Worcester Business Journal

Laurie Masiello President Masy BioServices, Pepperell F O C U S O U T S T A N D I N G W O M E N I N B U S I N E S S 32 Worcester Business Journal | October 29, 2018 | wbjournal.com L ong before life sciences and pharmaceutical industries helped power the Massachu- setts economy, Masy Systems was testing, measuring and verifying equipment and even storing products safely at its headquarters. As drugmakers grown in the area, so has Masy Systems, which today occupies around 60,000 square feet of space in Pepperell and in October signed a lease for another 60,000 square feet. Laurie Masiello has been a leader for Masy Systems the whole time, running the firm with husband John Masiello. "John is the entrepreneur, and I'm the executor," Masiello said of the 130-em- ployee company. e couple, which met in driver's education classes four decades ago, have added family members to the team, in- cluding each of their brothers, their two sons, and both sons' wives. e family affair has expanded the firm worldwide. Masy Systems – its name a play on a nickname John Masiello had when he was young – keeps its clients confiden- tial, but Laurie Masiello said the compa- ny counts every major pharmaceutical company on its roster. "We've been in growth mode, well, forever," Laurie Masiello said. John Masiello was in the industry first, having started at a manufacturer of testing equipment. Aer five years, he wanted to strike out on his own. Laurie Masiello got a degree to teach English but, aer her and John married while they were in college, she instead spent the coming years raising two boys. Masy Systems began out of their garage in 1984, and as the company grew, so did the space the business took up in their home. At one point, they bought a storage trailer for their personal furniture when they no longer had room both for those things and Masy equipment. Laurie Masiello created the company's database, corresponded with customers and handled shipping and receiving. Eventually, the firm grew by word-of- mouth, including adding storage space. ey store drugs needing to be kept at very precise temperatures, and freezers in Masy Systems' biorepository can go as low as 130 degrees below zero. Custom- ers either don't have enough space at their headquarters or they may largely exist only virtually, outsourcing much of their work. e company added a site in Pennsylvania to help work with clients farther down the East Coast. Such a company might have obvi- ous value to life sciences companies, Masiello built a 130- employee biotech behemoth but Masy Systems required the right leadership to make today's company possible. Roy Angel, a vice president for MassDevelopment in Worcester, got to know the Masiellos more than a decade ago when the company applied for financing assistance when it had only 33 employees. "ey've executed it close to perfec- tion, I would say," Angel said. For someone who deals with com- panies seeking financing help, Angel has kept a closer relationship with the Masiellos and said Masy Systems can sometimes be le without as much rec- ognition because of its location nearly an hour from Worcester or Boston. Laurie Masiello has brought the company an intuitive level of business acumen, Angel said, as well as someone who can be both a shrewd negotiator and tireless advocate and an outgoing and personable leader. "She looks at things in three dimen- sions, not just one dimension," he said. Masy Systems serves their employees lunch on-site every day, for instance, Angel said, to give an example of a perk not every company would offer. "at speaks volumes of how they think their workers are like extended family," he said. Other company location: Hatfield, Pa. Residence: Groton College: Salem State College What has been the key to your success? Personally, I am 100-percent vested in any project I take on, doing the best possible job I can, and I've taken on a lot of projects. If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be? Since my business services are in high demand, every year we experience rapid growth and challenges. Since slowing growth wasn't an option, foreseeing the needs sooner, focusing more on the future and less on the day to day would have been good advice. What is your primary motivation? The eighth graders in my Catholic school participated in an essay contest. I was told two things that shaped my life: I wrote a fabulous essay and girls can't win. That rejection propelled me to do the best I can, be a trailblazer and compete on a level playing field with men. BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor W 2018 W I N N E R

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