Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | May 10, 2021 | wbjournal.com P O W E R 5 0 M A N U F A C T U R I N G & A G R I C U L T U R E Grace Lam OWNER & FARMER FIVEFORK FARMS, IN UPTON Residence: Upton College: Emory University How much of a sensation is Fivefork Farms in Upton? Well, if the fact that its Instagram following is roughly seven times that of the town it operates in is any indication, the answer is a pretty major one. The farm, run by Lam and her family, has been in the business of sustainably grown cut flowers since 2012, providing farm pickup, CSA (community-supported agriculture) options and tuber sales to consumers in Central Mass. and beyond who want and value locally grown floral decor. Fivefork Farms is easily one of the most recognizable and outwardly influential Central Mass. farms operating today and has become a model for other farms in the region. Additionally, Fivefork partners with Worcester nonprofit Ascentria Care Alliance to provide employment to refugees and immigrants in Greater Worcester. If ever there was a model for how to successfully run a consumer – and social media – friendly farm operation in 2021, Lam has got it down. What do you think the future holds for Central Mass.? "In the seven years we've been farming in Upton, we've witnessed so much growth! We're constantly discovering new places opening and meeting new neighbors. I think this is just the beginning of more families, young professionals, entrepreneurs and creatives moving to the area." The farmer from Wall Street: "Before farming, I worked in New York City at the financial services firm J.P. Morgan as an international equities sales trader. And I would ask myself every day, 'Do I want to do this for the rest of my life?'" Ross Bradshaw FOUNDER & CEO NEW DÍA, IN WORCESTER Residence: Worcester College: Providence College After years of planning, building and navigating the license process, Bradshaw finally opened the doors to his Worcester cannabis dispensary, New Día on March 1. When he did, his company became the first social equity cannabis business to open in Central Mass. That is no small feat, considering the state's legalization program was intended to prioritize social equity applicants like Bradshaw and bolster individuals and businesses from communities disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs, but instead has been dominated by deep-pocketed, multi-state operators. Bradshaw's company has drawn extensive attention to the ways cannabis companies can – and arguably should – prioritize helping their communities. Now, Bradshaw is eyeing expansion, with plans to open a sec- ond location near Fenway Park. With his business being owned by a person of color, Bradshaw is hopeful more people who rely on the still viable black market for their cannabis will start buying from New Día and further legitimize the industry. What do you think the future holds for Central Mass.? "With more cannabis licenses than any other region in Massachusetts, I expect to see a significant rise in individuals employed within the industry, products being brought to market, and overall normalization of cannabis in our communities." Dream car: "Despite recently launching a soon-to-be $1-mil- lion business, I still drive my 2008 Malibu from grad school that barely runs most days. I think it gives me that little extra hustle that makes the difference." Ralph D. Crowley Jr. PRESIDENT & CEO POLAR BEVERAGES, IN WORCESTER Residence: Worcester Colleges: Bowdoin College and Clark University For a company nearly 140 years old, Polar Beverages is by no means resting on its laurels. Crowley and his siblings have gone head-to- head with international beverage giants including Coca-Cola and Pepsi in a fight to keep its share of the ballooning seltzer market. A modernization change began a decade ago: the first seasonal flavors in 2011 and the Impossibly Good line aimed at the young consumers in 2015. By 2019, Polar began working with the brewer Harpoon on a new line of hard seltzers. Coke and Pepsi aren't going away – Polar lost its second-place market share to Pepsi's Bubly in 2020, the same year Coke launched its own new selzer, Aha. But neither is the 700-employee Polar, which last year signed a long-term franchise agreement with Keurig Dr Pepper to take Polar's distribution national. Polar managed to be one of the country's biggest seltzer sellers despite being only 35% of the market nationally until that deal, indicating just how much room left Polar has left to grow. Crowley's influence on Central Massachusetts extends beyond Polar, too. He became a part-owner of the Worcester Red Sox in 2019. And the team plays in, of course, Polar Park. Michael F. Mahoney CHAIRMAN & CEO BOSTON SCIENTIFIC, IN MARLBOROUGH Colleges: University of Iowa and Wake Forest University By strictly financial measures, Boston Scientific didn't have an especially great 2020, with sales down by $822 million, or nearly 8%, during a year in which many skipped elective procedures because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Marlborough medical device maker, led by Mahoney since 2012, didn't have the same acquisition spree it recorded before the pandemic, and in March paid a nearly $190 million settlement over allegations it conducted deceptive marketing practices of its vaginal surgical mesh, which caused bad side effects for some patients. Mahoney, who previously chaired the medical devices and diagnostics division at Johnson & Johnson, has kept Boston Scientific moving ahead nonetheless, including with a $1-billion purchase of Lumenis LTD, an Israeli firm developing and commercializing energy-based medical solutions, with which Boston Scientific had a long working relationship. Other good news for Boston Scientific has come on the regulatory front: the company got U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in January for a brain stimulation product for Parkinson's disease patients, and in March got the OK for a new cancer radiation therapy. Other devices have come to market, including a spinal cord stimulator product in January meant to treat chronic pain.

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