Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | August 19, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 3 S ince the inaugural year in 2000, nearly 1,000 Central Massachusetts profession- als have been honored with Worcester Business Journal's 40 Under Forty award. All of those young executives, entrepre- neurs, and business leaders already had accom- plished much to even be considered for 40u40, and aer their wins, they went onto even greater things. Some grew their businesses, others moved onto higher-profile companies, and countless more became titans of economy and community, leading the region into a better future. A handful of 40u40 alumni from the early years have even sold their businesses and since retired. is edition is a celebration of everything the 40 Under Forty has meant to the Central Mas- sachusetts business community over the last 25 years, with a heavy focus on the incoming Class of 2024. In the following pages, you'll read about the great professional and personal achievements of this year's 40 winners, including startup found- ers, ascending executives, and nonprofit leaders. Additionally, you'll have the opportunity to catch up with 25 featured alumni from the past 25 years, who have each made their own indelible mark on the region's economy. In order to capture the youthful exuberance these young winners (and not-so-young alumni) bring to the economy, we broke these 65 profes- sionals into 14 groups and took them to high-pro- file and visually stimulating locations around Central Massachusetts to take fun and zany pho- tographs, which anchor the pages of this edition. Each year, I challenge these small groups to top each other to take the best photos, and every year people rise to the occasion. You'll see the fantastic results spread throughout this edition. To join in the celebration of the 40 Under Forty past and present, I invite you to attend the high-octane awards ceremony, scheduled for Sept. 25 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. As always, the stars of the show will be this year's winners, but the event promises to have plenty of highlights (and people) showcasing the last 25 years. Note on the cover illustration: e photo ap- pearing on the cover of this edition was taken on July 24 by photographer Jaime Flores at the Polar Park baseball stadium in Worcester, adhering to the strict ethics of photojournalism. On that day, the sky was overcast with rain clouds, which ap- peared all white in the original photograph. Since the overcast sky would have created a washing-out effect on the WBJ logo and 40 Under Forty teaser upon being printed, WBJ Art Director Mitchell Hayes swapped out the original sky with a blue sky. No other element in the photo was altered. – Brad Kane, editor Celebrating the 25th anniversary of 40 Under Forty W

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