Greenwich-based Chief Executive Group L.L.C. did not disclose what it paid for Lawrence, Kan.-based CEN, which reports having more than 550 members across seven industry sectors including manufacturing and software.

“Chief Executive Network provides no-nonsense leadership development to CEOs and their direct reports,” said Chief Executive Group CEO Marshall Cooper, in a written statement. “CEN isn’t for CEOs that need constant ‘spine-stiffening’ – CEN members know what they need to do, and better spend their time seeking out best practices and relevant benchmarks.”

GE is spending $700 million for the Australia-based mining equipment operator Industrea. Credit: GE.

In separate GE news,  Norwalk-based GE Capital resumed making dividends as expected, declaring a $475 million payment for the second quarter to its Fairfield-based parent. GE Capital had suspended dividends in 2009.

GE values the deal for Industrea at $700 million if approved by shareholders and regulators. GE did not reveal immediately what it is paying for Fairchild International.

Queensland, Australia-based Industrea has more than 700 employees who make mining vehicles, drill systems, and other hardened equipment, while offering contract-mining services. In the second half of 2011, Industrea earned $15 million on $173 million in revenue.

Glen Lyn, Va.-based Fairchild International is privately held and has 150 workers making scoops, haulage systems, and maintenance vehicles, among other coal mining needs.

XPO’s main offices are now at Five Greenwich Office Park. Former United Rentals Inc. CEO Bradley Jacobs bought a controlling stake in the company last year.

The company acts as a broker between businesses and cargo haulers, with 215 employees at last report. In the first quarter, XPO lost $2.7 million as revenue increased 7 percent to $44.6 million.

On May 8, XPO spent $3.4 million to acquire Columbia, S.C.-based Continental Freight Services Inc. Other XPO units including Express-1 Inc., Concert Group Logistics Inc. and Bounce Logistics Inc.

That’s up from 7 percent in the first quarter of 2011. In fact, 17 percent of all online sessions on a retailer’s site were initiated from a mobile device, up from 6 percent in the first quarter of last year. And in March alone, online buying rose 6 percent.

“This is the first study of its kind,” said Jay Henderson, strategy director, IBM digital marketing. “This is really the first time we’ve ever done this outside of the holidays. And we see that the trends during the holidays continued into the first quarter.”

And people came away with a positive feeling about their digital buying experience. The convenience of this type of buying earned a positive sentiment rating of almost 66 percent. Value got a 52 percent positive sentiment rating, and deals a 30 percent rating. Henderson said researchers analyze text from blogs and Twitter to draw these conclusions.

The most popular items were health and beauty products and home goods.

Negative sentiment was highest for availability, at 24 percent. Henderson said the stronger than expected holiday shopping season created shortages of some products.

Apple’s IPhone was the number one driver of mobile device retail traffic.

Greenwich-based Presstek sells digital offset presses. Sales totaled $27 million in the first quarter, down from $31.9 million in the first quarter of 2011 when it lost $1.5 million.

Freimuth replaced former CEO Jeff Jacobson, who left Presstek in February to take a job leading Norwalk-based Xerox Corp.’s graphics communications division.

“We are still in the early stages of the recovery as spending remained cautious in the first quarter; however, the number and quality of opportunities in our pipeline has definitely strengthened,” Freimuth said, in a prepared statement. “We believe (the 75DI) press, due to its unique operating advantages, is an ideal solution for the shorter run lengths and increased versioning which are becoming more prevalent particularly in the folding carton sector of the packaging industry.”

Both Presstek and Xerox had a presence at the Drupa printing convention earlier this month in Germany, with Jacobson on hand representing Xerox.

“This is an industry where the uptick tends to be a little slow, because people don’t want to be pioneers and this is a very difficult economy to be a pioneer in,” Jacobson said at the show.

At Drupa, Presstek showcased its new 75DI digital offset press after winning an order from an unidentified packaging printer in North America.

The Purchase college was recently named home of the Westchester Small Business Development Center, which maintains its outreach center in White Plains on Corporate Park Drive, in the offices of the Business Council of Westchester.

The Center, part of the New York State Small Business Development Center, is a business assistance network, working with local and county business development agencies; and providing Small Business Administration expertise to all major financial institutions in Westchester County.

It also gives free, one-on-one business advice and information to existing or aspiring entrepreneurs in New York state, and works with other organizations on projects that advance job development, investment, and economic growth.

“I am delighted that we have joined forces with the SBDC in helping to restart the economy by building on the natural synergies between the educational programs we offer and the skills needed by entrepreneurs as they look to develop their own businesses,” said Anthony Davidson, Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Louis Scamardella, who has been with the SBDC for more than 10 years, will be running the Center. He had been running the outreach center since 2007.

The Center produces an annual economic impact of $3 million to $4 million a year through the loans it helps get for small businesses.

“The strong academic environment, diversity, and central Westchester location of Manhattanville College made our choice for a home very easy,” he said. “Also, the involvement of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies in the business community complements our mission perfectly.” Scamardella said future plans include the hiring of Manhattanville students as interns to provide real hands on experience in entrepreneurship, and offering academic courses to the community.

“Our goal is to make this a real center, not just an outreach center (for the center at Rockland Community College),” he said. All centers, he said, are associated with academic institutions. They are funded by the SBA and the state but must be associated with a college since that’s how the SBA distributes funding, with the college acting as the administrator and host of the center.

The CFO of Sikorsky parent company United Technologies Corp. recently said Hartford-based UTC did not plan to invest additional money to restart jet production at Eclipse, which underwent a 2008 bankruptcy restructuring before attracting the interest of Jeff Pino, Sikorsky’s president who is stepping down at the end of next month and who owns an Eclipse jet.

Eclipse subsequently told trade publications that its existing funding is sufficient to restart production. If it does so, Stratford-based Sikorsky’s PZL Mielec plant in Poland will manufacture components and ship them to Eclipse’s Albuquerque, N.M. plant for final assembly.

Founded in 2008 by Ian Levine, the boutique umbrella company consists of Spandrel Property Services – the group’s brokerage and property management arm – Spandrel Marketing Services and Spandrel Staffing Services. It has developed, owned and managed both residential and commercial properties.

“Given our unique expertise and background, we believe our firm is well-suited for the suburban markets,” Levine said in a press release.

Its Larchmont office, at 1415 Boston Post Road, also will focus on new investment opportunities in emerging areas through its affiliate, Big Dog Real Estate L.L.C. Levine said the company plans to add staff to manage its new business ventures as it develops brokerage partnerships. New partners will have unlimited access to each of Spandrel’s affiliate companies.

Griffin, who was one of the bank’s founding members in 1972, will be succeeded by current president and CEO James J. Landy, who was named executive chairman.

Stephen R. Brown, the bank’s senior executive vice president, CFO and treasurer, was named president and CEO.

Both Landy and Brown will serve in their respective capacities with Hudson Valley Bank and parent company Hudson Valley Holding Corp. All appointments are effective immediately. Griffin will continue to serve on the bank’s board of directors.

During Griffin’s tenure as chairman, the bank grew from a $313 million company with nine branches to an institution with more than $2.8 billion in assets and 36 branches in Westchester, the Hudson Valley, and Fairfield County, Conn.

“He is a remarkably astute and singular leader, who never wavered from the bank’s founding principles of providing quality products and service for local businesses and individuals in the communities we serve,” Landy said in a statement.

Landy himself has been with Hudson Valley Bank since 1977, serving as president and CEO since 2001.

Brown has been with Hudson Valley Bank since 1993, and was named senior executive vice president and CFO in 2001.

Of those polled, 78 percent favor raising the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 per hour from $7.25 per hour, while 17 percent oppose the increase.

“Nearly nine in ten Democrats support it, as do three-quarters of independents and 58 percent of Republicans,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg in a statement. “At least 70 percent of voters from every region (of the state) support the increase.”

Two-thirds of those who responded said they “have heard or read a great deal or some about the issue.”

The poll included responses from 766 New York State registered voters who were contacted between May 6 and May 10.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo also received strong support from those who responded, with 68 percent saying they approve of the job he is doing as governor.

The percentage of voters who say the state is “on the right track” was unchanged from April to May, with 55 percent falling into the latter category and 34 percent saying the state is headed in the wrong direction.