Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 1, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 7 B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E P O W E R 5 0 in partnership with VSP ® Vision Care Vision insurance from Great benefits. Great access. Great rates. Altus Vision™ is underwritten by Altus Dental Insurance Company. Claims processing, claims service, and provider network administration for Altus Vision™ are provided under contract by Vision Service Plan Insurance Company ("VSP"). VSP is a registered trademark of Vision Service Plan. Discover top-notch dental and vision benefits for your employees! Scan QR code or visit hrbenefits.altusvision.com to view plans and get more information. LARISSA THURSTON PRESIDENT & CEO ST. MARY'S CREDIT UNION, IN MARLBOROUGH Residence: Bolton College: Southern New Hampshire University The core of the Central Massachusetts economy runs through small businesses, and those businesses need a place to get capital and loans. One of the most important institutions in the area providing the loans that small businesses need to succeed is St. Mary's Credit Union, and providing those intermediary loans is something Thursston and her team pride themselves on. That commitment has been noticed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which in 2022 named St. Mary's Credit Union Lender of the Year in Massachusetts for the 8th year in a row. Additionally, the credit union is one of four MetroWest financial institutions partnered with the Marlborough Economic Development Corp. to provide gap financing for startups and growing small businesses in the city. Thurston is responsible for more than 53,000 members and $990 million in assets. The credit union donated more than $200,000 to local nonprofits, and its team volunteered more than 575 hours to help the community, which goes back to the core of its mission when it was founded 110 years ago as a way to provide loans for people who couldn't afford the high price of coal to heat their homes, which banks would not do. n How should professionals best use the power they wield? "It's important to be present and use your influence to give back to your community, and encourage others to do the same. Professionals have an opportunity to create connections that can have a lasting, meaningful, and positive impact not only on people and organizations, but also in the community." n Almost aloha: As a joke, Thurston and a group of her friends in fifth grade lied at a local fair and said they were 18 to enter a drawing to win an all- expenses paid trip to Hawaii. To her surprise, they drew Thurston's name, called her on stage, and she embarrassingly had to admit to the crowd she was not old enough. They drew another name. Hawaii is still on her bucket list. JOHN "JACK" ROCHE PRESIDENT & CEO THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP, INC., IN WORCESTER Residence: Hopkinton College: University of Connecticut A 2022 report commissioned by Hanover Insurance found the company generates an estimated $749 million in annual value added across Massachusetts, and that includes $1.25 billion in annual economic output thanks to the company's revenues, the personal income of its employees, and the state and local taxes it pays. The report said the Hanover Insurance Group annually employed an average of 1,837 people in Central Massachusetts from 2010 to 2020. All of this means Roche has a lot of responsibility keeping one of the largest employers in the region moving forward. Under Roche's leadership, the Hanover has expanded its Speciality business, which has grown to more than $1.3 billion in net premiums written since 2010. On top of this, the company has worked to become more inclusive, and the insurance group was named one of Newsweek's Most Responsible Companies, a Forbes' Best Midsize Employer, one of JUST Capital's top 125 public companies, and a Human Rights Campaign's Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. The Hanover isn't only an insurance group, it's also an important player in the local art and nonprofit community. In 2022, Hanover and its employees donated nearly nearly $1.5 million to United Way and hundreds of local nonprofit organizations around the country. n How should professionals best use the power they wield? "Business professionals have a responsibility to help advance their own organizations' missions in meaningful ways, helping to build collaborative, inclusive, and open-minded organizations based on integrity. At the same time, we have a responsibility to serve others in the communities where we live and work. By and large, I believe most business professionals strive to do this." n Sing your heart out: Roche is a huge country music fan.

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