Ingenuity that built Western New York business and industry will serve the region well as the economy inches toward a rally from the historic disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It might even somewhat speed up what is anticipated to be a long, deliber-ate recovery, predicted David Murray, a partner with Phillips Lytle LLP.

“All of the sectors, including the hardest-hit sectors, are going to determine alternative ways to conducting business in a safe and effective manner,” he said. “That innovation is going to cause the trajectory of the recovery and the reopening may be a little bit quicker than some of us feel right now.”

The three financial experts who joined him in the Virtual Executive Forum shared Murray’s cautious optimism. Reopening and Revitalizing, an online panel discussion hosted May 20 by Business First of Buffalo, included:

• John Cappellino, president and CEO, Erie County Industrial Development Agency

• Joseph Heim, Partner, CFE, CPA, Dopkins Asset Based Lending Consulting Services, Dopkins & Co. LLP

• Mark Rizzo, senior vice president, commercial banking market leader, Wells Fargo N.A.

The four addressed the legal procedures and financial options for companies operating in these unprecedented times.

In the short term, don’t expect to flip a switch and expect everything to return to the pre-coronavirus environment, Cappellino said. In the next month or so, the economy can expect ascension through a phased-in approach toward a plateau where the crisis will begin to ease, he predicted.

Click here to read the entire Business First of Buffalo article.