CRN Interview: A Connecticut VAR In The Governor's Court

Michael Fedele, chairman and CEO of The Pinnacle Group, a $110 million solution provider, was sworn in as lieutenant governor of Connecticut two weeks ago. As a state representative for 10 years and a solution provider for even longer, Fedele learned how to balance the needs of enterprises as well as voters near his Stamford, Conn., home. Now with 3 million people to serve instead of 100 employees, Fedele (who's a Republican) faces the challenge of trying to grow his company while focusing on Connecticut's economic development. He recently sat down with CRN Assistant News Editor Scott Campbell to talk business, politics, technology and how all three should come together. Here are excerpts of the discussion.

CRN: How did you get involved in politics?

FEDELE: I started on local boards in Stamford. I was on the board of representatives in the late 1980s for four years. My children were getting older, and I wanted to be part of the process in education and the city and town they were growing up in. I served 10 years in the state house representing the 147th District. I lost the [state] Senate seat and took some time off after that to focus on [Pinnacle Group].

CRN: So you were out of politics for several years. How did you come to be lieutenant governor?

FEDELE: Around April 2006, I got a call from Governor [M. Jodi] Rell, with whom I had served in my first term in the House. We met and had a shared vision. It became apparent that we had the same thoughts and minds on where Connecticut should be going. She also looked at other candidates. The week before [Arrow Electronics'] May Days event last May, she asked me to come up and have lunch. There was the Republican Convention the next week. She asked me what I was looking for and was I willing to make that sacrifice again? I knew that it would be a strain on my family again and something they would have to agree with.

I also wanted to make sure it was something meaningful, that she was looking for a real partner. There's a lot of formality and ceremonial duties in this job. I'm honored to do that, but if that's all she was looking for, I was not the right guy for the job. She was looking for someone to move the agenda forward. We had a final lunch, and she said, 'I'll give you one more chance to say no.' I didn't. I went to May Days, and the story broke while I was in Indianapolis. So I wasn't there to answer questions. When I returned home, I held a press conference. The next day, I had to write a speech. I had a day to practice that, and the convention was the day after that.

CRN: How do you balance being a CEO and lieutenant governor? How can you find the time to do both?

FEDELE: Constitutionally, [lieutenant governor] is a part-time job. I make it a full-time job. I have to be here and spend time here. Not only physically here [in the state capitol], but around the state. I said to a local reporter recently, 'If you spend too much time under the dome, you'll start to believe it's a crown.' I'm meeting people in towns and cities, going to bio-science companies, asking what are your challenges. The good news is when I was a legislator for 10 years, I handed over much of the operational components of [Pinnacle Group] to other people in my organization. They're doing a fine job of growing that business. I'm really a chairman, a shareholder just watching my investment, basically. CRN: How is the business going?

FEDELE: We have nine offices now, 100 employees. We're $110 million [in annual sales]. The four years I was out of office, we grew 30 percent to 35 percent. Business is strong. I have some incredible people in the company, and I feel real comfortable turning the reins over in time. Our primary business is enterprise customers. We do a lot of blades through the old Support Net business and SBM business at Arrow [Electronics] and also their storage side.

CRN: What else will change now that you are back in office?

FEDELE: When I was out of office for years, we got to take family vacations. We had a great time. Now I have to inform the governor when I go out of state, in writing -- even if I just go to Massachusetts to get a pizza. The one thing I learned quickly when running different businesses with HP and IBM is to juggle a number of balls. When I came up here as a legislator, I did that, too. I've had lot of training in juggling. You can't be focused 100 percent on everything. My primary focus is family, obviously, but also helping the government do what it has to do and leave the [Pinnacle] business in great hands.

CRN: With your background, do you think you can help government make better use of technology?

FEDELE: The government takes technology for granted. There's still more that the government can do. We're not utilizing technology in health care to help consumers and the insurance companies. I'd like to see incentives in that area. Way back in the 1980s, there were investment tax credits for leases on capital equipment, which caused a big flurry of technology equipment purchases. There's more to be done there. Technology companies want to put power in the hands of [customers]. Congress has to incent [companies], not in a Sarbanes-Oxley way, to spend money on IT. We have to say, 'Here are the reasons why you should get there, and here's how we'll help you get there.'

CRN: What can solution providers do to win more mind share with the government?

FEDELE: The challenge a lot of times in technology is not can we do it, but getting people to want to do it. In my experience, that's always been the challenge.

The other key is we're a big consumer of information technology. I'd like to take a look at some of the stuff. One of the first discussions I had here was of consolidation of servers [for the state government]. There's a project that's been going on for years that has cost $140 million. I said, 'Wow, I want to take a look at that project.' I can't imagine what project would last so long and cost so much money. I don't want to say something's wrong, but as the governor said, I can bring that expertise.

CRN: What are some common threads for success in politics and business?

FEDELE: My definition of a partner is someone who takes and gives as equally as you do. [Arrow] has been a good partner. They've helped us grow. The other thing is that when Gov. Rell was lieutenant governor, she met with all 169 cities and towns in the state. [Former New York Mayor] Ed Koch used to say, 'How'm I doing?' That's what we ask every day. If you don't want an answer, don't ask the question. Even if you can't accomplish every issue right away, people respect you for taking time and asking. We spend a lot of time information-gathering. If you can't fix it right then, you gather resources, gather information and move forward with it. We've done a good job of that, and we've been in business for many, many years.