Windsor Journal

The Windsor Chamber of Commerce will be holding a Business After Hours event on Wednesday, April 17th hosted by J. Morrissey & Company Inc. located at 289 Broad Street from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.

The highly anticipated guest speaker will be Commissioner Catherine Smith, the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the lead state agency responsible for attracting and retaining businesses and jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods and communities, opportunities and fostering appropriate development in Connecticut's towns and cities.

Enjoy refreshments, a raffle and networking with other Chamber members and regional businesses. You will have the opportunity to tour this historic Windsor Center building.

This networking event is free to Windsor Chamber, TVCA and Metro Hartford Chamber members. Admission is $5.00 for non-chamber members. RSVP by April 15th by phone 860-688-5165 or online at www.WindsorCC.org/RSVP. Don't miss this opportunity to promote your  business and learn more about the business community around you.

About Commissioner Catharine Smith

Catherine Smith is the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the lead state agency responsible for attracting and retaining businesses and jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods and communities, expanding affordable housing opportunities and fostering appropriate development in Connecticut’s towns and cities.
 
Governor Dannel P. Malloy appointed her to the position in April 2011.
 
Commissioner Smith’s top economic development priorities are to strengthen the state’s efforts to nurture and drive innovation; effectively promote and market the state’s many business advantages within Connecticut and beyond its borders; and place a renewed emphasis on all aspects of customer service in order to make the state more business-friendly and attractive for investment.   

Her community and housing development priorities include increasing the supply of affordable housing while also preserving the quality and affordability of existing units, improving the state’s ability to redevelop brownfields, and continuing the state’s commitment to responsible growth and transit-oriented development.  The commissioner will forge new, closer working relationships with other state agencies and private sector partners to realize these objectives and to maximize the return on state investments.

Prior to joining DECD, Commissioner Smith had a distinguished career in the insurance and financial services industry.

She began her career at Aetna in 1983 and held various management positions, including chief financial officer for Aetna Financial Services. Later at ING she served in numerous leadership positions including chief operating officer for ING U.S. Financial Services, president of Health, Education and Government Distribution, and CEO of the U.S. Insurance businesses.     

In 2008 Smith was named CEO of ING U.S. Retirement Services, one of the largest defined contribution plan managers in the United States with more than $280 billion in assets under management and administration.  

Smith graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and received a Master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut.  

Smith has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences and in the media and has been recognized by U.S. Banker magazine’s “Top 25 Most Powerful Nonbank Women in Finance” and the The 401kWire “100 Most Influential People in Defined Contribution.”  Smith is the Vice Chair of Outward Bound, USA.