Edward M. Bowman Jr., former owner of a home heating and oil company in Cheshire, is Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s pick as the new chairman of Connecticut Innovations, the quasi-public agency that invests in local technology firms.
Bowman, known as “Ned,” owned and still works for Village Oil Co., in Cheshire, and is on the board of the Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association (ICPA), which advocates for oil sellers. He served on the town council in Cheshire from 1994 to 1997.
He replaces Elaine A. Pullen, who resigned as the chair on Monday. The post is unpaid.
“I’m very honored that the governor appointed me,” Bowman said when reached after the announcement.
Bowman said he plans to bring a new perspective to the agency, as he has had, to his own admission, “really nothing” in the way of experience with CI in the past. He said he would focus his efforts in two areas.
“First, I think, economic development and emerging technology, helping them to grow. And I think it’s important to get a new executive director.”
CI has been without an executive director since April, when Frank A. Dinucci, of Wilton, left the job after six months. His predecessor, Chandler J. Howard, left the job in a similar hurry. An interim appointment following Dinucci of John A. Mengacci from the Office of Personnel Management was undone after his appointment was questioned because he represents OPM on the CI board.
In addition to Village Oil, which merged with F&S Oil Co. of Waterbury in 2004, Bowman has started a number of local home heating businesses, including Action Energy and Village Energy. The governor cited his entrepreneurial experience as an important qualification.
The governor also indicated that Bowman’s background in energy would be important to her goal of making Connecticut more energy efficient.
“I am especially pleased that Ned comes to this job from an energy background, because my energy vision for Connecticut calls for strategic investments in developing technologies that will make our state more independent and efficient in the years to come,” Gov. Rell said in a statement.
Promoting alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power should be a priority, Bowman said. When asked about his experience with those technologies he said that his father, a plumber, did some solar installations in the 1970s.
He said he’d met the governor on a few occasions before she called on Friday to offer the position, once at an ICPA event when she was lieutenant governor.
Members of the technology community were happy to hear of the governor’s quick action to name a new chair but were not familiar with Bowman. They hoped he could communicate the importance of CI and its strong investment history to policymakers and other economic development partners.
“I think the key thing is we need an evangelist who is willing to talk about the benefits of risk and the benefits of positioning Connecticut, at least within New England or the Northeast, as a very attractive place for entrepreneurs to think about starting companies,” said Matthew Nemerson, president of the Connecticut Technology Council.
“The most important thing here is that the person have good business sense, and have a good relationship with the governor and the governor’s office,” Nemerson said.
“CI will hopefully continue in the grand tradition that it has for more than a decade of leading the effort to identify and support promising new technology and companies,” said Michael Roer, executive director of the Connecticut Venture Group. “One of his challenges will be to liaise with the other organizations in the state, like the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Connecticut Development Authority, the governor’s office and the state legislature.”
