Hasbro, CVS, IGT execs form group to promote economic growth in R.I.

HASBRO INC. CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO Brian Goldner will lead the new Partnership for Rhode Island, focusing on economic growth in the Ocean State. Group members include CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo; IGT Global Solutions Corp. Chairman Don Sweitzer and Rhode Island Foundation President & CEO Neil D. Steinberg. / COURTESY HASBRO INC.
HASBRO INC. CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO Brian Goldner will lead the new Partnership for Rhode Island, focusing on economic growth in the Ocean State. Group members include CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo; IGT Global Solutions Corp. Chairman Don Sweitzer and Rhode Island Foundation President & CEO Neil D. Steinberg. / COURTESY HASBRO INC.

PROVIDENCE – Taking a cue from a Brookings Institution report that called for more involvement from top-level CEOs, four business leaders have joined forces to create the Partnership for Rhode Island, focusing on economic growth in the Ocean State.
Hasbro Inc. Chairman, President and CEO Brian Goldner; CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo; IGT Global Solutions Corp. Chairman Don Sweitzer; and Rhode Island Foundation President & CEO Neil D. Steinberg will serve as initial officers for a term of up to three years.
Goldner will serve as president, Merlo as vice president, Sweitzer as secretary and Steinberg as treasurer of the nonprofit. The remainder of the board of directors is being formed.
Partnership for Rhode Island also has begun the search for an executive director, a position that is expected to be filled early next year.
The Rhode Island Foundation will serve as fiscal agent for the organization while the group’s application for tax-exempt 501c(3) status is in process.

The executives filed incorporation papers for the independent nonprofit on Dec. 16 with the R.I. Department of State – Business Services Division.
A news release from the group said it will work to advance the state’s long-term competitiveness, focusing on business attraction to make Rhode Island a leader in investment and job creation.
“The partnership will also tackle systemic challenges that have historically held back our state’s economic growth, and will work to achieve lasting improvement in the state’s economy by collaborating with business and civic leaders,” the release continued.
Forming this new group was suggested in the January report prepared by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program called “Rhode Island Innovates: A Competitive Strategy for the Ocean State.”
It stated: “Rhode Island possesses many public-spirited top executives but in recent years has seen less engagement of top large-company executives in economic development and lacks a forum for organizing it. By contrast, many states and metropolitan areas benefit from the presence of well-organized, powerful regional business-civic organizations that are playing increasingly central roles in promoting smart economic development, prioritizing key strategies, and mobilizing money to execute them. In Rhode Island, the need for a focused and effective leadership group capable of delivering larger-scale strategic action for the good of the economy stands out.”

The report said a business-led Partnership for Rhode Island can facilitate strategic action among private-, civic-, and public-sector leaders; it said similar entities are in place in Massachusetts and New York.

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