Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | July 9, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 5 E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T P O W E R 5 0 Knowledge + Experience + Trusted Advice. It all adds up. Large enough to serve the needs of most businesses and individuals; small enough to offer the personal attention you expect and deserve. Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, PC Certified Public Accountants 306 Main Street, Suite 400 • Worcester, MA 01608 508.791.0901 • www.grkb.com CLIFF RUCKER OWNER, WORCESTER PROHOCKEY LLC (WORCESTER RAILERS HOCKEY CLUB AND FIDELITY BANK WORCESTER ICE CENTER) Residences: Danvers and Worcester College: Tufts University An out-of-town owner might strike doubters as someone not fully committed to the city where his team plays. at's never been a concern with Cliff Rucker. Before the Railers even played their first game last October, Rucker had already opened the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center and Railers Tavern, delivered a commencement speech at Becker College, and bought an office building at 311 Main St. e team even gave $250,000 to the EcoTarium to get its blue and gray colors painted on the museum's Explorer Express Train. Combine these community-building efforts with a winning record in the Railers' debut season and charitable efforts such as the Railers HC Foundation, and the Railers have been a more-than- worthy successor to the IceCats and Sharks. Rucker has invested more than $25 million in Worcester and now owns a half dozen properties, including the Worcester Palladium. What advice would you give up-and-comers? Work hard. Show up early and stay late. Be fearless and set the standard with everything you do. A full house: He has five kids. YVONNE M. SPICER MAYOR CITY OF FRAMINGHAM Residence: Framingham College: State University of New York-Oswego, UMass Boston As the first mayor of Framingham, which incorporated in January, Spicer has the unique ability to set the city's tone and attitude toward businesses for generations to come. A main reason for last year's campaign by the unofficial "America's largest town" to become a city was to encourage more development, as then Town Manager Robert Halpin said his push to become more business friendly could only go so far, saying a mayor like Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant was good at attracting the attention of both businesses and state officials handing out local assistance. Spicer was initially against the idea of Framingham becoming a city – proposing instead to create a more streamlined approach to development – but once the strong-mayor form of government was approved by a scant 105-vote margin, she set about uniting the two sides and running a successful "e People's Mayor" campaign. e first six months of her tenure have been rocky, as expected, as Spicer and the new city council struggle over first-time issues like a city budget and who has what authority, all while dealing with intermediate issues like marijuana legalization and downtown development. Yet, through this day-to-day work, Spicer is writing the first chapter in the City of Framingham's book. ANN K. TRIPP SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, PRESIDENT FOR OPUS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC., MEMBER OF THE PARTNER GROUP, THE COMPANY'S MOST SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP, INC., WORCESTER Residence: Rutland Colleges: Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania, Boston University As SVP, CIO and president of Hanover subsidiary Opus, Tripp is responsible for the investment strategy of more than $10 billion in client assets. Her most visible role to the Greater Worcester economy comes in the Opus role, where she takes the lead for Hanover in the Worcester downtown revitalization effort known as CitySquare. From the beginning of the $565-million project, Hanover and Tripp have been the ones to get the ball moving, buying up rundown properties and fixing them up – or demolishing them – so developers could come in and create active uses for the neighborhood, like the 145 Front St. apartments and the AC Hotel by Marriott. Behind the scenes, Tripp's participation in the Hanover's Partner Group means she plays a key role in the development of the city's only publicly traded company with 1,800 employees and $5.2 billion in revenues. What advice would you give up-and-comers? Be open to opportunities and find your passion. Work will be more fun and easier when you are naturally motivated and driven. Land baron: I live on an 80-acre diversified farm. e equestrian program is the primary enterprise of the farm. Land uses at the farm include 50 acres of managed woodlot, a market garden, a small home fruit orchard and 16 acres of pasture for hay and animal grazing. ROBERT WALKER PRINCIPAL RA VENTURES, WESTFORD School: Nashoba Valley Technical High School Area shoppers and diners know developer RA Ventures, even if the name of the company doesn't ring a bell. e Westford firm owns the fast-expanding eatery 110 Grill, which opened in downtown Worcester this spring as its 14th location, and Italian restaurant Evviva Cucina, which has three locations, including in Marlborough. In fact, it's in Marlborough where RA Ventures may be making a name for itself in the biggest way. Its $160-million, 475,000-square-foot Apex Center of New England opened last fall with a Hyatt Place hotel, a Fairfield Inn & Suites, an office building, Qdoba, T-Mobile, Sport Clips, Okami Hibachi, Zoots, IC Federal Credit Union, Protein House, Batteries + Bulbs and others, including one of RA Ventures' 11 Pro Clean Auto Wash locations. As for what really makes the plaza stand out? A two-story building with restaurants and bars, a Planet Fitness gym, bumper cars, a virtual reality gaming center, an escape room, bowling, laser tag, a kart track, an ax-throwing center and a rope course. Add it up, and the Apex Center has added a new feature to Marlborough, a city more traditionally known for its huge corporate campuses and hotels but has more expanded out to provide more amenities for residents and visitors.

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