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New DECD Commissioner Focuses on Clusters, Small Business
BNH interviewed James F. Abromaitis, 40, a Republican who was sworn-in as commissioner of the state's Department of Economic & Community Development October 3. Previously he had been executive director of DECD's Industry Cluster & International Division. Before joining the department, Abromaitis was a vice president with Fleet Bank.
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Business New Haven
11/17/1997
By: Jennifer M. Gangloff
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What are your goals for the department?
One that is really taking a great deal of my time, and appropriately so, is the cluster initiative. We're developing a three-pronged approach. First is the commitment from the administration and the governor. Then there is the legislative piece. Much of what we try to do will require legislation, and to that end it's a process of educating legislators as to what the state needs, what all of industry needs, and what specific industry needs to ensure not only survival, but growth. Third is the private sector.
You played professional basketball overseas for several years. How does that experience help you now?
The whole idea of working within a team structure and learning how to use others' strengths and weaknesses is something that comes out of sports, especially team sports. It also allowed me to start my business career overseas. I worked for Toyota in Tokyo. I was allowed insight into the recruiting Toyota went through when it first started developing overseas plants and what certain states were doing to entice Toyota to set up shop there. Obviously I didn't know then I'd end up here. Recruitment is a very important part of economic development for Connecticut. But we want to make sure we recruit companies that want to be here for the long haul, not just to get their deal and stay for a while and move on.
How has the 1996 merger of economic development and housing played out?
We're still fine-tuning it. Prior to the merger, the biggest percentage of staff were support types. The idea after the merger was to change that so the majority of the people are line people, dealing directly with the public. It strengthens both the economic and the community development side. People need jobs, and where and how they live has a direct impact on that.
How is Connecticut faring now economically?
There are pockets of the state that need special attention. Fairfield County is almost bursting at the seams, and we hope the overflow spreads its way north and east. New Haven has identified issues that in the long run will be very beneficial to growth in the entire area. Yale is beginning to take a really active role in that as well, and I think that's key. We need to get Science Park to a new level, making it a viable entity, and Route 34 is a piece of that as well.
Where is the department's focus?
Right now we're trying to focus in as much as possible on small and medium companies. I think that is where we're going to get the biggest bang for our dollar. Not that we want to forget bigger companies or projects, but that's where the growth is now.
How tall are you, by the way?
Six-foot-eight.
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