Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1368898
wbjournal.com | May 10, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 3 P O W E R 5 0 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher education, health care, real estate) Staff Writer, Monica Busch, mbusch@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, equality & inclusion) Editorial Intern Amy Thai, athai@wbjournal.com Sharon Boateng, sboateng@wbjournal.com Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon 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 Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Operations Assistant, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com 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. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $60.00. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ I N T H I S I S S U E A division of: W e most influential people in the 2021 Central Mass. economy en, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police brought the complex problem of institutional racism to the forefront of the public consciousness, which led Central Massachusetts business leaders to think more about diversity, equity and inclusion in their own workplace cultures, as well as to address the larger problems plaguing society. is turmoil rewrote the story of who holds the power in the Central Massachusetts economy and – most importantly – who effectively wielded that power in the past year to have an outsized influence on the community. Certainly, healthcare executives and diversity & inclusion advocates rose in prominence and position in the past 12 months, but even moreso, these issues seeped into every aspect of life in the region. As a result, WBJ's Power 50 this year reflects perhaps the biggest year-over-year Money & Influence ................. 4-5 • James Regan • Deborah Penta • Eric Mosley • Mark O'Connell • AiVi Nguyen • Fred Taylor • John C. "Jack" Roche Education & Advocacy ............ 6-7 • Rev. Debora Jackson • Stacey Luster • Timothy P. Murray • David Fithian • Laurie Leshin • Roy M. Nascimento, CCE, IOM • Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham change in who the power brokers and influencers are in the region since WBJ started doing a version of this feature back in 2013. Eric W. Dickson, MD – the head of UMass Memorial Health – is on the list this year, per the usual, but he is joined by first-time Power 50 Lou Brady and Steve Kerrigan, who lead Worcester's two community health centers and whose work was important in helping disadvantaged populations. Fred Taylor's inclusion this year marks the first time WBJ has recognized the long important work of the NAACP, and he is joined by people who advocate for better gender and racial diversity in the workplace, including Celia Johnston Blue, Stacey Luster, and Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham. In line with previous years, the WBJ Editorial team considered more than 800 local professionals for the Power 50 this year, in deciding how to tell the story C E N T R A L M A S S . of how power is held and used in the Central Massachusetts economy. Each profile contributes to the larger picture of power dynamics in the region, and how those are constantly shiing. ‑ Brad Kane, editor P ower dynamics in the Central Massachusetts business community made two major shis in 2021, due to the two major events upending the entire global community. First came the coronavirus pandemic, which placed new emphasis on health care, public health, and attempts to prevent the most vulnerable in a time of crisis, all while business and industry found ways to survive and thrive under tight restrictions. Manufacturing & Agriculture 8-9 • Michael F. Mahoney • Ralph D. Crowley Jr. • Jon Weaver • Tina Yu, Ph.D. • Grace Lam • Joseph Villatico • Ross Bradshaw Health Care ........................ 10-11 • Stephen MacMillan • Carolyn Jackson • Carolyn Langer, MD, JD, MPH • Eric W. Dickson, MD • Lou Brady • Steve Kerrigan • Winfield S. Brown, BA, MSB, MHA, FACHE Hospitality & Culture .......... 12-13 • Allen W. Fletcher • Larry Lucchino • Robb & Madeleine Ahlquist and Caitlyn & Keith Carolan • David M. Fields • Luis Antonio Fraire & Birgit Straehle Real Estate & Development 14-15 • Bo Menkiti • Craig L. Blais & Roberta Brien • Michael C. O'Brien • Rich Mazzocchi • Stephen D. Lynch • Jody Staruk • Philip O. Shwachman Nonprofits & Government .. 16-17 • Anh Vu Sawyer • Celia Johnston Blue • Dr. David A. Jordan • Victoria Waterman • Edward M. Augustus, Jr. • Jessica Strunkin • Tim Garvin • Dean J. Mazzarella • Liz Hamilton, MSW • Neddy Latimer Power 50 history ................ 18-19 All 216 Central Massachusetts professionals who have ever been named to a WBJ Power list Central Mass. 150: The region's largest employers .............. 21-42