Economy of Stamford, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
The economy of Stamford, Connecticut is unusual for having a cluster of corporate headquarters (many of which moved from New York
in the 1980s both to lower their tax bill and to be closer to the homes of their top executives).
The city has four Fortune 500
Companies, nine Fortune 1000
Companies, and thirteen Courant 100 Companies, as well as numerous divisions of large corporations. This gives Stamford the largest financial district in New York Metro outside New York City itself and one of the largest concentrations of corporations in the nation.
Royal Bank of Scotland
announced in October 2005 that it would consolidate its North American headquarters in downtown Stamford and build the largest trading floor in North America (the current largest trading floor is in the UBS building across the street from where the new building is under construction).
In 2006, Virgin Atlantic Airways
occupied an office in Norwalk, Connecticut
as its United States headquarters. During that year signed a 15 year lease to occupy space in a building in Stamford, Connecticut
to use as its new United States headquarters. Virgin was scheduled to be the first tenant in the recently renovated at the time 15200 square foot building, which was scheduled to be renamed "Virgin Atlantic Center." Richard Lee of The Stamford Advocate said that Virgin Atlantic was "the first marquee business that Stamford has lured from Norwalk in recent years." Brooke Lawer, a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic, said that the company needed less space and desired a smaller office building for the company; she added that the company preferred the Stamford location as it was closer to rail lines and New York City
. Michael W. Freimuth, Stamford's director of economic development, stated that Virgin Atlantic would get tax breaks since the company was relocating to an enterprise zone; he also stated that Virgin's relocation would bring 75 jobs to the city. As of 2009 Virgin Atlantic occupies a different office building in Norwalk and uses it as its U.S. headquarters.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the 1980s both to lower their tax bill and to be closer to the homes of their top executives).
The city has four Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
Companies, nine Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...
Companies, and thirteen Courant 100 Companies, as well as numerous divisions of large corporations. This gives Stamford the largest financial district in New York Metro outside New York City itself and one of the largest concentrations of corporations in the nation.
Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
announced in October 2005 that it would consolidate its North American headquarters in downtown Stamford and build the largest trading floor in North America (the current largest trading floor is in the UBS building across the street from where the new building is under construction).
Large and distinctive companies
- AircastleAircastleAircastle Limited is a company engaged in Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing.It has its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, with offices in Dublin and Singapore. Aircastle was established in early 2005 and now owns about 133 jet airliners, both narrow-body and wide-body types, which are...
— a seller and leaser of aircraft - Aladdin Capital Management LLC — a hedge fund manager with $21.5 billion in assets as of late 2007
- AmeriCaresAmeriCaresAmeriCares is a non-profit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization providing immediate response to emergency medical needs and supporting long-term health care initiatives for people in the United States and around the world. Since its founding in 1982, AmeriCares has provided more than...
— a nonprofit humanitarian relief organization - Crane Co.Crane Co.The Crane Company is an American industrial products company based in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded by Richard Teller Crane, the company is best known to the consumer public as a large manufacturer of vending machines. Their famous National brand includes glassfront vending machines and cold...
(CR) — headquarters, 100 First Stamford Place; a diversified manufacturer of engineered systems ranging from vending machines to anti-skid brakes for aircraft; 10,400 employees, 90 in Connecticut; $2 billion in annual revenues; CEO Eric C. Fast - Conair CorporationConair CorporationConair Corporation is a US-based multinational corporation which sells small appliances, personal care products, and health and beauty products for both professionals and consumers...
— 1 Cummings Point Road; maker of blowdryers and other personal health care products, such as Jheri Redding and RuskRuskA rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a baby teething food. In the United Kingdom, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.- Germany :The zwieback A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a baby teething food....
, and consumer electronic products, including telephones and CuisinartCuisinartCuisinart is a brand for small kitchen appliances, especially the food processor of the same name, one of the first to become popular in the United States. It was founded by Carl Sontheimer in 1971, and became a leading brand in the United States and Canada....
products; the company is officially headquartered in East Windsor, New Jersey, but it is privately held by Leandro Rizzuto, who maintains a home in lower Fairfield County near the Stamford office. Rizzuto is the 392nd richest American, with an estimated $925 million in assets, according to the Forbes magazine "Forbes 400" list. (Rizzuto, a cousin of former Yankees baseball player Phil RizzutoPhil RizzutoPhilip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 2002. He was co-founder of the company with his father in 1959.) - Frontier Communications (FTR) — headquarters, 3 High Ridge Park; a provider of telephone, television and Internet access to rural areas and small- and medium-sized towns and cities in 23 states; it also runs a local exchange carrier service in the western states through a subsidiary, Electric Lightwave LLC subsidiary; 6,100 employees companywide; 170 in Connecticut; $2.2 billion in annual revenues; Maggie WilderotterMaggie WilderotterMaggie Wilderotter is the chairman and chief executive officer of Frontier Communications. She joined the company in 2004. Before Frontier, she served as an executive for McCaw Cellular , and Microsoft...
, CEO since November 2004 - Gartner Inc. (IT) — 56 Top Gallant Road; provides research and analysis on the information technology sector; 3,700 employees comanywide; 730 of them in Fairfield County; $989 million in annual revenues; CEO Gene Hall
- GE CapitalGE CapitalGE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units. Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money....
— headquarters of a major division of General Electric, 260 Long Ridge Road - General ReGeneral ReGen Re is a leading property/casualty and life/health reinsurance company and is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-History:General Reinsurance Corporation’s history began in 1921 when two Norwegian companies, Norwegian Globe and Norwegian Assurance, merged and took the name General Casualty and...
— division of Berkshire HathawayBerkshire HathawayBerkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
, 695 East Main St.; a holding company for global reinsurance and related operations. It owns General Reinsurance Corporation and is one of the largest reinsurers worldwide; 895 employees in county, 3,200 companywide; $10.5 billion in revenues in 2003; CEO Joseph P. Brandon - Harman International IndustriesHarman International IndustriesHarman International Industries is an American-based international audio and infotainment equipment company. The company designs, manufactures and markets audio and infotainment products for the car, the home, theatres and venues, as well as electronics for audio professionals...
— headquarters, 400 Atlantic Street; manufacturer of audio products and electronics. Brands include AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. 11,000 employees globally; $3.4 billion in sales for fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR, CEO since 2008 Dinesh Paliwal - Hexcel Corp. (HXL) — headquarters; develops and makes carbon fibers, industrial fabrics and lightweight, high-performance composite materials, and parts and structures used in commercial aerospace, space and defense, recreation and other industries; 4,455 employees, 35 of them in Connecticut; $1.2 billion in annual revenues; CEO David BergesDavid BergesDavid Berges is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Hexcel Corp, a composite materials producer based in Stamford, Connecticut. The multi-billion dollar company produces plastics and other materials for the aerospace and defense industries...
- MXenergyMXenergyMXenergy is a retail natural gas and electricity supplier in North America. It was founded in 1999 to provide natural gas and electricity in deregulated energy markets. In 2006, MXenergy was named fourth on Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest growing private companies in America on the basis of...
(privately held) — sells electricity and natural gas. The company's fixed-price one- to three-year contracts for homeowners and small businesses were a large part of the reason why the company grew 382.1 percent in revenue in the three years from 2002 to 2005. The company made the Inc.Inc. (magazine)Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
magazine "Inc. 500" list of fastest growing small companies in 2006, ranking No. 370. In 2005 the company had $326.1 million in annual revenue and 100 employees, according to Inc. magazine. - Odyssey Re Holdings Corp.Odyssey ReOdyssey Re Holdings Corp. headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is an underwriter of property and casualty treaty and facultative reinsurance, as well as specialty insurance. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a financial services holding company. OdysseyRe...
(ORH) — a global property-casualty reinsurance company, 80-percent-owned by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: FFH) of Toronto; 600 employees, 300 of them in Connecticut; $2.6 billion in annual revenues; CEO Andrew A. Barnard - Pitney Bowes Inc.Pitney BowesPitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing...
(PBI) — headquarters, 1 Elmcroft Road; the world's biggest maker of postal meters and mailing equipment and provides mailing and delivery software and services to companies; 32,700 employees companywide, 3,500 in Fairfield County; $5.5 billion in annual revenues; CEO Murray Martin - Purdue PharmaPurdue PharmaPurdue Pharma L.P., is a privately held pharmaceutical company founded by physicians and now located in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. In its early years, Purdue was known for its antiseptic product, Betadine Solution, and its Senokot laxatives...
, a drug maker - SAC Capital Advisors LLCSAC Capital PartnersSAC Capital Advisors is a $14 billion dollar group of hedge funds founded by Steven A. Cohen in 1992. The firm employs approximately 800 people across its offices located in Stamford, Connecticut and New York City with international satellite offices...
, a hedge fund run by Steven A. CohenSteven A. CohenSteven "Steve" A. Cohen is an American hedge fund manager. He is the founder of SAC Capital Advisors, a Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund focusing primarily on equity market strategies.... - Sempra EnergySempra EnergySempra Energy is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego, California. It divides its interests into two broad categories: Sempra Utilities, including Pacific Enterprises/Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric; and Sempra Global, a holding company for...
— trading division - Silgan Holdings Inc. (SLGN) — headquarters, 4 Landmark Square; a supplier of consumer goods packaging products with a 50 percent share of the U.S. metal food container market; 7,500 employees, 225 of them in Connecticut; annual revenues of $2.5 billion; Co-CEOs Anthony J. "Tony" Allott and D. Greg Horrigan
- SIGG (USA) Inc. - The USA division of the Swiss company SIGG
- Star Gas Partners L.P. (SGU) — headquarters, 2187 Atlantic St.; distributor of home heating oil, propane and other fuels in the Midwest and eastern U.S.; mostly owned by shareholders; 2,700 employees companywide; revenues of $1.2 billion; CEO Irik P. Sevin
- Statoil ASAStatoilStatoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
— North American headquarters, 1055 Washington Blvd.; Statoil ASA is Norway's largest oil and gas company. - Student Loan Corp. (STU) — headquarters; originates, holds and services student loans; company is mostly owned by CitigroupCitigroupCitigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
; 550 employees, 30 of them in Connecticut; revenues of $1.5 billion; CEO Michael J. Reardon - Suranya Capital Partners — called a "Tiger Cub" firm as one of the companies headed by alumni of Julian RobertsonJulian RobertsonJulian H. Robertson Jr., KNZM is an American former hedge fund manager. Now retired, Robertson invests directly in other hedge funds, most run by former employees of Robertson's defunct hedge fund company....
's Tiger ManagementTiger ManagementTiger Management Corp., also known as "The Tiger Fund," was a hedge fund founded by Julian Robertson. The fund began investing in 1980 and was closed in March 2000.-History:...
. - Thomson ReutersThomson ReutersThomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...
— former operational headquarters of The Thomson Corporation; the company has retained a significant presence in Stamford since the April 2008 merger with ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
. - Time Warner CableTime Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
— headquarters of this division
- UBS — U.S. headquarters, 677 Washington Blvd.; a financial services company; 4,000 employees in Fairfield County; The UBS trading floor in Stamford, Connecticut holds the Guinness World Record as the largest securities trading floor in the world. The 103000 square feet (9,569 m²) operation has 40 feet (12.2 m) arched ceiling freeing it of columns or walls. The size of two football fields and home to 1,400 traders and staff who handle about $1 trillion worth of transactions a day. It is roughly 227 wide by 410 feet (125 m) long.
- Vineyard VinesVineyard VinesVineyard Vines is an apparel and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard by brothers Shep and Ian Murray .The Murray brothers left their corporate jobs in New York City and started to sell neckties on the beaches of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. . Ian claims they “started making...
(privately held) — The company designs and sells ties, polo shirts, flip-flops and other products. It has a store on Martha's VineyardMartha's VineyardMartha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
and (in partnership with others) has opened stores in Greenwich, and Nantucket. In 2005 the company made the Inc. magazine "Inc. 500" list of fastest growing companies, placing at No. 202 with revenue growth of 547 over three years (2002 to 2004). In 2006, the company again made the list, this time at No. 217 with 569.4 percent growth in revenues over three years (from 2003 to 2005). Its 2005 revenues came to 23.8 million (up from 13.2 the year before) and 85 employees (up from 45 the year before), according to Inc.Inc. (magazine)Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
The company was founded in 1998. - World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
— 1241 E. Main St.; headquarters of the company said to be the largest sports entertainment company in the world. - Xerox Corp. — 800 Long Ridge Road; a Fortune 500Fortune 500The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company that makes and sells color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies. This location served as the corporate headquarters for 30 years, before the move to nearby NorwalkNorwalk, ConnecticutNorwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
in October, 2007.
In 2006, Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
occupied an office in Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
as its United States headquarters. During that year signed a 15 year lease to occupy space in a building in Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
to use as its new United States headquarters. Virgin was scheduled to be the first tenant in the recently renovated at the time 15200 square foot building, which was scheduled to be renamed "Virgin Atlantic Center." Richard Lee of The Stamford Advocate said that Virgin Atlantic was "the first marquee business that Stamford has lured from Norwalk in recent years." Brooke Lawer, a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic, said that the company needed less space and desired a smaller office building for the company; she added that the company preferred the Stamford location as it was closer to rail lines and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Michael W. Freimuth, Stamford's director of economic development, stated that Virgin Atlantic would get tax breaks since the company was relocating to an enterprise zone; he also stated that Virgin's relocation would bring 75 jobs to the city. As of 2009 Virgin Atlantic occupies a different office building in Norwalk and uses it as its U.S. headquarters.
Top Employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UBS | 4,000 |
| 2 | City of Stamford | 2,996 |
| 3 | Stamford Town Center Stamford Town Center Stamford Town Center is an urban shopping mall in Downtown Stamford, Connecticut. The mall is the eighth largest in Connecticut, with space for about 130 stores and restaurants. It includes a Macy's and a Saks Fifth Avenue as anchors. The 1991 picture, Scenes from a Mall, was partially filmed... |
2,500 |
| 4 | RBS Securities | 2,400 |
| 5 | Stamford Hospital Stamford Hospital Stamford Hospital is a private, nonprofit, community and teaching hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, with 440 affiliated doctors.The hospital has 305 inpatient beds in medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and medical and surgical critical care units.As of 2005, Stamford Hospital... |
1,920 |
| 6 | GE Capital GE Capital GE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units. Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money.... |
1,043 |
| 7 | Pitney Bowes Pitney Bowes Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing... |
1,000 |
| 8 | United States Postal Service United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States... |
900 |
| 9 | Gartner Gartner Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001.... |
875 |
| 10 | General Re General Re Gen Re is a leading property/casualty and life/health reinsurance company and is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-History:General Reinsurance Corporation’s history began in 1921 when two Norwegian companies, Norwegian Globe and Norwegian Assurance, merged and took the name General Casualty and... |
800 |