For my weekly Conversations on Leadership, I usually ask executives about strengths of Upstate New York and why they choose to stay in CNY. Around New Year’s, I compile excerpts into a resolution of sorts to celebrate Central New York’s good life in the year ahead. If there’s a summary, it might go like this:
Central New York has one of America’s highest concentrations of colleges and universities, instilling a long tradition of vibrancy, youthful energy, and a wealth of talent. The region has affordable housing, an easy commute, and rich cultural amenities in food, arts, and entertainment. It is in a beautiful setting with superb outdoor recreation. It’s populated with resilient, hard-working people who have created communities of neighborliness.
What also stands out is a consistent similarity with excerpts I compiled for the new year in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.
The largest number of the 51 leaders I featured in 2021 came from manufacturing – 14. Eleven were in fields related to digital technologies, engineering, and research. The rest were scattered in retail, non-profits, banking/accounting, entertainment, services, and various kinds of educational fields. Some are retired executives; others are young entrepreneurs. Some lead companies with hundreds of employees and a global reach; some lead a handful with a local focus.
Here are excerpts from a few of the past year’s interviews.
Adam Maher is co-founder and CEO of Ursa Space Systems in Ithaca. He came to Upstate New York from Palo Alto and is growing a successful company. I asked: What do you see as Upstate’s strengths?
There’s a lot of talent in Upstate New York. There are a lot of great schools locally that build that talent base. You’ve got big research institutions, everything from Cornell here in Ithaca to Syracuse, RIT, RPI. There’s a lot of potential with the universities and a lot of historical knowledge. A lot of history in New York state is not appreciated. Think about all the efforts here. Rome has the Air Force Lab. Rochester launched everything from Xerox to Kodak. There’s a lot of great work going on in Syracuse.
Cornell, Ithaca College, and TC3 (Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden) started and support the Rev incubator.
I would say every state has its intricacies and drawbacks. We have employees in six states and every state has its pluses and minuses from a regulation standpoint. At the end of the day, there’s a good set of talent here. From here in Upstate New York, we’re able to help folks. If there’s an oil spill on the other side of the world, we’re able to do something. We’re able to make that global impact.
M.C. Chruscicki is co-owner and chief technology officer of AX Enterprize, the company she started in 2011 with Patricia Baskinger. Their company, headquartered in Rome, creates digital, networking and technology products, especially for unmanned aerial systems. I asked Chruscicki: Why do you choose to live and work in CNY? What strengths do you see in our region? What would you tell naysayers who see only on problems and not solutions or opportunity?
I’ve heard from those naysayers, and, yes, New York has its challenges. But I love the four seasons. I love the people. I love the fact that it has the feel of a small community. When you face a challenge, it’s amazing how people are always willing to help or point you in the right direction or give you an idea.
There’s a sense of energy that I feel has been building for a few years. We’re all working hard to get new activities off the ground. One of the big ones is we’ve got a lot of great land for nano. We landed Cree in Marcy. At the Air Force Research Lab in Rome, they’ve recognized that you can’t do everything behind a locked door. To innovate, you open up and you invite more diversification.
For the past few years, they’ve been working on this open innovation campus, Innovare Advancement Center. It’s drawing innovators and entrepreneurs to our region and bringing that diversification to Central New York. The focus areas around here are quantum computing, neuromorphic computing, new technology for UAS, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. People are seeing the talent in CNY.
Now, if we can build more entanglements between organizations and start creating buzz about the energy in high-tech development, and resources here, we’re going to attract more individuals that will help us grow the region even more.
Our momentum is building, and that’s why I love New York. I love the energy. I love the don’t-give-up and work-as-hard-as-you-can attitudes that make good things happen.
Kevin Hair is president and CEO of SRC, headquartered in Cicero with 1,600 employees and branch offices worldwide. SRC’s rapid growth has meant the company recruits non-stop for scientists, engineers, and others in STEM fields. Hair and I were talking about some of the Syracuse area’s strengths – beautiful seasons, affordable housing, easy commuting, higher education – so I asked about recruiting employees.
One of the bigger areas we point to is the affordability of housing. You can get a four-bedroom house here in Syracuse and have a very, very good school district to be able to have your kids go to, that has a great track record of getting kids into colleges.
Once we bring somebody on board, they say to us that they love that ability to have a house, to be able to move forward in their life, and to be able to live comfortably versus what it cost in Boston or those types of places. I should throw Wegmans in there, too. (Laughter) Everybody loves Wegmans.
Calvin Corriders is regional president of Pathfinder Bank’s Syracuse Market. I said: You probably could live anywhere, so tell me why you choose to live and work in CNY. What are strengths of our region?
I’ve traveled extensively through the United States and internationally as well. When I’m away, I see what we have. We have plenty of green space. We have access to clean and abundant water. It’s a place that if you want to own a home you can make that a reality. Crime, relatively speaking, is low.
We have an abundance of quality places to be educated on a secondary and a post-secondary nature. We have on The Hill a first-class university. We can get just about anywhere in 15 or 20 minutes. We have public transportation that is sufficient to get me practically any place I want to go.
I can feed my family very affordably, and I can find fresh produce locally grown. From a cultural standpoint, how do you replicate the Salt City Market, the Everson, the Landmark Theatre, all of those things in downtown Syracuse? I can go on and on. Not many places can replicate the total package we have.
Piper Titus is co-owner of Page Trucking with her brother Dan. The company has four warehouses in Central New York, 12 offices east of the Mississippi, 215 employees, and serves about 15,000 shippers and receivers. Titus answered my questions about strengths and naysayers this way:
As a business owner, New York state’s tax structure can be a downer. But there are many real positives, right? Number one, this is one of the most year-round exciting places to live. I’ve fallen in love with the seasonal sports. There is something to do in every single season, across a vast run of interests.
This region has some of the most incredible minds – innovators, entrepreneurs, and business owners. Syracuse is doing an exceptional job bringing those businesses to the table.
Our education system is amazing. We do an incredible job, so I think it’s a great place to live and raise a family.
Al Schnier was a founder of the band moe more than 30 years ago. He is guitarist and vocalist and remains a partner-owner. I said: You could live anywhere. Why do you choose to live in CNY and what are our region’s strengths?
Well, having traveled the United States extensively for the last 30 years – after all that is my job – I will say, without a doubt, it is one of the most beautiful areas of the country. I love coming back here. I love being here all four seasons. I love this area – from the Finger Lakes to the Adirondacks to the Mohawk Valley and everything in between. It is just gorgeous. There’s a lot to be said for four seasons. You don’t get that everywhere.
In addition to that, there’s a lot here culturally, when it comes to our food and arts and sports and all of these things. You may have to live here to appreciate how much there is. I absolutely love all of that.
Moreover, I really like the people here. I like living in an area where people are generally kind and neighborly. That, to me, goes a long, long way.
Christina Sauve, CEO of Cooperative Federal Credit Union, didn’t expect to put down roots in Syracuse after graduating in 2003 from Stanford University. A dawning awareness of CNY’s quality of life enticed her. I asked her about the strengths of CNY and what she would tell naysayers.
One of the huge strengths of our region is that things are affordable. Buying a home is affordable here. This is important, not only personally, but for the work that we do as a community development credit union. We can make people into home buyers here…
When people move here from a warmer climate I ask if they were ready for the snow. They’re like: This is gorgeous. This is what winter looks like on TV.
Then, there’s so much green the rest of the year. We have lakes and so many things to love about living here. This is really a beautiful area.
To any naysayers, I would suggest visiting the different parts of the city of Syracuse and different parts of the surrounding areas. Break out of your comfort zone. You can find bad everywhere if that’s what you want to see.
I like to point to everything wonderful that’s going on There’s so much good in our area. There are so many people working so hard. There are all sorts of responses to naysayers, depending on their complaint. They complain about taxes, but our taxes do support things like schools and other important community assets. Our taxes support the quality of life we have, so that complaint doesn’t go too far with me.
Mike Mowins is founder of Vetted Tech Inc., an additive manufacturer – commonly called 3D printing. After graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, Mowins’ career took him all over the country – Massachusetts, California, Maryland, and elsewhere. When his then-employer wanted him to set up a global licensing operation in California, he told them it wouldn’t matter where he lived, that he’d be on a plane all the time. So he chose to live in CNY and told me some of the reasons why.
After Southern California – where the weather doesn’t change a whole lot – coming to Upstate New York with the variety of seasons is great.
I became very active in Trout Unlimited and with its chapter in the Tug Hill region. I’m very much into trout fishing now – Nine Mile Creek, Salmon River, and all of those places. The outdoor enjoyment and the scenery that you have in Upstate New York are a true draw. The sense of community in Upstate New York is a real draw. So there’s a sense of community, great natural resources, and great sporting opportunities.
If you take a look around, you’ve got corporations coming back to New York or starting. You’ve got Chobani. You’ve got Cree. You’ve got new factories in the Buffalo area. New York is doing a lot to encourage business.
Ted Peterson is founder and president of Downtown Decorations. He grew tired of moving around for corporate employers, so in 2003 he started his company in Syracuse. His clients are spread throughout North and South America. I asked him: What keeps you in CNY, what are CNY’s strengths, and what would you tell naysayers?
Business is hard anywhere. I think somebody who wants to work at it and work hard at it will make it, whether you’re in Charlotte, or Seattle, or Syracuse. If you look at the latest numbers, Syracuse is one of the hot spots for jobs. Did it come overnight? No, but I think there are positive things to keep that going.
One is transportation. We’re right off the Thruway. We’re close to New York. We’re close to Boston. We can shoot down south. Our airport has worked at bringing more flights and bringing the flights’ costs down.
Tell me the last time after a major storm that we weren’t open? Compare that to other parts of the country. You look at snow, and they shut down for days.
We have great colleges here. People here are a great resource, including all those college graduates. People in Central New York have a great work ethic.
I travel across the country, and I see it’s affordable to live here. You can buy a house at an affordable price. Look at other parts of the country – Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Antonio, all these places. It’s really expensive for somebody who’s just graduated. Here, a college graduate or a young couple can afford a house.
Taxes might be a bit higher here, but I think in the end it balances out. Other parts of the country have their own taxes.
It’s affordable to base your company here and then you can grow to the Boston markets, the New York markets, the Chicago markets, and all the other areas. And now, with the way that telecommuting changed things, it doesn’t matter where you’re based. You can make it. I mean, how can a little Syracuse company decorate malls in South America?
Marcelle Haddix is a distinguished dean’s professor in the Syracuse University School of Education. She was the elected chair of the University Senate through upheaval and uncertainty around race, social justice, and the Covid-19 pandemic. She is a co-founder of Cafe Sankofa Cooperative and the Writing Our Lives program. I asked: What are strengths of our region? What would you tell naysayers?
Naysayers would be far from the truth. When I first moved here, I didn’t know anything about Central New York. In academics, it’s not often the community that you’re selecting the job on; it’s more so the university. I had four opportunities, four appointments that I could have selected. Syracuse University was the best fit.
However, I also had to make sure that Syracuse was going to be the right fit for my family. I had a child who was going into the first grade. My partner also had to think about his career moves. So, we needed to understand the community when we moved here. I have come to say to people, this is my home. I don’t see myself living anywhere else at this point in my life.
I’ve learned more about the history in the Central New York area as it relates to freedom and liberation and justice in the African-American community. This is a place where if you have an issue that you want to take up, it’s a city where you can get some traction. There’s a history of protest here, a history of social justice here.
I lived in Boston for 10 years, and Boston is a great city. Milwaukee is a great city. But Syracuse is a place where you can come in and really get to work with people to make change.
Ross Berntson is president and COO of Indium Corporation, the high-tech manufacturer headquartered in Clinton with 1,200 employees. The company had added almost 200 people in the year before our Conversation ran in August. I asked: You probably could choose to live and work anywhere, so why do you choose CNY? What are the strengths of our region, and what would you tell naysayers?
I choose to live here, and you’re right, it is a choice. I’m very privileged to have a position where I could potentially move and I choose to be here. A lot of it’s because of the people I have had the privilege to connect with. We have been blessed to be at the schools here at New Hartford. My son’s an Eagle Scout through the scouting program here locally. We have a phenomenal church, and a great community at the church. I love the programs that come to the Stanley Theatre in Utica, which is just beautiful. We have the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. There’s great culture here.
Of course, in Utica, we’re the Refugee City. We have people here from cultures all over the world. We have all this wonderful and dynamic cuisine to engage with and interesting people with different backgrounds to talk to.
I’m a big fly fisherman. I love fly fishing and engaging in the outdoors. We have the Adirondacks and West Canada Creek and Black River and Moose River and all kinds of different places to go fishing. There is a lot to offer anyone who loves the outdoors, who loves culture, who wants to be surrounded by good people who care about their community.
I think we have a unique mix here because we’re kind of a small town, but in a big state. It’s a small-town environment, but we have incredible food. We’re a small town, but we have this beautiful theater. We’re in a small town, but we have world-class manufacturing and world-class companies here.
I’m happy to be here, and I couldn’t be happier raising a family here. It’s pretty spectacular.
The weekly “Conversation on Leadership” features Q&A interviews about leadership, success, and innovation. The conversations are condensed and edited. Last week featured SaLisa Berrien, founder and CEO of COI Energy. She moved her company’s headquarters from Tampa to Binghamton.
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