Chris DiPentima Assumes Leadership of State’s Largest Business Organization

Chris DiPentima today assumed the role of president and CEO of CBIA, the state’s largest business organization.

He succeeds Joe Brennan, who retired August 1 after 32 years with CBIA, leading the organization for the past six, including overseeing the successful affiliations with leading business consulting firm CONNSTEP and the nonprofit education policy and program group ReadyCT.

Brennan will remain with the organization as a senior advisor through the end of 2020.

DiPentima previously was division president of Leggett & Platt Aerospace, a unit of S&P 500 company Leggett & Platt, leading operations at the company’s Middletown-based Pegasus Manufacturing facility and locations in Washington, California, and France.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the incredibly talented team at CBIA, CONNSTEP, and ReadyCT to promote the state’s rich legacy of ingenuity and innovation and improve our economic competitiveness,” DiPentima said.

“We face unprecedented challenges in the coming months, but they are challenges that we can overcome through greater collaboration between the private and public sectors.

“I’m committed to working collaboratively to shape policies that drive economic growth, create opportunities for all, and continue to make Connecticut a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”

DiPentima joined Pegasus, then family-owned, in 2002 as general counsel and was named president in 2006. He implemented a series of strategic initiatives as president, with the company doubling employment and revenue numbers before being acquired by L&P in 2016.

Prior to joining Pegasus, DiPentima spent eight years as an attorney representing corporations and individuals on a broad range of issues, including labor and employment, contracts, workers’ compensation, and mergers and acquisitions.

A former chair of CBIA’s board of directors, he chairs the Connecticut Manufacturers’ Collaborative and serves on the boards of the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund, Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, and Middlesex Community College Advisory Board.

He is a past president of the Aerospace Components Manufacturers and served on the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission, the National Governors Policy Academy for Best Practices in Manufacturing, and the board of the Connecticut Technical High School System.

DiPentima has a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and received his juris doctorate from Quinnipiac Law School. He is admitted to the bar in Connecticut, New York, and the District of Columbia.

He lives in Durham with his wife and three daughters.

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CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with thousands of member companies, small and large, representing a diverse range of industries from every part of the state. For more information, please email or call Joe Budd (860.244.1951).