Michael Fedele proudly points out that he is the first naturalized citizen to be lieutenant governor of Connecticut. He’s also the first lieutenant governor in at least four decades to build a business from scratch.
Fedele is the founder, chairman and CEO of Stamford-based Pinnacle Group, which delivers information technology solutions and services through a network of offices located in the United States. He was instrumental in establishing the company’s presence in the information technology market and has received numerous awards for work his company has done in the field of information technology.
He has not considered the possibility that his privately held company could require his presence. When asked what happens if Pinnacle runs into financial trouble, Fedele answered simply, “It won’t. It’s in good hands.”
“It’s a good business,” he said, adding that its revenues grew 35 percent from 2002-2006, and that others frequently ran the company’s day-to-day operations when he was a state representative from 1993-2003.
Roughly five weeks into his new role, Fedele has to defend an increase in the state income tax rates as part of Gov. Jodi Rell’s proposed state budget. It’s not accurate to say Fedele toes the party line when it comes to the proposed increase because most Republicans are against it.
However, he is quick to dismiss its impact on business growth in Connecticut. He said the lack of business expansion has nothing to do with the state’s tax structure. (Again, hardly a typical Republican sentiment.)
“The reason they’re not growing their business here is we don’t have a skilled work force for their position,” he said, adding that the higher taxes will provide more money for education from pre-kindergarten through $50 million in higher education scholarships. Further, Fedele added, increases in the income tax will lead to lower property taxes.
“As a Republican, and I speak for the governor, it’s not something we wanted to do,” he said. Previous governors, he said, didn’t have the “fortitude to bite the bullet.” In addition to more money for education, the tax increase also will pay for an energy rebate program that will cost $30 million. Fedele said an average increase on $70,000 in income would be $258. That could be mostly offset by the $200 tax credit for consumers who conserve 18 percent of their energy use, as well as the phase-out of the car tax.
Back In The Saddle
He had been away from state government when Rell tapped him to be her running mate. “The issues we’re working on started eight months ago,” he said during an interview last week at his State Capitol office two days after Rell unveiled her budget plan. “We jumped on a train going 100 mph.”
When asked why he returned to politics, Fedele offers the standard platitudes about wanting to make a difference, even though the lieutenant governor’s role is always subservient to the governor — and usually the speaker of the house and the senate president pro tem. Fedele knew that coming in, but said he has assurances from Rell that he’ll play an active role.
“If four years from now I look back and say this was a waste of time, I’ll be unhappy. I don’t have four years to waste in my life,” said Fedele, who turns 52 in March.
He acknowledges that politics is not always a good fit for successful CEOs. “It could be a little frustrating,” he said, referring to the fact that so many factors come into play when making decisions, and that state government isn’t a top-down model. “It’s helpful understanding the political process.” Also, problems in business can’t be left for future election cycles like they can in state government. However, he added, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is one business leader whose made it work.
Fedele’s background in business and politics makes him aware that the new commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development won’t have an easy time of it. Fedele is part of a search committee looking for a new commissioner. “In [a business] the decisions are fairly straight forward,” he said. Not so in state government, where a DECD commissioner needs patience and an understanding of how to navigate the state bureaucracy.
Former DECD commissioner James F. Abromaitis was not reappointed to his position when Gov. Rell was elected to a full term in November. “We’re open to just wiping the board clean and hope we can do a better job there,” Fedele said. “We want someone who is creative and can think outside the box.”
Unfriendly To Business
Fedele didn’t deal with the department while running Pinnacle. (His company, he said, has never done business with the State of Connecticut.) He heard criticisms that the department was not easy to work with because it wasn’t easy for businesses to know whom to approach for help. Fedele would like to see changes made where one person could shepherd a business through the various processes. He said even his office still faces the question, “Who do you go to?” when dealing with agencies in state government.
Among his other tasks in the new administration is looking at the state’s use of technology and how to work with private partnerships. Fedele sends out the message that state employees need not worry about improved technology at the state level. He said workers are usually concerned that improvements mean layoffs. “It’s usually implemented for greater efficiencies,” he said during an interview in his southwest corner office on the State Capitol’s third floor. “We can use the same amount of people to do more work.”
Past purchases of technology at the state level shouldn’t be perceived as failures, he further clarified. “We have a tendency in government to think technology is a finite purchase,” Fedele said. “It’s like when you buy a car. You still have to do the oil changes.”
Fedele is a man who likes his technology. A flat screen monitor is mounted opposite his desk because an old monitor took up too much floor space. Various devices ring and chirp constantly during a 45-minute interview. “They all mean something to me,” he laughed.
Even though his position is defined as part-time by the state constitution, Fedele plans to be a full-time lieutenant governor. He plans to leave his Stamford home by 7 a.m. to be at his desk at 8:30 a.m. Work until 5 and then head back home or to evening commitments. “There’s a lot to learn and a lot of work to be done,” he said.
