SYRACUSE — When Howard Zemsky worked at Russer Foods in Buffalo, the company was a supplier to the Hofmann Sausage Company in DeWitt. Zemsky, the new president and CEO of Empire State Development (ESD), noted the relationship as a “connection” he has to the Syracuse area. He shared the anecdote while speaking at […]
Get Instant Access to This Article
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Central New York business news and analysis updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Get a year's worth of the Print Edition of The Central New York Business Journal.
- Special Feature Publications such as the Book of Lists and Revitalize Greater Binghamton, Mohawk Valley, and Syracuse Magazines
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
SYRACUSE — When Howard Zemsky worked at Russer Foods in Buffalo, the company was a supplier to the Hofmann Sausage Company in DeWitt.
Zemsky, the new president and CEO of Empire State Development (ESD), noted the relationship as a “connection” he has to the Syracuse area.
He shared the anecdote while speaking at the annual meeting of CenterState CEO on April 2 at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter.
Zemsky, who previously served as co-chair of Western New York’s regional economic-development council (REDC), also explained why he accepted the ESD role.
“I have a great respect for [Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s] completely decentralized, strategic, collaborative approach to economic development. It’s 180 degrees different and better from the way New York state did it forever,” Zemsky said.
Upstate New York, he contends, needs to have the executive branch “lead the way” in the economic turnaround.
Zemsky contended he’s never seen a governor “as focused” on upstate New York as Cuomo.
In his remarks, Zemsky also read some quotes from newspapers such as the Toronto Star, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe offering praise for Buffalo’s turnaround.
Zemsky also noted a recent article in Buffalo Business First that discussed the $16 billion in private-investment backlog in Buffalo.
“That’s why I’m doing the job because we have a governor who has changed economic development across the state who is focused first and foremost on upstate New York,” said Zemsky.
He also congratulated Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, who sits on the Central New York REDC.
“Do you know this council has won $344 million over the last four years, more than any other [REDC) council in the state of New York?” Zemsky asked the crowd, which responded with applause.
The REDC process is a “collaborative” one, he said.
It involves the collaboration of academia, community development, industry, and political leadership, noting the large crowd that attended the CenterState CEO annual meeting is “testimony to that.”
He also advised the gathering to work at retaining young professionals in the region.
“Look at things through the lense of young people. Make sure you don’t forget that that’s an important component of economic development,” Zemsky said.
Keys to business success
In his confirmation hearing, Zemsky said that he told the New York State Senate that he’ll be “a good listener.”
When he was in the food business, he would go to supermarkets and listen to the deli clerks.
“We got our best ideas talking to deli clerks all around the country,” he noted.
Those deli clerks provided insight into what consumers wanted, he added.
Zemsky also intends to “lead by example” and will try to “be there.”
“If you care, you’ll be there. We did business in 45 states. I was in 45 states. We do business in 10 regions around the state. I have not spent two nights in same
town in 30 days,” he said.
Zemsky suggests business owners find their niche and be strategic. “You can’t be all things to all people,” he said.
About Zemsky
Zemsky also used his remarks to introduce himself to the Central New York business community
“Always nice to be with a 1,000 people you’ve never met,” he quipped after arriving at the podium.
Zemsky was born in Brooklyn, grew up on Long Island, and attended Michigan State University.
“Thank you for hosting such a great weekend for the Spartans!,” Zemsky said, referencing the school’s two victories in the NCAA Tournament’s East Regional at the Carrier Dome on March 27 and 29.
He moved to Buffalo 34 years ago. He has a degree in meat science and food marketing.
Besides his role as ESD president, Zemsky also serves as managing partner of the Larkin Development Group in Buffalo, which has redeveloped about 1 million square feet of historic-building space in Buffalo since 2002.
“His efforts have focused on reclaiming Buffalo’s earliest industrial neighborhood, the Larkin historic district,” Deborah Stanley said in introducing Zemsky.
Stanley, the president of SUNY Oswego, is chairperson of the CenterState CEO board of directors.
In a Jan. 12 article, Zemsky told The Buffalo News that he’s taking a $1-a-year salary for the full-time ESD job and had no plans to step away from his development company.