Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 1, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 17 T E C H N O L O G Y P O W E R 5 0 STEPHEN WOERNER PRESIDENT, NEW ENGLAND NATIONAL GRID, IN WALTHAM Residence: Boston College: Drexel University in Philadelphia, Loyola University in Maryland Woerner possesses the power to turn the lights on and off. As the president of National Grid New England, he is responsible for the utility company's gas and electric operations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Woerner joined National Grid in October 2021. He came to the utility company from Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., where he worked his way up over a career started in 1990 to become chief operating officer and president. As president, Woerner is charged with helping National Grid and its 6,200 employees transition into the next phase of its life, which involves more clean and renewable energy to power the region. This new commitment comes as he has to make sure the lights stay on during severe weather and the ongoing climate crisis. One of National Grid's next big projects is the exploration of geothermal energy, which is created below the Earth's surface. Woerner has the job of mapping out the early stages of a pilot program to see if it can contribute to National Grid's pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and bring renewable and clean energy to its 1.3 million electric customers in Central Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and the South Shore, and more than 2.2 million total electric customers in New England. n How should professionals best use the power they wield? "We all have a responsibility to build connections between our teams and the communities we serve, facilitating meaningful impact by putting people first: our customers and our employees. Part of that responsibility calls us to give back through supporting community-based organizations and giving of our time and energy through volunteering." n Movie star adjacent: Before college,Woerner managed a movie theater in Annapolis, Maryland, and attended movie premieres in the 1980s, where he interacted with directors, producers, and their relatives. He once met the mother of Steven Spielberg. Congratulations to our Executive Director Tuyet Tran and all of the Central MA Power 50. Photo by Matt Wright Contact Khmery McKenzie at info@seacma.org for more information www.seacma.org • (508) 791-4373 JON WEAVER PRESIDENT & CEO MASSACHUSETTS BIOMEDICAL INITIATIVES, IN WORCESTER Residence: Sturbridge College: Assumption University in Worcester As the Central Massachusetts biotech and bioscience sector continues to grow, it needs places for new ideas and innovators. Enter MBI and its leader, Weaver. Weaver has been MBI's CEO since 2019 – before that he was the chief operating officer for since 2015 – and since then he's seen the industry collaborator build a 20,000-square-foot incubator space on Briden Street, right near the entrance to Gateway Park. In 2022, MBI purchased another 50,000-square-foot building at 17 Briden St. to make more room for expansion. The new facility will add 10 new pilot manufacturing labs to help support early-stage clinical companies. MBI was founded in 1985 and is the longest-running life sciences incubator in the state. Since 2000, the nonprofit helped start 117 and more than 550 jobs, and added another three to the list of graduates in 2022: VexSol, Inc.; inVetX; and TransCode Therapeutics. The three companies now employ around 60 people. The incubator not only helps startups, but doles out Workforce Challenge Grants to fund academic programs to support the industry in the region as well as grants to help programs increase diversity in the local life sciences workforce. Weaver is the connecting piece. He's the man pushing the buttons and connecting the local sector to the greater world by bringing together industry, academia, and policymakers to identify industry needs and work collaboratively on solutions. n How should professionals best use the power they wield? "Ultimately, we should all endeavor to leave our community and the world a better place. For me, that means giving back to my community by helping to build a strong economy and a diverse workforce that supports the city and the wonderful people lucky enough to call it home." n Handyman: Weaver is pretty handy and really enjoys DIY projects around the house. Colleges: Moscow Physics and Technology Institute, Russian Academy of Science in Moscow Scherbakov has the distinction of being only the second person to lead the $1.4-billion IPG Photonics. In May 2021, he replaced its founder Valentin Gapontsev as the Marlborough company's CEO. IPG Photonics is the third largest manufacturer headquartered in Central Massachusetts. The company has 1,600 local employees and 6,230 worldwide. It generated more than $1.43 billion in revenue in 2022. While those revenues are down compared to the $1.46 billion the company claimed in 2021, it's still a significant number for a firm that has had to deal with part of its company having assets tied up in Russia, due to sanctions from both sides of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Along with trusts created by Gapontsev before he died in 2021, Scherbakov controls about 33% of the common stock as managing director of an early version of the company, IP Fibre Devices, based in the United Kingdom. This gives Scherbakov significant influence in the publicly traded company, particularly in matters requiring shareholder approval such as election of directors, stockholder proposals, and approval of significant corporate transactions. As the CEO, Scherbakov manages IPG's major manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, Russia and Belarus, and its principal offices are located on Simarano Drive in Marlborough. China, though, is the company's largest market, with sales to customers in China accounting for 34% of net sales in 2022, which was down from 38% in 2021 and 42% in 2020. IPG has begun to diversify its portfolio of products under Scherbakov's leadership. The company has focused on laser technology since it was started in 1990 and incorporated in 1998, but now the company has dived into electric vehicle technology, medical applications, and has increased the welding application sector of its company. EUGENE SCHERBAKOV CEO IPG PHOTONICS CORP., IN MARLBOROUGH

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