When its longtime CEO Matthew Nemerson departed for a city government job in New Haven a year ago, Connecticut Technology Council’s board members found themselves asking a perennial question discussed often by business associations and chambers of commerce: How do we remain relevant to a broad range of members so they continue to pay dues and be active participants?
The council’s board tasked Bruce Carlson with answering that question when they appointed him as interim CEO in January.
“They asked me to kind of hit the refresh button,” Carlson said. “What can a technology council do going into 2015?”
Carlson is a former chief of staff at the UConn Health Center, who founded its technology transfer program. He spent 20 years as a policy director within the state’s Office of Policy Management. And more recently, he co-founded a nonprofit called IP Factory that seeks to partner with companies to repurpose old intellectual property for new markets and uses.
Given his range of experience, board members felt a fresh look at the council’s focus was necessary.
Nemerson — who board members praised as well connected and savvy in the intersection of business and government policy and a key advocate for the creation of the state’s CTNext program for funding startups — led the council for more than half of its 20-year existence.
And over that time, the industry has changed as rapidly as the products and services it sells.
“Technology changes by the microsecond,” said Chuck Pagano, ESPN’s chief technology officer and outgoing chairman of the council. “We need to be nimble on our feet.”
Carlson spent his first six months talking to a number of the council’s 300 member companies — which each employ anywhere from two to 15,000 people — about what they saw as major needs.
He came back to the board, which hired him permanently in July, with three priorities: Building a quality hiring pool in the state; helping members take the best approach to cybersecurity; and playing a supportive role to bring cheaper, ultra-high-speed Internet to the state.
Carlson said the council is still hashing out exactly what it can do in each area, but it has already made some progress.
On workforce matters, the council has convened a group of human resources executives to discuss how best to tackle skills shortages and hiring.
Board member Frank Milone, a partner at Glastonbury public accounting firm Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina, said the council also continues to push for STEM education efforts and is discussing employers’ core skills needs.
“It’s a crucial item to address if we’re going to continue as a state to invest a lot of time and money in trying to build this ecosystem,” Milone said.
The council has also advocated for federal immigration reforms that would bring more skilled workers to the United States on temporary visas.
Regarding high-speed Internet, the council helped the state Office of Consumer Counsel in August convene groups of business leaders to better gauge their interest in gigabit-speed service. Supporters believe faster speeds would attract more technology companies to the state.
It remains to be seen if providers will be interested. Responses to a joint request for qualifications issued to potential service providers by three municipalities, including West Hartford, are due Dec. 12.
It’s the kind of effort that has the potential to make a real impact in the state, Carlson said.
“The place where the economic growth we all want to see in Connecticut is going to come from is the technology community,” he said. “I think this is a role where I can make a difference.”
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