2025 C-Suite Honoree: AdvanceCT CEO John Bourdeaux

Winner Category | CEO, SMALL NONPROFIT, FEWER THAN 75 EMPLOYEES

John Bourdeaux is the president and CEO of AdvanceCT. This statewide nonprofit economic organization partners with the government and businesses of Connecticut to recruit, retain and expand companies to create quality jobs and economic vitality for years to come.

Bourdeaux spent a large part of his career as a professional fundraiser in education and cultural institutions, with side journeys into software and theater production.

What have been your biggest professional accomplishments over the past year?

In the past year, I led the extraordinary team at AdvanceCT to discover and evaluate over 4,200 companies for recruitment to and expansion in Connecticut.

We manage a long and complex business development cycle, and we successfully completed 15 business attraction projects, 33 expansions/retention projects with nearly 1,000 new jobs created, and over $600 million in capital expenditures for Connecticut.

With the support of the team and an engaged board of directors, we have built a business development function for the state of Connecticut that dependably attracts investment that befits our complex economy and puts us on a path of continued, sustainable growth.

In what ways are you involved in the community?

The work at AdvanceCT engages with the community at every level — business leaders, educational institutions, and state and local government. It is a privilege to work with them to create jobs and elevate the quality of our fellow citizens’ lives, potentially changing the direction of a family’s life for generations.

On The Job

Guiding business principle: Invest in relationships — everyone wants the opportunity to help.

Best way to keep your competitive edge: Up early after a good night’s sleep.

Best business decision: Focusing AdvanceCT’s efforts on business development to drive new interest in Connecticut, and letting go of work and functions that do not serve this primary mission.

Worst business decision: Trying to produce a hit theater production in Chicago in an 11:30 p.m. time slot.

Biggest missed opportunity: Waited too long to get into economic development.

Goal yet to be achieved: Ensuring that the model of public-private economic development in Connecticut is sustainable for the long term, no matter what.

Personal touch in your office: My coffee mug, which says “Relentless Optimism,” — though everything in my office has a personal story associated with it.

Personal Side

Place of Residence: Hartford

Favorite way to relax: Laughing with my extremely funny family members.

Hobbies: Reading history, cooking, and a Peloton aficionado

Last vacation: Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Favorite movies: “Casablanca,” “Zoolander,” and “Die Hard”

The car you drive: Audi A5

Currently reading: “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder” by David Grann

Favorite cause: After the cause of building Connecticut’s economy for the next 20 years, I value and support music and theater.

Second choice career: Improviser

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