Several months into the worst pandemic the country has seen in a century, longtime aerospace executive Chris DiPentima decided to switch careers, becoming CEO of Connecticut’s largest business lobby.
Since that time, he’s led the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) through one legislative session and scored key victories in helping defeat proposals viewed unfavorably by the private sector.
DiPentima said CBIA — which has long pushed back against new mandates on employers, whether it’s minimum wage hikes or higher taxes, and in favor of more funding and less regulation for key industry sectors like manufacturing and insurance — helped defeat around 80 measures last year that would have had a negative impact on Connecticut businesses.
The group has also been heartened by Gov. Ned Lamont’s generally more pro-business posture compared to some of his predecessors. But new challenges have emerged, especially in the form of a crippling worker shortage that, while not limited to Connecticut, is all the more worrying here because of the state’s higher-than-average unemployment rate. DiPentima said CBIA wants to work with various stakeholders to develop a response to the problem.
Remedies could include exempting workforce training programs from the state sales and use tax, expanding the state’s manufacturing apprenticeship tax credit program to small and midsize manufacturers and enhancing workforce development efforts for incarcerated and returning citizens.
As for the current legislative session, DiPentima said CBIA will stick to core priorities, including improving the state’s affordability and reducing taxes. He also wants to see the state continue to pay down long-term liabilities.
CBIA recently applauded Lamont’s $336 million tax cut proposal but also said the plan didn’t go far enough to help small businesses that have struggled through the pandemic.
Before joining CBIA, DiPentima was division president of Leggett & Platt Aerospace, which includes Pegasus Manufacturing in Middletown. The Connecticut native and Durham resident has a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and a law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law.