Brian DiSabatino Named DBRT Chairman

EDiS President and CEO Brian DiSabatino was recently named chairman of the Delaware Business Roundtable (DBRT) for a two-year term. DiSabatino takes over the role from former Chairwoman Dr. Janice Nevin, president and CEO of ChristianaCare. The Roundtable was created in 1981 to enhance the quality of life in Delaware by promoting commerce, job creation, and select public policy issues.

“Our job at the Roundtable is at a macro level—to create the vision and inspiration of future growth in Delaware that ultimately will result in policy improvements and real, tangible prosperity for the greater good of all communities and residents of our great state,” said DiSabatino.

He pointed to the Ready in 6 initiative, a widely supported effort to improve Delaware’s ability to increase economic development by attracting and growing business. He went on to say that since Delaware’s permitting process can stretch up to 24 months, it places the state at a disadvantage when compared to neighboring states like Maryland and Pennsylvania, who have substantially faster permit approvals. The initiative is designed to cut the permitting timeline from 24 months to six months.

DiSabatino further explained that his first focus is evolving and updating the Delaware Growth Agenda, first published by the DBRT in 2016.

With the leadership of Governor Carney and the support of the Delaware General Assembly, the 2016 Growth

Agenda led to the creation of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP), now the lead economic development agency for Delaware. Since 2018, the DPP has supported $1.39 billion in capital investments and created or retained nearly 7,000 jobs for Delaware residents.

Major initiatives of an updated Growth Agenda would center around helping incoming businesses understand the talent pipeline that already exists from Delaware’s eight higher education institutions, while simultaneously ideating and recommending ways Delaware can be more nimble and effective in attracting incoming businesses.

As an example, he references J.P. Morgan Chase’s recent announcement that it was investing hundreds of millions in its Delaware offices. “This investment makes Delaware second to New York City in terms of Chase’s real estate prioritization and presence. Making sure employers like Chase want to stay in Delaware is part of our mission at the Roundtable.”

DiSabatino stressed that growing existing and new local small businesses is also a priority. “We have amazing talent already within our reach. It is our responsibility to find ways to help them grow and succeed right here at home, while ensuring better representation and equity through the process.”

“I’m proud to represent this great organization—I’m filling big shoes,” said DiSabatino. “There have been amazing chairmen and chairwomen in the past few decades. Having the opportunity to partner not only with the executives who are fellow members, but also engage with leaders from all sectors throughout the state is an honor.”