J. NATHAN DAVIS of Wallingford and previously from Louisiana State Health Sciences Center Medical School has recently been appointed to the founding faculty of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Davis, an associate professor of medical sciences, will be responsible for teaching biochemistry. He holds a doctorate degree in microbiology from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Arkansas.

JOANNE DROUILLARD has been appointed director of Constellation School Based Therapy at Constellation Health Services effective June 14. Constellation Health Services provides a range of health care services to Fairfield and New Haven counties.

GOMAN+YORK PROPERTY ADVISORS recently announced the addition of senior officers to its commercial real estate development team.

JONATHAN COHN, senior vice president of Brokerage Services, resides in Westport.

DOUGLAS FISHER of Bolton is senior vice president of marketing and government relations. Fisher has expertise in economic development, public affairs, marketing and negotiation.

JONATHAN FISHER of Glastonbury has been named senior vice president of brokerage and development ervices. Fisher brings experience in creating strategic relationships between clients and property owners.

PETER HOLLAND, of Simsbury has been elected senior vice president of advisory Sservices and has experience providing advice and transactional services to institutional firms and nonprofit organizations.

DUSTY MCMAHAN of Coventry is senior vice president of the creative development office. McMahan was previously vice president at Konover Development Corp.

CRAIG ZIMMERMAN, senior vice president of Capital Markets, has experience in project finance, leasing and asset-based lending in real estate, energy and infrastructure sectors.

STEVEN HINDMAN of Orthopedic and Neurosurgery Specialists has been named director of orthopedic surgery at Greenwich Hospital. Hindman is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and a former assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

GERRY MAGNARELLI, of West Harrison, recently joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Connecticut and Westchester County as field trainer. He will lead professional development courses and provide training to sales associates and staff. Magnarelli holds a bachelor’s degree in international management from Pace University.

NEWOAK CAPITAL, a financial services firm based in New York, announced the creation of NewOak Credit Service L.L.C. in Danbury, which is expected to create up to 100 new jobs within three years. Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith and Danbury Mayor Mark D. Boughton, made the announcement at a press conference May 2.

Crews worked to repair the damaged tracks May 19. Photo by Patrick Cashin/Courtesy of Metro-North Railroad

Metro-North Railroad officials had inspected the tracks between Bridgeport and Fairfield just two days before a train derailed and collided with another May 17 and injured more than 70 passengers.

Federal regulations require Metro-North to inspect its tracks at least twice a week, with the railroad appearing to be in compliance, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

At the time of the inspection, Metro-North reported no defects in the section of tracks where the derailment occurred.

A more sophisticated inspection, which looks for internal fractures using X-ray-like equipment, was also completed in April, and found no defects.

The train collision occurred about 6:10 p.m. in Fairfield, when one train heading east along the New Haven line derailed before being sideswiped by a westbound train. The trains were traveling about 70 mph just prior to the crash, which is not unusual for that area, according to officials.

As the investigation into the cause of the collision continues, an initial review of public records shows that both safety precautions and state funding have been maintained by and for the train operator.

Connecticut, which owns the tracks, spent roughly $256 million on the railroad in 2012, which is about a 1 percent increase in funding from 2011 and a 25 percent increase from 2010, according to an analysis of the state’s budget by the Business Journal.

Within the rail budget, maintenance spending has actually increased 17-fold. The state spent about $749,000 on rail maintenance facilities in 2010 and $13.2 million in 2012.

In contrast, the amount of money spent on operations and improvements has remained stable with some apparent cuts in funding for rail equipment and facility upgrades.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) did not respond to a request for comment. Though funding has been maintained, and in some cases increased, it’s difficult to determine if the funding levels are sufficient without additional information.

More than 70 people sustained injuries during the collision and at least seven people were hospitalized for multiple days with one in critical condition. At least one lawsuit by seven Metro-North employees is in the beginning stages and seeks to recover damages for injuries.

In the last 10 years, about 25 people have been injured during the course of train accidents in Connecticut and two people have died, according to FRA data, which includes Amtrak incidents. During that time period, 44 derailments also occurred and 14 accidents incurred damages greater than $100,000.

The damaged train cars and tracks from the recent collision are currently being examined by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the derailment. A typical NTSB investigation takes about one year to complete.

During news conferences following the accident, NTSB board member Earl Weener said there was substantial interest in a broken section of rail and in the new M-8 rail cars that were involved in the crash. Weener said it was unclear if the rail was broken before or as a result of the crash.

“All of our teams have been working around the clock to determine the scene and what caused this accident and what we can do to prevent it,” Weener said. “The investigation is well under way.”

Officials from Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. in Yonkers, which manufactured the M-8 cars, did not return a request for comment. The cars, which are designed to the highest safety standards, are the first in the series to be involved in a crash.

In mid-April, the 200^th M-8 rail car entered into service on the New Haven line. The order for 405 rail cars was finalized in 2009, with the first cars entering into service in March 2011. Each rail car costs between $2 million and $3 million.

Generally speaking, there are many possible causes for a train derailment, said George Gavalla, a former FRA safety administrator and Norwich resident. A component of the car, such as the wheel or wheel assembly, could be broken; there could be debris in the track or a section of the rail could be broken, perhaps because of an internal crack.

Gavalla is also the owner of Triad Railroad Consulting L.L.C.

“Rails can develop internal cracks that grow over time,” Gavalla said. “If the track isn’t maintained properly, (the cracks) can cause the rails to break more quickly than if it isn’t. It depends on how the track is set up.”

Within the next seven years, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he wants to see an additional 300,000 customers using natural gas, touting it as a cheaper, cleaner and more reliable source of fuel for heat, power and perhaps transportation.

Now, utilities Yankee Gas and Southern Connecticut Gas are in the process of filing plans with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for infrastructure changes that would be required before either could expand its natural gas customer base. Company representatives say they are excited by the opportunity to offer more customers gas, which is often a cheaper option.

According to the state’s final energy strategy, published in February, about 217,000 customers already live on a gas main, but aren’t using natural gas to heat their homes. Although natural gas is typically 50 percent to 75 percent cheaper than using oil to heat homes and other buildings, slightly more than a third of Connecticut residents have the natural gas option available to them, according to the report. For some, there isn’t a gas main nearby. For others, the upfront cost to switch to gas is too high.

“It’s all about choice and we believe this is a critical tool in providing residents and businesses a choice,” said Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Yankee Gas, which is a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities. “The challenge will be able to effectively execute all parts of the plan to meet the potential demand for customers.”

Gross said Yankee Gas is working with a long list of other gas companies, contractors, manufactures and town officials to put together a build-out plan, which he said should be presented to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in June.

The approval process is expected to take about 30 to 40 days, but Gross said he was unsure when any resulting construction would begin.

To convert more customers to gas, part of the state’s strategy calls for the construction of 900 miles of gas main extensions and the creation of financing options for homeowners and businesses that would cut down on the upfront costs of furnaces, boilers and other appliances.

For home and business owners the initial cost to replace heating equipment is typically $7,500 and $20,300, respectively, while annual savings are about $1,800 for homeowners and $3,300 for commercial businesses, according to the state’s energy strategy.

Over time, the savings would pay for the upgrades but officials say state-financing programs, like a 10-year loan, could ease the burden on consumers. With additional customers for the gas companies, the cost to provide gas would also become cheaper.

“Right now there are folks that just don’t have a choice and were trying to help change that,” said Michael West, Southern Connecticut Gas spokesman.

Neither of the representatives from Yankee or Southern Connecticut Gas predicted how much more revenue the natural gas expansion could bring their respective companies or how many employees they anticipated hiring to help manage the expansion.

According to state estimates, the new gas line extensions could result in as many as 7,000 new construction jobs. At $190 per foot, the extensions are estimated at about $900 million, which would be paid for by the gas companies.

As officials plan for increased natural gas use, the final issue comes down to whether there is enough gas in the state’s pipelines. The state’s environmental regulators acknowledge there are significant environmental and public health issues with drilling and the transportation of natural gas, saying that DEEP will actively address issues wherever possible.

At current rates however, DEEP officials say Connecticut’s natural gas is already constrained and that there isn’t enough interstate pipeline, storage, or peaking capacity to serve additional customers.

Spectra Energy, which supplies about half of the state’s gas through its Algonquin transmission line, says it sees considerable expansion opportunities. Currently it is reviewing possible pipeline projects, which could increase the state’s supply of natural gas, according to the state’s comprehensive energy report.

Shelton-based Iroquois Gas Transmission System L.P., a partnership of five U.S. and Canadian energy firms, operates a 416-mile natural gas pipeline that runs from the U.S.-Canadian border at Waddington, N.Y., through western Connecticut and Fairfield County and into Long Island and New York City.

Iroquois currently doesn’t have new construction plans but has previously said it could increase its compression abilities.

“All of the interstate pipelines are working very closely with the utilities as they plan how to best implement these strategies,” said Scott Rupff, Iroquois vice president of marketing and development.

As demand for gas builds, Rupff said the company was excited to see what further opportunities might exist for the company.

Frank Farricker, president of Wall Street Theater Co., stands inside the Globe Theatre in Norwalk.

Andrew D. Kydes began as an usher at the Globe Theatre in the late 1960s, as soon as he was old enough to work.

He and his wife, Mary A. Kyriakides, bought the circa-1915 Norwalk icon four decades later in 2007 with hopes of restoring it to its former status as a community and cultural hub.

The theater at 71 Wall St. was prominently featured in the Wall Street Redevelopment Plan approved by the Norwalk City Council in 2004. At one point it was thought to be a central component in plans by POKO Partners L.L.C., of Port Chester, N.Y., to build a mixed-use retail and residential development in the surrounding neighborhood.

But due to a series of disagreements between the theater owners and POKO that were exacerbated by the economic crisis, a proposed sale of the theater to POKO fell through and it has gone largely untouched since while the remainder of the development has moved closer to the first phase of construction.

Now, however, the theater plans have been resuscitated by a former stage hand who has proposed to restore the Globe as a digitally equipped center for the performing arts.

“The plan is, not only are we going to renovate it within a historic context, but we’re going to outfit it with some of the most technologically advanced equipment on the market,” said Frank Farricker, president of Wall Street Theater Co. Inc., a nonprofit that is under contract to purchase the Globe from Kyriakides.

Once completed, the project would feature a 780-seat theater with 24 fixed-position cameras and digital technology capable of streaming video over the web.

“We’ve designed the theater to be probably the only digitally streaming theater that’s in this whole area, outside of New York City,” Farricker said. He said clients could range from major production outfits to corporations looking to stream an event to a community theater ensemble.

“We’ve designed it to have very significantly discounted rates for community groups,” Farricker said. “A musician’s grandmother, for example, could watch them play the cello from Florida. … We’re very, very excited about the depth of offerings.”

Asked last week at a public open house whether he thought the theater could be restored to the luster of its past, Kydes said Farricker’s group would take the Globe “beyond that.”

“Frank is the right person to initiate the rehabilitation and redevelopment of this building,” said Kydes, who will have no involvement with Wall Street Theater Co. following the sale. “And the area needs a lift, something to get it going, because it’s been blighted for so long. And I think there’s a tremendous need for culture here.”

Project hinges on federal loan guarantee

On the surface, the project appears to be daunting.

The Globe, which was originally a vaudeville theater and which has since had a range of uses – from a movie theater to a nightclub, has gone unused for a decade. The theater has been stripped of all its seats and is in need of significant interior repairs, electrical upgrades, a new HVAC system and environmental remediation actions, such as the removal of asbestos.

Farricker estimates the project will cost $7.5 million.

Because the theater is central to the Wall Street Redevelopment Plan, Wall Street Theater Co. is seeking a $2 million low-interest federal loan, known as a Section 108 loan guarantee, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help finance the project.

The remainder of the project would be financed through a series of tax credits and private equity, Farricker said.

The federal loan, if approved, would be secured through the Community Development Block Grant program that is administered by HUD.

Because the loan would be guaranteed by the city’s CDBG allocation, the city must submit the financing application on Wall Street Theater Co.’s behalf, said Timothy Sheehan, executive director of the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.

The redevelopment agency, which is CDBG administrator for the city, has drafted a Section 108 application for HUD financing that must first be approved by the Norwalk City Council before it can be submitted for federal approval.

Sheehan said members the city’s Planning Commission have requested that Wall Street Theater Co. conduct a market study to ensure the financial viability of the project before approving the Section 108 application, but emphasized that the theater’s redevelopment is a priority.

“The Globe Theatre has always been an integral part of the Wall Street Redevelopment Plan,” Sheehan said. “To have regular programming at that theater that could attract (hundreds) of people certainly would be a huge regional attraction to Wall Street.”

MaryGrace Weber, special projects manager for the redevelopment agency, added, “Leaving that theater as it is right now is not an option. … Having that as an asset in that area of town will be a very good thing.”

Farricker, for his part, said Wall Street Theater Co. plans to conduct a full market study, but said the business plan is financially sound.

“We think we’ll be the best-capitalized theater in the state,” Farricker said. We have great intentions on what we want to do artistically and for the community, but the one thing we want to do above all is make sure we’re open well past my time.”

A public hearing on the draft Section 108 application is scheduled for May 29.

Reconciliation with POKO

Despite the past disagreements between the theater owners and POKO, representatives of both parties say that is all in the past.

“The plan, as I understand it, is for (Wall Street Theater Co.) to turn the theater back on and use it as an entertainment center, and we love that,” said Kenneth Olson, founder and CEO of POKO. “We think it’s a great idea. We think the cool thing about Norwalk … is it has an arts culture, it has a civic culture. What it lacks in the Wall Street area is commerce.”

Olson said POKO hopes to start construction toward the end of the summer or early fall on the first phase of its mixed-use development in the adjacent neighborhood.

In all, the project calls for 400 apartments, 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and “a bizarre” amount of parking, Olson said.

The first phase of the project will include 101 apartment units – 65 that will be market rate and 36 that will be designated as affordable housing, 16,000 square feet of retail space and a 220-space parking garage.

“We’re going to complement and assist, if you will, the Wall Street neighborhood and that’ll drive business at the Globe Theatre as well as commerce in the entire area,” Olson said.

Said Farricker, “We’re very confident that we’ll be part of a great change over there.”

Commuters were surely grateful for the restoration of full rail service, and we applaud the officials, inspectors and, most importantly, the workers who made the quick turnaround possible.

But we are compelled to ask: If this so-called carmageddon had occurred, would anyone have been able to tell the difference? To be sure, the rail interruption could have very well added 15 or 30 or 60 minutes to some commutes. Ultimately, though, the effect would have been to merely elongate what is already a much longer-than-average commute for most of those people who live and/or work in southwest Connecticut.

Everyone who has encountered Interstate 95 or the Merritt Parkway during the morning or evening rush knows that neither could ever be confused with the autobahn.

Transportation officials acknowledge as much, reflected in efforts to speed up highway and bridge work by the Connecticut General Assembly and the state Department of Transportation.

Earlier this spring, the General Assembly passed a bill that allows the DOT to use alternative and accelerated construction methods for projects like bridge upgrades, which a DOT spokesman told the Business Journal could help ease traffic congestion.

“Traffic congestion goes hand in hand with the American way of life,” Kevin Nursick, a DOT spokesman, said in late April.

Nursick said it’s not a reality to think the use of accelerated delivery methods will completely alleviate the traffic problem, but said there are ways to make road work more efficient.

“Quite frankly,” he said, “every place with a flourishing economy has a traffic problem: the economy is moving and you’re drawing people in.”

While that may be true, Frank Fish, an urban planner with BFJ Consulting, said in an interview with the Business Journal editorial staff that economic growth in Fairfield County is being held back by the lack of a stronger transportation network.

Transit has two components: the rails and the roads, Fish told the Business Journal. While the communities on Metro-North’s New Haven line benefit substantially from its presence, Fish says the county’s roadways have been overlooked.

“If Stamford, for instance, is going to consolidate its position, it needs to maintain good regional access and one of the problems now for Stamford is that people can’t get here. Not from New York, ironically, but from inland Connecticut, where an awful lot of people who have jobs here live,” said Fish, whose firm is leading the revision of Stamford’s master plan.

The region dodged a bullet with last week’s quick rail recovery. But the larger issue that was exposed by the crash and that is in severe need of attention is that our roads are simply not up to snuff.

But even if it is successful in securing a portion of those funds, housing authority officials acknowledge that there would be a long road ahead for the redevelopment of the state’s oldest public housing community.

The housing authority has proposed to replace the community’s 136 apartments with 273 new one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The proposed changes are part of a transformation plan for Washington Village and South Norwalk that is being finalized with the help of a $250,000 Choice Neighborhoods Initiative planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Other components of the transformation plan – which must be approved by the city and is likely to be submitted to HUD in June – call for crime prevention activities and educational components to help individuals become economically secure. The total budget is $106 million.

To help pay for the first phase of the plan, the housing authority has said it would apply for some of the $72 million in Community Development Block Grant funds that Connecticut will receive as part of a disaster relief package of funds for the states affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Of the $72 million in funds, which have yet to be released to the state from the federal government pending approval by HUD of the state’s distribution plan, about $26 million will go toward multifamily housing, including public housing developments.

The housing authority will also likely apply for additional Choice Neighborhoods Initiative funding from HUD, said Candace Mayer, deputy director of the housing authority.

Mayer said the housing authority’s ability to secure Choice Neighborhoods Initiative grants – which she said are highly competitive – could hinge on the authority’s success finding other sources of financing beforehand.

“While we think we’re the best and our project is the best, in all honesty, there are four or five projects funded in a year nationwide (through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative), so you can see how highly competitive it is,” Mayer said. “Within the state on the other hand, there’s only a few developments that would qualify for the Sandy disaster relief. So we’re optimistic that might be a way to jump-start the redevelopment.”

If the housing authority receives some of the $72 million in funds for the Washington Village redevelopment, “it could make us more competitive in the Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant phase because they could see that the first phase of the development was already funded,” Mayer said.

Because the development is in a flood plain, state officials have speculated that the housing authority could encounter difficulty in securing funds.

However, Mayer said, the plans call for all apartments to be built above the flood plain.

“The buildings will be raised above the flood plain, so the parking will be at grade level and then the units will be above that,” Mayer said.

Business Journal contributor Brad Scheller recently sat with Austin McChord, CEO of Datto Inc., for a conversation about building and leading his high-growth technology company. Datto, which is headquartered in Norwalk, is among the fastest growing data backup and security firms in the U.S.

Scheller: You’re listed as one of Inc 500’s fastest-growing companies. What are some of the challenges you face with your growth?

McChord: “I think the biggest challenge for us is keeping the culture intact as we grow. We’re on track to bring on over a hundred people this year and when you’re hiring as aggressively as we are the biggest thing is ensuring they have the right qualifications and they have the passion that fits our culture here. Are they the high-energy employee that’s here to get the job done, think about how they can make the company better and how they can service the customer better?”

How do you tackle that?

“Certainly in an interview you have a conversation about personal passions that they pursue in their free time. For example, if we’re hiring a programmer, I want to find somebody who’s so passionate about computer programming that when they’re not working, they’re at home writing a program that makes something automatically feed their dog or checks the weather in a certain way or whatever it is – but they’re tinkering, they’re playing with it, they love it. Hopefully then I get an idea that I can hire somebody that when they’re working on challenges here, they have an opportunity to do what they love.”

What surprises you most about running a fast growing company?

“I think it’s that it doesn’t stop. It’s always different. You think, ‘Well, when I’m bigger, I won’t have this challenge.’ That may be true, but the challenge that’s going to replace it is just as nasty, just as challenging and just as painful. It’s never on autopilot, especially if you want to continue to stay on top in the technology sector. So it never stops. You eventually just have to grow to love it.”

Talk about some of the most important leadership lessons that you have learned?

“I think so much of leadership comes down to knowing the people that you work with; knowing what drives them, what their passions are, what’s important to them. And then making sure that you have the right incentives and the right challenges that both excite them and make them feel they’re being meaningfully rewarded. Work is just one part of everybody’s lives, but you have to understand, especially with the people you work with directly, how work fits into their lives.”

How did you come to learn some of these leadership lessons?

“By making lots of mistakes. (Laughing) Just try not to make the same mistakes twice. As my parents say, ‘MBA the hard way.’”

Do you have certain rules for success that have helped you?

“Yes, being open is really important, especially when it comes to getting everybody on the same page and building enthusiasm. For example, we collect all this business data and share it openly. It’s very rare that companies share this much information with everyone. Even a guy that just started here has that information at his fingertips. And so, being open helps everyone feel involved. And, when everyone feels like they’re involved and have a personal stake in it, they’re going to work their hardest because they don’t want to deliver something that’s not good.”

What values do you operate by?

“I think the biggest thing is employee passion – passion for the company, passion for what they’re working on, the challenge. The data backup business is not something that is immediately seen as very sexy, but when you see the challenges that we face and overcome and you have the opportunity to help people in a disaster like during Hurricane Sandy, it starts to really mean something to the people that work here, and that passion has really helped us enormously because it shows to our customers and that has really helped us drive our success.”

What leadership qualities do you look for in your managers?

“It has to do with gaining respect from their peers and understanding that a big part of being a manager is being humble. As a manager, it’s so much less your job to tell other people what to do but to get the obstacles out of the way of the people who work for you. That quality makes the best manager.”

Do you prefer to promote from within or hire experienced managers from the outside?

“The overwhelming majority of the managers within our company have been promoted from within our company. When they share our values, they’ve seen the passion firsthand and they’re able to really move up, we like that. Plus, just as we want our employees to be passionate for the business, it’s our job to make sure that we’re taking care of the employees and providing them with career opportunities, the right compensation and benefits. That’s really important, because it’s a two-way street and giving them that opportunity is huge.”

What have you found works best in motivating your people?

“I think social incentives tend to be stronger than economic incentives. I think about it this way: If somebody’s inviting you over to Thanksgiving dinner and you bring a nice bottle of wine, that’s considered a good gift. But, if you brought thirty-five bucks, that would be considered offensive. The same is true at work. The right social incentives – whether it’s buying pizza or free lunch every Friday – provide far more value than if I gave somebody ten dollars every Friday. It helps in building community, building that connection so that they’re socially involved and that becomes more binding than just pure economic incentives.”

What advice would you give to young folks who are thinking about their careers?

“Be humble. I think a lot of people graduate college who’ve been told that they’re great and are going to go on to do big things and change the world.”

How does that become a problem? 

“I think that getting started out of school, you’re ready much the same way that driver’s ed gets you ready to drive on the road. If you drove strictly by the driver rule book, terrible things would happen. And so while college may help prepare you with an enormous amount of technical skills to succeed, learning the ins and outs of how stuff really operates at a particular business, it’s best to have your ear to the ground before pushing too hard.”

What would happen to your business if a fellow owner passed away or left? Would there be a smooth, preplanned transition of ownership or uncertainty, financial difficulties and possibly expensive litigation?

With the loss of a co-owner being such a potentially difficult time, every business with multiple owners should have a buy-sell agreement. If you have one, it needs to be kept up to date.

General priorities

The primary purpose of every buy-sell agreement is to legally confer on the owners of a business or the business itself the right or obligation to buy a departing owner’s interest in the company. But there are other benefits you may have had in mind when creating yours.

For example, perhaps you wanted to ensure that control of the business was restricted to specified individuals, such as current owners, select family members or upper-level managers. Does your current agreement secure the company in this regard?

Another common purpose of a buy-sell agreement is to establish a price for the ownership interests. When reviewing yours, you should engage a qualified appraiser to estimate the value of those interests. In fact, your agreement may require doing so regularly.

Estate planning is also a key priority of many buy-sell agreements. If this is the case for yours, bear in mind that some important changes have taken place in this realm. For 2013 and beyond, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 raised the top rate for the gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes to 40 percent. But it also retains the high $5 million gift, estate and GST tax exemptions, annually indexing them for inflation (to $5.25 million for 2013). Does (or should) your agreement account for these developments?

Triggering events

A buy-sell agreement can lie dormant for years. What can quickly bring it to life is a “triggering event,” which is when many companies unfortunately realize that the agreement should have been updated.

The standard triggers for a buy-sell agreement are an owner’s voluntary desire to leave the company and, more tragically, an owner’s abrupt death or disability. Presumably yours covers these triggers, but it may not cover others. For instance, changes in one or more owners’ marital status could affect the company, so risk of divorce should be addressed in the agreement.

More and more buy-sell agreements are also being updated to combat the risk of fraud or inappropriate behavior. You might add as triggering events: “conviction for committing a crime, losing a professional license or certification, or becoming involved in a scandal.” You could restructure your arrangement to require an owner guilty of such indiscretions to sell at a lower price.

Structure status

When you established your buy-sell agreement, it more than likely conformed to one of three common structures:

-A redemption agreement, which permits or requires the business as a whole to repurchase an owner’s interest;

-A cross-purchase agreement, which permits or requires the remaining owners of the company to buy the interest on a typically pro rata basis; or

-A hybrid agreement, which combines the two preceding structures – for example, by requiring a departing owner to first make a sale offer to the company and, if it declines, then selling to the remaining owners as individuals.

Naturally, any review of your agreement should reassess its structure and consider whether a change is warranted. Tax implications are also important to consider, and they’ll differ based on whether your company is a flow-through entity or a C corporation. You’ll also need to weigh the time and expense of a major revision to your agreement against the risk of a potentially ineffective structure.

Funding approaches

Look closely at how your buy-sell agreement is funded. Your business may use life insurance as a go-to source for funds to buy out a departing owner. This is generally a prudent approach.

But there are alternatives. If your company is particularly cash-rich and confident in its ability to remain so, you could simply rely on your reserves to fund your agreement. Obviously, however, this would leave the business vulnerable to a major problem should an owner leave when cash flow is low.

Yet another option is creating a “sinking fund” by periodically setting aside money for paying out the agreement. But, again, if your cash flow ebbs more than flows, you may not have enough funds to buy out a departing owner when the time comes.

Top priority

Having an outdated or ineffective agreement in place is almost as dangerous as not having one at all. So be sure to regard yours as a living document that keeps up with the risks constantly emerging and revolving around your company.

This has been a general discussion of a complex subject and is not intended as advice. Always consult qualified professionals before making buy-sell agreement decisions.

Norm Grill is managing partner of Grill & Partners, L.LC., certified public accountants and advisers to closely held companies and high-net-worth individuals, with offices in Fairfield and Darien. He can be reached at 254-3880 or N.Grill@GRILL1.com.

Employers surveyed in February and March by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) said they expected they would hire 2.1 percent more graduates from the class of 2013 than they hired a year ago.

That is in stark contrast to a similar survey conducted by NACE from July through September 2012, in which employers said they anticipated hiring 13 percent more graduates from this year’s pool than from the class of 2012.

Career services representatives from area colleges said the students who took on internships and who amassed work experience while at school have been successful in finding full-time jobs.

“If the students are really methodical about it and they’ve been pretty diligent, nine times out of 10 if they’ve done all the things we’ve suggested to them they’ll be in pretty good shape,” said Cathleen Borgman, director of the career planning center at Fairfield University.

But she said hiring has not returned to levels seen by the class of 2008. “They’re not getting (jobs) at the levels they had been in, say, 2007, 2008,” Borgman said. “I don’t know if that’ll ever happen.”

Halina Hollyway, director of the career center at the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus, said internships and a focus on interdisciplinary studies have been key to graduates finding work.

“I tell our students we’re a downtown campus, in the tristate area, and that they have a really unique opportunity to build their academics and also get some practical work experience – which is really optimal, given the market,” Hollyway said.

She estimated that about 80 percent of UConn Stamford students are employed before they graduate, noting that many of the campus’ students are working throughout the course of their studies through either an internship, a part-time job or a full-time job.

“Internships have become the new opportunity for students to prove themselves, but also for employers to take a look at candidates,” Hollyway said. She said the Stamford campus alone has 750 internship sites compared with 1,400 students, adding that many students from UConn’s other campuses will come to Stamford for summer internship programs.

“When the economy is tough, everything has to be there,” Hollyway said. “There’s no room for not being prepared. …It’s not enough when you’re about to graduate to say, ‘What do I do?’”

Borgman and Hollyway said the brightest industries include engineering and mathematics-related fields, nursing, digital media and communications, accounting and financial management.

While the hiring has been worse than expected, college graduates still have a significant advantage in today’s job market, data show. Among those aged 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree, the national unemployment rate is 3.8 percent – about half the overall unemployment rate.

David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc L.L.C., a Norwalk human resources consultancy, says the job market for graduates has improved from the past few years.

“I think the recent grads in years’ past were competing with an abundance of unemployed folks,” said Lewis, who is also CEO of AllCountyJobs.com L.L.C., a regional job board provider. “While (the unemployed) were overqualified to some extent, you can’t ignore the fact that for about the same amount of money I might pay a recent grad, I can get someone with three years’ experience who is more mature and less of a risk.”

Lewis said the larger companies, which have traditionally hired every spring from the top college graduates, are continuing to do so, but added that hiring among small and midsize companies is flat.

“If you look at the rest of the market – the small to midsize business market – it’s still pretty soft,” he said.

B:Hive Bridgeport is a new co-working space at Bijou Square. Photos courtesy of B:Hive.

There is more than a little bit of irony that, when looking for a home for their new-age workspace, the six co-founders of B:Hive Bridgeport L.L.C. settled on one of the city’s most historic structures.

B:Hive, which opened May 17 and is in Bridgeport’s Bijou Square development, is a co-working space aimed at drawing entrepreneurs, artists and designers and small business owners searching for something between a permanent office and a Starbucks.

The idea for B:Hive was borne out of a “longing for that design studio that we had in college where we could collaborate on projects,” said Ben Henson, a co-founder and managing partner of B:Hive and a planner for the city of Bridgeport.

“The idea of having a meeting or being able to have a discussion with other people who might be working on things is really tough when your only other options are bars and coffee shops,” Henson said.

B:Hive, which can accommodate between 50 and 60 members in its workspace at any given time, has membership options. Individuals can pay a monthly membership fee, a daily rate or can buy a five-day package at a discounted rate. Walk-ins can use the facility from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and members have 24-7 access.

“Our targets are designers or people currently working from home or aspiring entrepreneurs who don’t want to pay $20 a square foot for their lease, or just people who want to drop in,” Henson said. “It’s really much more than an office space – it’s a working space, a social space, a get-things-done space.”

B:Hive taps into a growing desire among startups and established companies to associate with open work settings and co-working spaces.

The Stamford Innovation Center, which is at the former city hall in downtown Stamford, includes a co-working space for entrepreneurs.

Peter Propp, vice president of marketing for the Innovation Center, said the co-working space allows for a sense of serendipity.

“The most important, influential people in solving a problem might be a person you have never met before or who you didn’t know had the skill set or experience or contacts that they actually have,” Propp said. He said that in a collaborative environment, “the chances of you solving those problems are greatly enhanced.”

Propp said four companies work out of private offices in the Innovation Center, in addition to about 20 “co-workers.”

Chad Pavel, founder of Clutch Inspect, is among those 20 individuals. He moved his business, which is developing mobile and web applications to assist automotive technicians, from New York City to Stamford after seeing what the Innovation Center had to offer.

“What I like most is the energy and access to resources,” Pavel said. “In my four months of working here I’ve met amazing people who I know will be lifelong friends and potential business partners.”

Cindy Froggatt, a workplace strategist with Perkins Eastman, said even larger corporations are seeking ties to co-working spaces.

“Co-working is an interesting phenomenon,” said Froggatt, who works out of the planning and design firm’s New York City office. “It’s one of those things, like so many technology applications now, that started as a way to serve small businesses, startups, freelancers – not the typical large corporate clients. And now it has come into the mainstream.”

Froggatt said larger firms are using co-working spaces for a number of reasons, including as a contingency option for when they run out of office space or for employees who are traveling but need a temporary workplace.

“And some of them are actually hosting co-working spaces on their properties as a way of getting that energy of the startup workforce into their own buildings,” Froggatt said.

“It’s a really great example of where large companies can learn a lot from how the freelance and startup community and small business community are solving some of their issues,” she added. “They’re not looking for the high overhead of real estate – they’re looking for more of a sense of community.”

The co-founders of B:Hive are looking to restore that sense of community to downtown Bridgeport, Henson said.

His co-founders and co-managing partners include his wife, Amy Henson, a sixth-grade teacher; Marcella Kovac, owner and graphic designer of The Bananaland; Luke Scott, partner and creative director of MadisonMott; Madeline Rhodes, an interior and fashion designer and lifestyle coach; and Jordan Rabidou, a coder and developer of The Bananaland.

“We’re all transplants” to Bridgeport, Henson said. “We’re just part of that millennial cycle of kids who want to move back to the city. The city is here but there’s not enough of the things going on that we want to be going on.”

SUSAN D. DAVIDSON of Somers first joined KG&D’s predecessor firm Kaeyer, Parker & Garment. Upon her return to KG&D Architects she was promoted to associate. Davidson holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Illinois.

WALTER P. HAUSER of Pawling joined KG&D as a project architect in 2004. He holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and architecture from Trinity College.

DANIEL J. JACONETTI of Mahopac previously joined KG&D as a junior designer and draftsperson. He was the project architect of The Media Center at Jacob Burns Film Center, which earned LEED Gold certification. Jaconetti holds a master’s degree in architecture, a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a bachelor’s degree in building science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

ERIK J. WILSON of Carmel is the project architect for projects with the Bronxville Union Free School District, Goshen Central School District, Orange Ulster BOCES and Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District. Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in art and design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

DINORAH NIEVES has been named assistant executive director of Child, Youth and Family Services at Westchester Jewish Community Services. Nieves has designed and implemented dashboards to help balance budgets and has maintained partnership with other community agencies. She holds a Ph.D. degree and an M.B.A. degree in public communications from Fordham University and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from SUNY Purchase College.

SCOTT DE SAVOYE, previously general manager of the Holiday Inn San Francisco Civic Center, has recently been appointed general manager (GM) of Crowne Plaza White Plains. Savoye has been a GM at luxury, upscale and mid-scale hotels in Canada and the U.S. with Crowne Plaza, Hazelton Hotels and Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in Canada.

JOSHUA WEISSMAN, an otolaryngologist and fellowship-trained facial plastic surgeon, recently joined ENT and Allergy Associates (ENTA) Advanced Facial Plastics Division at both its Yonkers and Tuckahoe offices. Weissman will provide adult and pediatric patients with full otolaryngologic care. He holds undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University and the Boston University School of Medicine in California.

HORACIO CARDONA, was recently presented the President’s Award from Hudson Health Plan – a Tarrytown-based organization –by company president and CEO Georganne Chapin at the nonprofit’s annual employee luncheon May 10.

GRAND PRIX NEW YORK in Mount Kisco, raised $1,200 at its recent Support-Apalooza fundraiser for Support Connection, a Yorktown Heights nonprofit organization that provides services to people affected by breast and ovarian cancer.

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CENTRAL WESTCHESTER (JLCW) held its Magic & Mingling Spring Fundraiser April 26 and raised more than $30,000 to support JLCW programs that promote health and literacy and also to improve the local community.

WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL SLEEP CENTER has earned a five-year accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The Sleep Center offers advanced sleep diagnostic services, specializing in adult and pediatric sleep disorders.

Robert Braddock Jr. was found guilty of one count of conspiring to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and to defraud the U.S. by impeding the function of the commission; one count of accepting more than $10,000 in federal campaign contributions made by persons in the names of others; and one count of causing a false report to be filed with the FEC.

“The evidence disclosed during this trial revealed a disturbing scheme operated by individuals who believed that our federal campaign finance laws are meaningless, and that the legislative process can be easily corrupted with campaign contributions,” said acting U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly in a May 21 statement. “This case demonstrates exactly why our campaign finance laws exist in the first place.”

According to court documents, Braddock, along with former Donovan campaign manager Joshua Nassi, conspired with owners of roll-your-own smoke shops who were seeking to block legislation in the Connecticut General Assembly that could have proved harmful to their shops.

Prosecutors said that Nassi and Braddock offered to work with the smoke shop owners to stall any potentially harmful legislation in exchange for their assistance in funneling donations to Donovan’s campaign.

At the time of the activities, Donovan – who fell to Rep. Elizabeth Esty in a Democratic primary – was serving as speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. Donovan has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has denied any involvement.

In April, Nassi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to make false statements to the SEC and to impeding the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign laws and faces up to five years in prison. Several others who were charged in the scheme have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

Braddock faces up to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000.