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V O L . X X V I I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 2 20 P H I L A N T H R O P Y Former IDEXX CEO Ayers signs Giving Pledge, sees U.S. recovery from COVID B Y R E N E E C O R D E S J onathan Ayers, the former head of IDEXX Laboratories Inc. who was injured in a catastrophic bike accident in late June 2019, recently bolstered his commitment to philanthropy when he and his wife, Helaine, signed a pledge to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. "We had already concluded that we wanted to distribute our capital to our important philanthropic causes," Ayers said via Zoom from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after joining the Giving Pledge movement along with hundreds of other philanthropists from 28 countries. "e Giving Pledge has documented what we were already plan- ning on doing." Philanthropy is more than about money for Ayers, who chairs the board of Panthera, a New York-based non- profit devoted to conserving 33 species of cats in the wild. Ayers predicts that Panthera's fun- draising will accelerate further in 2022 amid "exciting" efforts in the United States such as working with local tribes in Washington State to understand pumas and their social structures and how they're threatened. Besides seeking someone to suc- ceed him as chairman of Panthera's finance and audit committee, Ayers says the group needs more board members committed to conservation and with a financial background like he has brought to the organization. Still involved in IDEXX as a board member, Ayers predicts continued expansion of the pet diagnostics market he says bodes well for the Westbrook-based veterinary diagnos- tics and software firm he led for 17 years before his accident. "e total addressable market is seven times the current size," he says, "so I think there is growth as far as the eye can see, and IDEXX is continuing to be a leading innovator." Ayers adds that he's proud of the current management team "that didn't drop a beat at the time of my accident," led by President and CEO Jay Mazelsky. "I hired Jay in 2012," Ayers says, "and he grew into being a great CEO successor." As for the wider U.S. economy, Ayers says he's bullish mainly because of COVID therapeutics in the pipeline that look "amazingly effective," especially after the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's first-of-its kind pill for high-risk patients ages 12 and over in late December. "I'm very optimistic three to six months out," he says. "Our economy could be robust even though we have issues with the supply chain and job shortages. On balance I'm very optimistic." R E TA I L Mexicali Blues sees retail forever changed by pandemic B y J e s s i c a H a l l H ow hard has it been being a retailer in a pandemic amid a labor short- age and supply-chain problems? "It's been beyond imaginably hard," says Mexicali Blues CEO Topher Mallory. "But we continue to evolve." As people stayed away from stores and shopped from home, retailers like Mexicali Blues had to adjust. Some of the changes that emerged from the pan- demic are here to stay. "Consumers redefined shopping in 2020 and 2021. And for the future, we still see curbside pickup. We see easier online returns. Consumers want conve- nience in the form of a true omnichan- nel shopping experience," he says. Reaching customers and interact- ing with them has also changed. Gone are the days of a big, splashy ad that can reach everyone. Personalization and targeted marketing will become required for retailers to survive. "In 2022, it's going to be harder to get a big return on ad spending. Brands and retailers won't be able to reach as many people with a broad ad. You have to engage with people individually, whether that's by text or email or adding extra services like an email to suggest washing instructions for the item you just bought. ere's a personalization piece that is here to stay," Mallory says. Sometimes that could mean personal handwritten notes or information about the artist that made an item. "I think putting customers first is the key to the future. So much in retail has been about putting revenue first. But that has changed," Mallory says. "Our key performance indicators used to be revenue driven. But now it's driven by the quality of the customer interaction. How many returns or damages are there? How long was someone standing in line? How frus- trating was a return process?" "Customers demanded change due to pandemic safety protocols, initially. But now the change is here to stay," he says. S TA R T U P S Waterville startup hub Dirigo Labs to showcase central Maine's appeal B Y R E N E E C O R D E S D irigo Labs is a new startup incubator and innovation hub in Waterville with high aspirations. Set up by public-private economic development corporation Central Maine Growth Council, Dirigo Labs was funded in part by close by $600,000 in federal money and $300,000 from Maine Technology Institute; Dirigo also received $125,000 from Colby College it plans to use to hire to Colby alum as a third staff member. Dirigo's accelerator program is slated to begin this March with 10 to 12 companies and a "very robust cur- riculum," says Susan Ruhlin, man- aging director of Dirigo Labs. She was previously with Portland-based startup Dynamic Grid and the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, where she managed the Top Gun accelerator program for eight years. Ruhlin says that while the Dirigo Labs accelerator program will cover a wide range of topics from rapid prototyping to artificial intelligence, sessions are also planned on site plan- ning, state and municipal incentives, understanding opportunity zones, and various grant programs. "In my experience the municipal and state incentives aren't typically built into accelerator programs but are vital to a startup's success," she says. In preparation for the incoming cohort, Dirigo Labs is working with part- ners including omas and Colby col- leges and Kennebec Valley Community College as well as the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs to build a robust pool of mentors. Additionally, a partnership with the Hartland, Vt.-based Center on Rural Innovation will give cohort mem- bers access to a national mentor pool. "We're going to have a big tent of industry experts and entrepreneurs as mentors, and you're going to see a con- vergence of fantastic ideas and businesses that are going to launch out of Dirigo Labs. Stay tuned — I'm very optimistic." Ruhlin adds that Dirigo Labs aims to complement Northeastern University's Roux Institute in Portland, which runs the annual Roux Techstars accelerator program. "We consider Roux a partner, and we're very supportive of what they've done," she notes. "ey do have a big megaphone for the state of Maine, and they use that very effectively to showcase everything Maine has to offer. We would like to follow up on that and show what the central part of the state has to offer." T O U R I S M In Bar Harbor, indications of a strong tourism year to come B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r I t's still early to predict trends for the 2022 tourism season. But Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alf Anderson says he's hearing seasonal lodging establishments are already seeing strong demand. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Jonathan Ayers, the former head of IDEXX Laboratories Inc. Susan Ruhlin, managing director of Central Maine Growth Council's Dirigo Labs, Topher Mallory, CEO of Mexicali Blues P H O T O / H E J U N G K I M P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F C E N T R A L M A I N E G ROW T H C O U N C I L P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M E X I C A L I B L U E S F O C U S

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