When Gov. Ned Lamont appointed David Lehman commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development many questioned the former Goldman Sachs investment banker’s job credentials.
But since taking office in 2019, Lehman has gotten mostly positive reviews from the business community. More importantly, he’s helping reshape the state’s economic-development strategy. He’s set an ambitious agenda in 2020 to help launch a new economic-development plan for the state, reform Connecticut’s economic-incentives playbook, and focus on workforce development, Opportunity Zones and regulatory reform.
However, some of that work is now on hold as Lehman responds to businesses’ needs during the coronavirus pandemic. He quickly launched a $25-million bridge loan program in March that was oversubscribed in a day’s time, forcing the state to double the available funding.
Lehman has helped redefine a new, deeper relationship between his agency and its economic- and market-research affiliate, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). In 2019, Lehman and others worked to restructure CERC’s board of directors and give it a larger role in business retention and recruitment on behalf of the state.