Growing up and working summer jobs in the middle-class manufacturing community of New Britain shaped the future opinions of state business leader John R. Rathgeber, the president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
Although Rathgeber’s early jobs – as a pharmacy assistant at age 16 at New Britain General Hospital, park youth counselor and later at Metalform, a small factory – never led to any permanent careers, those experiences shaped his understanding of the challenges facing various organizations, particularly in manufacturing.
“Working in manufacturing has given me an appreciation for what a small manufacturer goes through to be successful. They put up their life savings to start a company with the hopes of being successful,” he said.
His understanding of manufacturing wasn’t limited to his own experience. Rathgeber’s father also worked as a financial manager for American Hardware in New Britain during an era when six-day workweeks were commonplace for that sector.
Although his academic inclinations took him off the factory floor to pursue a college degree in political science and later a law degree, his roots in New Britain gave him a close and personal view of hard work, long hours and costly capital investments required of the manufacturing industry.
Rathgeber continued to work in manufacturing through most of his college years during the summer because those jobs paid pretty well, he recalls. Although he enjoyed the factory work, especially one summer when he was allowed to drive a forklift, he was most interested in politics, even as a youngster.
“I was a fan of Bobby Kennedy,” he said. “Growing up in the New Britain community, there was a lot of interest in government and politics and what it could or could not do for a community.”
His interest in policy making intensified while studying at Colgate College, where one of his professors was also a lobbyist for a women’s garment union. His interest in politics took a leap into lobbying and how interest groups lobbied lawmakers.
He expected to become a tax attorney, realizing that there aren’t a lot of paying jobs that would compliment his interest in politics and lobbying.
After a one-year stint in General Electric’s financial management trainee program and three years in law school, Rathgeber was hired for what would be his dream job. He was hired by the CBIA in 1976, when it employed just 25 people. Today, it counts 103 employees. He has remained with the organization ever since, and in 2005, was named its president and CEO.
“The reason I like what I do is because I believe in CBIA’s mission and I believe we need a vibrant economy in the state. It’s our job to inform the legislature to be sure that they do that. We also are helping businesses be competitive in a global economy, giving them information [and offering lower-cost insurance products] to help them be successful.”
