Hartford Business Journal – This year’s Hartford Business Journal CFO of the Year Awards may have been one of the most competitive in recent memory.
Among the companies whose chief financial officers were in the running for the honor were Stanley Black & Decker, Aetna, United Financial Bancorp and Virtus Investment Partners.
CT News Junkie – The recent economic news in Connecticut is Dickensian.
On the one hand, it’s the best of times: “The formal opening [on June 2] of the $60 million refurbished United Technologies Corp. research center handed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy a much-needed opportunity to celebrate some good news.”
On the other hand, it’s the worst of times: “An Aetna spokesman said [on May 31] the company is in ‘negotiations with several states regarding a headquarters relocation with the goal of broadening our access to innovation and the talent that will fill knowledge economy-type positions.'”
Hartford Courant – Aetna’s decision to look beyond Hartford for its headquarters isn’t complicated, experts say: the company wants young, highly educated workers who live in thriving city environments.
At the moment, that isn’t Hartford, which only recently has picked up the pace of adding downtown apartments and other sought-after urban amenities.
“The first thing is that you have to be in a big enough metro area to attract young people,” John Glascock, director of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, said. “GE had some problems with top candidates relocating to southern Connecticut.”