PODCAST · business
CBIA BizCast
by Connecticut Business & Industry Association
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!
Episodes
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Breaking Down Connecticut’s Job Market
On this episode of the CBIA BizCast, host Amanda Marlow sits down with CBIA Foundation director Dustin Nord to break down the newly released employment report. Nord shares his insights into manufacturing’s growth, Connecticut’s labor-force shortages, workforce development, and the economic risks...
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Manufacturing a Stronger Connecticut
On this episode of the CBIA BizCast, we take you inside the important discussions that took place during the CBIA Foundation’s Oct. 1 Made in Connecticut: 2026 Manufacturing Summit. The summit brought together 550 business leaders and public officials for important conversations about what...
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Lamont, Fazio Pitch Economic Agendas
On this episode of the BizCast, we're taking you inside the important discussions that took place during the CBIA Foundation’s Sept. 17 The Connecticut Economy Conference in Hartford. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and Republican challenger Sen. Ryan Fazio shared their economic agendas with the more...
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CBIA BizCast: Connecticut’s Complicated Labor Market
From payroll growth to rising unemployment and a shrinking labor force, Connecticut is facing a complicated jobs market. Add growing trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada, one of Connecticut’s most important trading partners, and businesses have a lot to think about. On this episode of the...
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Meet the Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut Contenders
Voting is officially underway for the 2026 Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut competition. The single-elimination, bracket-style challenge showcases Connecticut’s world-class manufacturing industry. On this episode of the CBIA BizCast, we introduce you to the 16 Connecticut-made products that are...
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Searching for The Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut
What’s the Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut? Voting gets underway Aug. 20 for the third annual competition highlighting our state’s manufacturing industry. (https://www.cbia.com/coolest-thing/) Ahead of the competition, CBIA and competition supporter CliftonLarsonAllen visited the 16 companies…
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Connecticut's Best CNBC Ranking
How did Connecticut achieve its highest-ever CNBC ranking? On this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima joins Amanda Marlow to break down CNBC's 2026 America's Top States for Business rankings and what they mean for Connecticut's economy. Connecticut reached its...
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CBIA BizCast: Snapshot of Connecticut's Economy
New data is shedding light on the state of Connecticut’s economy and labor force. On this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA Foundation director Dustin Nord joins host Amanda Marlow to talk about new Connecticut Department of Labor data that highlights the mismatch between increased job openings…
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Deep Dive Into Connecticut’s Energy Policy
One of the most important issues for Connecticut residents and businesses is the rising cost of energy, a major factor driving the state's affordability crisis. On this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA Foundation director Dustin Nord sits down with host Amanda Marlow to talk about a new report...
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Answering Your HR Questions
Navigating Connecticut’s complex workplace laws is always at the top of mind for employers and HR professionals. In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA associate HR counsel Delmarina Lopez (https://www.cbia.com/about/delmarina-lopez/ ) joins host Amanda Marlow to answer some commonly asked...
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Building Career Pathways
What does Connecticut need to do to prepare high school students for the careers of today, and tomorrow? That’s the mission of the newly formed Connecticut Career Pathways Commission. In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima joins host Amanda Marlow to break…
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CBIA BizCast: Reflecting on the 2026 Legislative Session
Connecticut’s 2026 General Assembly session ended with limited progress and key decisions that will drive costs even higher. In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA vice president of public policy Chris Davis joins host Amanda Marlow to discuss the business community's wins and losses from the...
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Bill Bundles Mandates, Workforce Development
As Connecticut’s 2026 legislative session enters its final days, lawmakers are debating several major bills with far‑reaching implications for employers. In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, CBIA senior policy director Paul Amarone joins host Amanda Marlow to break down HB 5003, a sweeping...
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Setback for Small Business Healthcare
Health care affordability, Connecticut’s economy, and workforce development are front and center on this episode of CBIA BizCast. CBIA Policy Director Grace Brangwynne joins host Amanda Marlow to discuss the defeat of legislation allowing small businesses to form association health plans....
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CBIA BizCast: Tourism, Energy Bill Advances
Connecticut lawmakers continue to grapple with affordability challenges facing small businesses—and energy costs are a major focus this legislative session. In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, host Amanda Marlow highlights proposed legislation aimed at reducing energy costs, along with key...
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Legislative Leaders Discuss Key Session Issues
In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, we bring you a portion of the March 18 conversation between Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven), Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield), House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford), and House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North...
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What Tariff Uncertainty Means for Connecticut
In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, Amanda Marlow sits down with CBIA Foundation director Dustin Nord to break down major recent developments surrounding the Trump Administration’s sweeping global tariffs. In late February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs imposed under the...
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2026 Legislative Preview
In this episode of the CBIA BizCast, Amanda Marlow sits down with CBIA policy chief Chris Davis to break down the start of the 2026 General Assembly Session, Gov. Ned Lamont’s State of the State address, key legislative proposals, and what business leaders—especially small businesses—should be...
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CBIA BizCast: Rebrand Announcement
The CBIA BizCast is entering its next chapter—bringing Connecticut’s business community closer to the conversations that matter most. The relaunched BizCast continues its tradition of sitting down with business and community leaders from across the state. At the same time, the podcast will...
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Giving Back to Greater Hartford
2026 is an important year for the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation. After celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2025, the former Hartford Foundation for Public Giving kicked off the year with a major rebranding and plans for a new headquarters in Hartford’s North End. Foundation president…
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Driving Connecticut Forward
Continuous improvement is a principle that’s shaped HABCO Industries president and CEO Brian Montanari’s career—one that spans driving forklifts to leading an aerospace company. Today, as CBIA’s recently elected board chair, he applies that principle to strengthen Connecticut’s business…
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Leadership Reflections
Over the course of 2025, some of Connecticut’s remarkable business leaders joined the CBIA BizCast. These leaders have built successful teams, overcome challenges, and helped build a better Connecticut. They shared their stories of entrepreneurship and innovation, resilience and success. To close...
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Giving Girls a Roadmap to Success
The Girl Scouts have always held a special place in Elicia Pegues Spearman’s life. “My mother was a Girl Scout Brownie when she was growing up,” Pegues Spearman told the CBIA BizCast. “I was a Brownie here in Connecticut, and my daughter was a Girl Scout, and I was a coach, troop leader.” Despite...
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Brewing Family Business Success
If you ask Omar Coffee CEO Nicolas Bokron how to run a successful, fourth-generation business, he’ll tell you about the core values posted on the walls around his company. “Trust, not tricks” is one of them. “Generally, the coffee business is about on-going relationships, so it’s very important…
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CBIA BizCast: CBIA Foundation’s Nord Goes GeoPolitical
The CBIA BizCast is turning the tables a little. In June, Fairfield Woods Middle School Arav Kapoor was the runner-up in the National Civics Bee Connecticut State Finals, narrowly edged out by Tomlinson Middle School's Aarav Pradeep Sahu. The annual competition aims to improve civics education…
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‘The Universe Is Setting Me Up’
Jacqueline Laramee didn’t realize it at the time, but the course of her life and career trajectory shifted when—while still in high school—she met Melissa Sheffy. “When I met her, I didn’t know that I was meeting my future boss, my future business partner, my future best friend,” Laramee, now...
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Bridging Technological, Generational Divides
Over the past 10 years, Middletown-based AI Engineers has more than tripled in size. The architecture, construction, and engineering firm has grown from 90 employees to 350 in the U.S., with an additional and 70 employees working overseas. And annual revenue from $18 million to $77 million. Now...
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Laying a Foundation for Economic Growth
Since it was formed in 2023, the CBIA Foundation for Economic Growth & Opportunity has focused on charting a course for sustained economic growth in Connecticut that leads to greater opportunities for all residents. Foundation director Dustin Nord joined the CBIA BizCast to discuss the...
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The Coolest Things Made in Connecticut
Voting in the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut challenge is underway! The challenge celebrates the successes of the vital manufacturing industry and highlights the wide range of products produced by our world-class, highly skilled workforce. Featuring 16 Connecticut-made products, the...
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Understanding Release-Based Regulations
State lawmakers approved sweeping regulatory changes during the 2025 legislative session to replace the antiquated Transfer Act with new release-based cleanup regulations. When the new regulations take effect March 2026, it will be the culmination of years of collaboration between key…
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Adventurer Rohan Freeman Gives Back
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...
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Reflecting on a Bioscience Career
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...
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Improving Operational Excellence
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...
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2025 Legislative Session Review
More than 4,000 bills were introduced during the 2025 General Assembly session, with only 286 gaining final legislative approval. The CBIA BizCast team sat down with CBIA vice president of public policy Chris Davis to break down the session and some of the important bills that will impact the...
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Hall Neighborhood House Enriches Bridgeport
For nearly 140 years, Hall Neighborhood House has been a staple in the Bridgeport community. “It’s a busy place,” the community center’s director of development Nick Sentementes told the CBIA BizCast. “We serve about 500 people on a daily basis.” Hall Neighborhood House got its beginning in the...
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‘Trying Hard’ to Figure Out Tariffs
The landscape surrounding tariffs and international trade has been at the forefront of conversations since President Donald Trump came back into office in January. Within the last week, the U.S. and China agreed to a temporary pause on triple-digit tariffs as the two countries work to negotiate a...
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CBIA BizCast: Taking a Leap of Faith
Twenty five years ago this summer, The Latimer Group CEO Dean Brenner thought he’d be in crunch time training for the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He was sailing professionally and he and his wife quit their day jobs because they thought he had a shot. While their second place Olympic selection...
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Homecoming for University of Hartford's Ward
Lawrence Ward will mark his first year as University of Hartford president in July. Ward sat down with the CBIA BizCast to discuss his journey to lead UHart, his first year, and his goals for the university. UHart is something of a homecoming for Ward, who grew up in Vernon and graduated from the...
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Mentoring Next-Generation Talent
CBIA BizCast: Mentoring Next-Generation Talent How do you interest students in a career they may not know anything about? That’s a question the team at Mercer Investments is working to answer. Mercer principal Siddhartha Kalita joined the CBIA BizCast to highlight the company’s mentorship…
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HSB Makes a Dining Statement
When you think about restaurants and dining experiences, you probably don’t think about insurance companies. But that’s exactly who is behind one of Hartford’s new destination restaurants. Hartford Steam Boiler recently opened The Foundry on the 20th floor of One State Street in downtown…
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Driving Economic Innovation
Dr. Albert Green has spent his career at the intersection of technology and economic development. “I often refer to myself as bilingual, because I kind of speak both languages fluently,” he told the CBIA BizCast. QuantumCT just announced Green as its new CEO. The Connecticut public-private...
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Shaping Connecticut’s Future
Since the day it launched as Rebel Interactive in 2013, Rebellion Group has strived to do things differently. “I saw an opportunity to build an agency that was focused around disruption,” Rebellion Group CEO and owner Bryn Tindall told the CBIA BizCast. Tindall and senior vice president of client...
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Leading with Authenticity
The Lee Company president and CEO Marietta Lee never saw herself leading the business her grandfather started 77 years ago. Today, the Westbrook-based manufacturer employs 1,200 people making miniature hydraulic components for the aerospace, medical, and automotive industries. “We are a family...
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'Moving the Needle' to Reimagine Connecticut
With the start of the 2025 General Assembly session, the CBIA BizCast team sat down with CBIA vice president of public policy Chris Davis to discuss the session and CBIA’s ReimagineCT policy solutions. Supported by a bipartisan group of 73 lawmakers and a growing coalition of businesses, the…
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CBIA BizCast: Thomas Watson Group
CBIA BizCast: Thomas Watson Group by Connecticut Business & Industry Association
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CBIA BizCast: STEM Lab Turns Play Into Learning
On any given day after school, you might think kids would rather play than to keep going to class. But in a way, that’s just what’s happening at the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club’s new STEM lab at their Madison Avenue community clubhouse in Bridgeport. The organization gave the CBIA BizCast team an...
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CBIA BizCast: Words of Wisdom
Over the course of this past year, we’ve spoken with some exceptional leaders on the CBIA BizCast. Some are entrepreneurs, growing successful businesses. Others are changemakers, leading organizations with lasting legacies in Connecticut. These leaders have not only shared their stories, but also...
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Fascia’s Chocolates’ Sweet Legacy
Fascia’s Chocolates president Carmen Romeo has a sweet job. “I still have a vision that until everybody has had a piece of Fascia’s Chocolates, then my job's not done,” Romeo told the CBIA BizCast. But Romeo wasn’t always in the chocolate business. As an engineer, Romeo spent the first part of…
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Saybrook Point 'All in on Connecticut'
“Our number one market is Connecticut. We’re all in on Connecticut,” Saybrook Point Resort and Marina managing partner Stephen Tagliatela told the CBIA BizCast. The BizCast sat down with Taglietala and general manager Chris Bird at the resort overlooking the mouth of the Connecticut River. “We’re...
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Building Relationships with TD Bank's Moroney
“If you like what you do and you like who you do it with, you don't run away from happiness,” TD Bank’s Steve Moroney told the CBIA BizCast. Moroney has spent his entire 20-plus year career with the bank, including running the bank’s Westchester and Fairfield markets before being named market...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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!
HOSTED BY
Connecticut Business & Industry Association
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does CBIA BizCast have?
CBIA BizCast currently has 252 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is CBIA BizCast about?
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...
How often does CBIA BizCast release new episodes?
CBIA BizCast publishes regularly with 252 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to CBIA BizCast?
You can listen to CBIA BizCast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts CBIA BizCast?
CBIA BizCast is created and hosted by Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
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