up in? Do we have the right culture and environment?”

The third area is that DECD and the culture and tourism department will work together to improve the way the state does business with businesses. “How easy is it to get business taken care of with the state?” she asked. “We need to have the staff in place to be responsive to your needs.”

Smith said the challenge there is to do better with fewer resources, as the state budget weighs heavily on all state departments.

The two new areas of focus she developed from listening to constituents are to improve Connecticut’s branding. “We need to get Connecticut back on the map, not just for tourism but for business and industry. We need to be branded as a state that is friendly to business, immediately and in the long term.”

Lastly, Smith said, Connecticut needs to exploit the expertise of its people. “Why businesses stay in their communities is because of the people that they have,” she said. “We need to make this a place people want to stay.”