Contributed Photo
Wyman, Reed, Malloy, Geballe & Widlitz.
Core Informatics LLC is a true hometown success story.
The technology company, founded by two Branford natives in 2006, recently appointed another Branford native as CEO. Now the company is on the verge of an $8.4 million expansion of its Branford headquarters that will add 69 new jobs in the next five years.
And the state of Connecticut is helping.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced last week that Core Informatics will receive $3 million in funding from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), as approved by the State Bond Commission. The company, located at 500 E. Main St., will invest $5.4 million toward the project, which combined with the state funding, will enable it to move to a larger facility in Branford and grow its workforce.
“Last year, Connecticut’s software industry attracted the most venture capital dollars of any industry, representing a 27 percent increase over the previous year and the largest amount since 2000,” said Governor Malloy. “With software jobs growing steadily over the last decade, it is just smart policy to invest in this burgeoning sector and build on our efforts of the last three years.”
Josh Geballe, CEO of Core Informatics, thanked the governor, DECD and the state legislators for their help in securing the funding.
What is Core?
“Core Informatics provides our clients around the world with cutting edge software to accelerate scientific innovation, and demand for our software has grown significantly as cloud computing has reached mainstream adoption and scientists search for best-in-class tools to support their research, development and collaboration,” Geballe said in a prepared statement.
“We are proud of our Connecticut roots and look forward to helping to lead our state forward in science and software, two industries that will continue to transform the world for the better in the years to come.”
Geballe, a Branford native, was appointed CEO last year after more than a decade at IBM, where he headed a division of the company’s Global Technology Services business. He has a bachelor’s degree from Yale and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
In a statement on the company’s Web site, Geballe said: “We would like to offer a special thanks to our State Representatives, Lonnie Reed and Pat Widlitz, who toured our offices last November, encouraged us to pursue this partnership with the State Department of Economic and Community Development, and helped guide us through the process. We would also like to thank (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith and her dedicated staff who appreciate the importance of supporting innovative, ‘new economy’ companies to our state’s long-term success.”
Core Informatics provides web-based data management software to the biotechnology sector and a variety of industries to assist their clients’ research, development, and manufacturing operations.
“They are part of a vibrant, interactive life sciences and technology sector that we are building right here in Branford,” said Reed, D‑Branford. She said Core Informatics provides services to biotech and other innovative companies in Branford, across the nation and internationally.
“I am thrilled to have been able to play a role in negotiating the financial incentive needed by Core to continue growing and developing in Branford. Core’s partners are exactly the kinds of young, innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs Connecticut must attract and retain in order to build a successful future,” Reed told the Eagle.
Local Guys Make Good
Reed said Core’s story is a great example of “local guys make good.”
She said the founding partners, Anthony Uzzo and Jim Gregory, are Branford High School graduates and longtime friends who pursued careers in pharmaceutical and technology companies before creating Core Informatics. “They know science and they know software and they came up with ideas of how to create revolutionary systems,” she said.
Uzzo, who serves as president of the company, has a degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University. Gregory, executive vice president and chief software architect, has degrees from Southern Connecticut State University and Wake Forest University. They both have extensive experience in software engineering.
Reed said as Core Informatics progressed, the partners realized they needed a strong business professional to help them operate and grow the company, so they reached out to Geballe, another of their high school friends.
“By developing and managing the business side of things, Geballe has freed up his two partners to do what they do best — invent new software and service clients, “ Reed told the Eagle. “Geballe has also created a dynamic sales division.”
Reed thanked Gov. Malloy and his economic development team for approving the investment in a local company that will help make the state more competitive.
“It was a team effort by those of us who represent Branford to secure this significant funding and I am proud of our leadership,” said Widlitz, D- Branford and Guilford.
In the prepared statement, Widlitz thanked the governor and said he treats Branford and Guilford “as if they were his hometown.”
The DECD funding includes a grant for $250,000; and a $2.75 million loan at an interest rate of 2 percent for 10 years, with principal deferred for the first three years. The company will be eligible for $1 million in loan forgiveness if it meets its goals of retaining 15 jobs and creating 69 new jobs in the next five years.
“The company is undertaking a $8.4 million project that will position it for tremendous growth,” said DECD Commissioner Smith in a prepared statement. “DECD’s funds will be used to fuel its own research and development activities that will allow the company to continue innovating new products and services for its high tech clients.”
In 2011, the company opened an office in Cambridge, Mass.; and in 2013, they established an international subsidiary, Core Informatics UK Limited in London.
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