wbjournal.com | January 6, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special
issues in May, September, October, and December by New
England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester,
MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA.
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PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
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Worcester Business Journal
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
508-755-8004 tel.
• 508-755-8860 fax
www.wbjournal.com
A division of:
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com
(Higher education, health care)
Staff Writer
Thomas Grillo, tgrillo@wbjournal.com
(Real estate, manufacturing)
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon,
Sarah Connell
Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle,
tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas,
mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Distribution and Database Coordinator
A Guide to STUFF, a publication
of New England Business Media
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel,
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
I
n each of the last four years, the
Worcester Business Journal was
named at least one of the top three
business journals of its size in the
country by the Alliance of Area
Business Publishers, based on the strength
of the content our reporters provide.
Although Jan. 6 is extremely early to make
such a call, you can expect great things
from this publication throughout 2020.
In this issue, we kick off the year, as
usual, with our Best of Business awards,
as voted on by our readers, while News
Editor Grant Welker brings two insightful
stories on the healthcare industry, cover-
ing salaries and, separately, opioids.
Later this month, in our Jan. 20 issue,
WBJ is doing its first-ever focus on the
top real estate brokers in the region,
listing top agents and companies, as well
as providing further insight into how this
important industry functions.
Two years ago, WBJ published its
six-part investigative series e Board-
room Gap, looking at the lack of gender
diversity in the region's business leader-
ship. Last year, that investigation spawned
an entire issue dedicated to women in
leadership, which provided a follow-up
to e Boardroom Gap, as well as a look
at emerging local female leaders. On
Feb. 17, WBJ will publish this Women In
Leadership edition again, and although
the exact stories are still taking form, I am
excited about what has become an annual
stand-out publication.
Also, this year WBJ is renewing its
partnership with the Worcester Regional
Research Bureau, to provide in-depth
investigations on topics important to the
community. In 2018, this resulted in the
City of Immigrants series. I can't reveal
the exact topic for 2020 yet, but this part-
nership has been fruitful for our readers
in the past and will be again this year.
A few months from now on May 25,
WBJ will unveil its Power 50 list. Reborn
out of our old Power Players feature, in
the Power 50, the WBJ Editorial staff will
profile the people in the Central Massa-
chusetts business community who best
use their positions and power to have
an outsized influence on the economy.
We have plenty of candidates already to
consider for this exclusive list.
Planning news coverage is a little like
I N T H I S I S S U E
predicting the weather, as the unforeseen
oen causes sudden shis. Yet, based on
the rough outline we have for this year,
WBJ will provide you with a lot to like this
year.
- Brad Kane, editor
Looking forward to 2020
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
NEWS & ANALYSIS
DEPARTMENTS
4 Central Mass. In Brief
5 Flash Poll
12 Focus on Best of Business
26 The List: List toppers from 2019
28 The Struggle is Real
30 Know How
31 Movers & Shakers
32 Photo Finish
33 Opinion
34 Shop Talk: Michael Robertson,
New England Disposal Technologies, Inc.
4 The fate of the Greendale Mall
A Greater Boston developer has purchased
the rundown indoor Worcester mall, with
plans to demolish it in favor of a newer
mixed-use concept.
30 Nice guys finish first: Soft skill
key to success
Know How columnist Kathy Rentsch lays
out ways employees and employers can get
the training companies and clients are
looking for.
W