Gov. Lamont taps 2 CEOs, Goldman banker for economic team

Three executives are moving from the board room to the governor's office.

News 12 Staff

Feb 1, 2019, 8:05 PM

Updated 1,903 days ago

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Three executives are moving from the boardroom to the governor's office.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced his new economic development team that he hopes will bring new jobs back to the state.
It will be headed by David Lehman, a Greenwich resident who is the head of global real estate finance at Goldman Sachs.
"This is a guy -- a young man, with his wife Laura -- at the very top of his game at one of the leading banks in the country," says Lehman.
Lehman's past is not without controversy. A decade ago, Lehman was grilled on Capitol Hill about his company's role in the housing crisis. Goldman Sachs made nearly $13 billion from AIG, a company that cost taxpayers $182 billion in bailouts.
Lamont says Lehman actually volunteered to take the top economic job.
Rounding out the team will be the former head of Webster Bank, James Smith, and the just-retired CEO of Pepsi, Greenwich resident Indra Nooyi.
"I am committed to Connecticut.  I'm committed to making Connecticut one of the greatest states in the nation again. That's why I'm here," says Nooyi.
Nooyi and Gov. Lamont helped bring the tech company Infosys to Hartford last year. She will be reaching out directly to the CEOs of companies that match what Connecticut already has, such as insurance and defense contractor industries.
State lawmakers now must approve all three appointments.


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