wbjournal.com | March 10, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 3
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
12 Focus on Banking & Finance
16 List: Largest banks
18 Know How
19 Movers & Shakers
20-21 Opinion
22 Shop Talk: Gallery Marquee
8 Funding research
While UMass Chan celebrated an historic
donation and cemented its position as a
leader in ALS research, the school raised red
flags about planned federal cuts.
21 A love letter to my small
business friends
Viewpoint opinion columnist Julie Bowditch
urges political and business leaders to come
together with the community to stem the
wave of small business closings robbing
Worcester of its unique flavor.
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-
weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September,
October, and December by New England Business Media. 172
Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid
at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. Postmaster:
Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal,
PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For
more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or
contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008.
Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray
at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860.
Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for
unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return
them to the sender.
Worcester Business Journal
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
508-755-8004 tel.
• 508-755-8860 fax
www.wbjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
A division of:
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Managing Editor, Eric Casey,
ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate,
manufacturing)
Staff Writer
Mica Kanner-Mascolo,
mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com
(health care, diversity & inclusion)
Contributors
Sloane M. Perron, Giselle Rivera-
Flores, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon
Photographers
Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine
Peterson
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
General Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Accounts Manager
Timothy Doyle
tdoyle@wbjournal.com
Human Resources Manager,
Tracy Rodwill,
trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Finance, Sara Ward,
sward@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Event Coordinator,
Patty Harris,
pattyh@wbjournal.com
Director of Audience Development
and Operations, Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Business Office Assistant,
Nicole Dunn,
ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
A
s a niche business-to-busi-
ness publication, WBJ's
content differs slightly from
mass media publications
like the Boston Globe and
Worcester Telegram & Gazette. e big-
gest difference is our articles are catered
to business leaders and how they think.
e language of business is numbers, and
even more specifically, it's money.
Businesses of all stripes are built around
the concept of money: generating revenue,
spending it smartly, paying employees,
and – ideally – giving back to the com-
munity. Nearly every WBJ article includes
some mention of money. Even when spe-
cific figures aren't available, such as when
one company acquires another for an
unspecified amount, the lack of financial
details is typically mentioned in a story.
at's why this edition has a Focus on
Banking & Finance, which is the only
focus topic we concentrate on twice per
year. Banking tends not to be the most
exciting industry in the world, but its
influence is everywhere. From small
startups to trillion-dollar public compa-
nies, access to capital and the banking
system can literally make or break hopes
and dreams.
To kick off the Focus on Banking &
Finance, WBJ Staff Writer Mica Kan-
ner-Mascolo in her "Brick & mortar" story
on page 12 looks at community banks
doubling down on their physical branches,
even as the industry is trending toward
fewer locations and more digital offerings.
On page 14, Managing Editor Eric Casey
writes in his "Competing for world-class
capital" story how Central Massachusetts
startups can find investors much more
easily than they could even five years ago.
Outside of the Focus section, Kan-
ner-Mascolo in her "Funding research" sto-
ry on page 8 examines how UMass Chan
Medical School's status as a global leader
in ALS research has helped fuel donations
at the Worcester school, at a time when its
federal government funding is at risk. Over
on page 10, Casey in his "e incredible
shrinking EMC" story seeks to answer the
elusive question of what remains of the
tech company's operations since Dell first
announced plans to acquire it in 2015.
Lastly, one quick note about the Feb.
24 edition: Special thanks goes to historic
Speaking the language of business
I N T H I S I S S U E
Worcester venue Mechanics Hall, which
hosted the photo shoot for the Business
Leaders of the Year and WBJ Hall of Fame
awards.
- Brad Kane, editor
W
