EDiS President & CEO Brian DiSabatino has been named Chairman of the Delaware Business Roundtable (DBRT) for a two-year term. Brian takes over the role from former Chairwoman Dr. Janice Nevin, President & CEO of ChristianaCare Health Systems. 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.”
He pointed to the “Ready in Six” 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. “Ready in Six” is designed to cut the permitting timeline from 24 months to six months.
He further explained that his first focus is evolving and updating the Delaware Growth Agenda, first published by the Roundtable 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.”
He 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.”
Brian has been locally and nationally recognized for his innovation with projects like the Town of Whitehall, a $1 billion development that is creating a “turn of the last century” town from scratch. He also served as a co-founder and chairman of Delaware Sterling Bank and Trust Company, which was purchased by PNC Bank; the chairman of the Board of the Grand Opera House in Delaware; Advisory Board Member of national nonprofit, Stop Soldier Suicide; while also supporting numerous philanthropic causes to improve communities across the state.
“I’m proud to represent this great organization – I’m filling big shoes. 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.”
About the Delaware Business Round Table: The Delaware Business Roundtable is a non-partisan, volunteer consortium of CEOs whose companies collectively employ over 75,000 people in Delaware. Since its inception in 1981, the Roundtable’s broad mission is to enhance the quality of life in Delaware by promoting commerce, job creation and select public policy issues. In recent years, the Roundtable has been a leading supporter of public education transformation and entrepreneurs in Delaware.
