IBM names Palmisano successor
Virginia Rometty is the choice of IBM Corp.”™s board of directors to replace CEO Sam Palmisano when he steps down Jan. 1, 2012, with plans to remain chairman.
Currently head of global sales, Rometty becomes the first woman to lead Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, which has a large number of employees who live in Fairfield County.
“Ginni Rometty has successfully led several of IBM”™s most important businesses over the past decade,” Palmisano said, in a prepared statement. “Ginni”™s long-term strategic thinking and client focus are seen in our growth initiatives, from cloud computing and analytics to the commercialization of Watson.”
Palmisano, 60, became IBM CEO in 2002. During his tenure, IBM exited commoditizing businesses, including PCs and printers, and oversaw the launch of IBM”™s Smarter Planet tagline describing Big Blue”™s view of the next era of information technology and its impact on business and society.
Rometti, 54, joined IBM in 1981 as a systems engineer. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Worker dies on job at Chelsea Piers site
A worker died after falling from the roof of the Chelsea Piers entertainment complex under construction in Stamford.
Javier Salinas, 36, of Danbury worked for Trumbull-based American Buildings, which was subcontracting for Stamford-based AP Construction Co. according to the Stamford Times. AP Construction is a subsidiary of the Stamford-based Ashforth Co.
The accident occurred Oct. 25, the same day Gov. Dannel P. Malloy unveiled a deal to bring NBC Sports and the NHL Network to the same property at 1 Blachley Road for a new production studio. According to the Associated Press, Malloy was not at the site at the time of the worker”™s fall.
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Mahle shutting Trumbull operation
Mahle filed notice that it will shut down its Trumbull engine components operation by next May, at a cost of 100 jobs.
Germany-based Mahle sells engines powering everything from backhoes to racecars; at 20 Nutmeg Drive in Trumbull, it produces components for small engines used in power tools and motorcycles, among other equipment.
Assembly passes jobs bills
The Connecticut General Assembly passed bills to create myriad new incentives for businesses while streamlining regulation and economic development, and to bring Jackson Laboratory to Farmington with a $291 million incentive package.
“Putting people back to work and making Connecticut more business-friendly aren”™t goals owned by any one party, and they aren”™t owned by any one branch of government,” Malloy said, in a prepared statement. “No single person has cornered the market on good ideas.”
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Gupta charged in Galleon case
Federal prosecutors charged Westport resident Rajat Gupta with insider trading, implicating him in the same ring led by convicted Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam.
Through his attorney, Gupta said he is innocent and will fight the charges.
Gupta is the biggest name yet linked by authorities to the Galleon Group case, having previously led the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and having served as a director for Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble.
Federal leases in Stamford, Bridgeport
The FBI renewed its lease for 13,000 square feet of space at 1000 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport, a satellite office for its main Connecticut facility in New Haven.
Separately, the Passport Agency took a new lease for 20,000 square feet at 850 Canal St. in Stamford. Both deals were revealed by Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial real estate broker with offices in Greenwich.
Danbury contractor cited
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is fining a Danbury contractor $140,000 for not safeguarding trenches against collapse.
OSHA said Sand Cut Properties L.L.C. allowed an employee to work in an excavation at a Brookfield site in 2008 that was in danger of collapsing. Sand Cut has the right to appeal the penalty.
“This was an imminent danger situation that could have resulted in a fatality and should not have existed in the first place,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA”™s New England regional administrator, in a prepared statement. “This decision should remind employers in Connecticut and elsewhere that failing to supply basic, common sense and legally required safeguards will result in financial and legal consequences, just as employees face the consequences of death or disabling injuries when such safeguards are absent from their workplaces.”
County has good showing in Connecticut Magazine
Fairfield County dominated Connecticut Magazine”™s annual ratings for Connecticut towns, with Greenwich, Westport, Ridgefield and Weston leading their respective population categories.
The Trumbull-based magazine factored in towns”™ economies, schools, crime rate, cost of living and leisure options.
LockWorks leases up
Building & Land Technology closed 35 leases in less than two weeks at The LockWorks, a new apartment building in BLT”™s Harbor Point development in Stamford adjacent to Fairway Market.
The LockWorks has nearly 330 units at 121 Towne St. in twin six-story buildings connected by a central roof terrace with pool, courtyard, lounge area and fire pits. The building includes ground-floor space as well for retailers.
In the past few years, BLT has also built the 101 Park Place apartment mid-rise building and renovated an old mill building to create The Lofts at Yale & Towne.
Rivington model homes complete
Toll Bros. completed four model homes at Rivington in Danbury, with the development planned to include as many as 1,000 or more residences on more than 250 acres.
Toll Bros. bought the property a year ago from WCI Communities, after that company filed for bankruptcy.
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AG Semi takes new space in Stamford
AG Semiconductor Services L.L.C. is leasing space at 1111 Summer St. in Stamford, with the company providing used chip-manufacturing equipment and services.
Currently listing offices at 4 High Ridge Park in Stamford, AG Semi was represented by RHYS Commercial in securing nearly 3,000 square feet of space.
Easter Seals leases in Stamford
Easter Seals of Coastal Fairfield County leased more than 2,500 square feet of space at 733 Summer St. in Stamford.
Easter Seals provides assistance for people living with autism and other disabilities. The organization was represented by RHYS Commercial Real Estate.
Chamber marks Fortuna”™s opening
The Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce sponsored a ribbon cutting for Fortuna”™s Italian Deli & Catering Co., after Fortuna”™s moved to Commerce Park at 4675 Main St. in Bridgeport.
In business for 40 years, Fortuna”™s ranks as one of the three largest caterers in Fairfield County, along with Shelton-based David M. Grant Caterers and Jordan Caterers in Darien.