Fairfield County Business Journal 102714

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com

BY CRYSTAL KANG

FCBJ this week

ckang@westfairinc.com

THE ONLINE JUNGLE YP’s Robert Carbonella on connecting consumers and businesses … 10

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THERE’S A SPOT Norwalk takes parking to a computerized level … 16 FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY CPA Norm Grill assesses credit card crime … 17 TERRIFYING BUY? A rarity in Connecticut – a ghost town – is on the market … 26 SPECIAL SECTION HEAD-OVER-HEELS CONSTRUCTION A New Canaan builder rethinks heating and cooling … 21

MEDIA PARTNER

October 27, 2014 | VOL. 50, No. 43

RHYS rises above the recession tide MARKS FIFTH YEAR IN STAMFORD RHYS executives, from left, Christian C. Bangert, senior vice president and principal; Cory R. Gubner, president and CEO; and Jason Wuchiski, senior vice president and principal. Photo by Crystal Kang

hen Cory Gubner quit his job after his firm was bought out in 2008, he decided to start his own commercial real estate business the next year. His vision, he said, was to create a company that understood how to serve the diverse leasing and buying needs of business owners in the Northeast and capitalize on opportunities for tenants and landlords to expand their operations. Gubner, president and CEO of Stamfordbased RHYS, had been working in the real estate business for 20 years before he decided to leave his previous company, which Canadabased Colliers International acquired. His decision to walk away from a stable job at the start of the recession and create his own business was risky, but in retrospect, he said it was a smart move. After things started to get worse in 2008, “we didn’t really feel the impact of the recession until 2009 when everything just stopped,” Gubner said. “But the reality is, it didn’t really matter whether or not there was a recession. I decided to leave my previous job, and I wasn’t » RHYS, page 22

WCSU: Western Connecticut’s standout university

$3M GIFT MARKS ‘A MOMENTOUS DAY’ BY BILL FALLON Bfallon@westfairinc.com

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estern Connecticut State University, which last month debuted a destination arts center, recently stepped into a trio of favorable spotlights. In short order, the Danbury school was named the most socially mobile college in the state, it hosted a powerhouse economics forum, and it received the largest gift in its history. Constantine “Deno” Macricostas gave $3 million from the Macricostas Family Foundation to WCSU, which the school identified as the largest donation in its history. » WCSU, page 6

From left, Nicholas Perna, economic adviser to Webster Bank; John Murphy, Western Connecticut Health Network; and James Schmotter, president, Western Connecticut State University.


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