Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1537801
wbjournal.com | July 28, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 5 City manager approval rating slipping In an online poll published on July 7, 2025, WBJ asked its readers a smiliar question to an online poll from Jan. 15, 2024 about the way Eric Batista has led the City of Worcester. In Worcester's form of city government, the appointed city manager is essentially the CEO of the City of Worcester while the elected mayor and city council are part time and help set policy. Batista had taken on the role in an interim basis in early 2022 and then permanently in December 2022. In comparing the two polls among WBJ's online readership, the approval rating for Batista's handling of the city manager's job has dropped from January 2024 to July 2025. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Eric Batista has led the City of Worcester in the past year? Harvard Bioscience on July 28 aer an eight-year tenure with the firm. His last day as an employee with the company and his resignation from its board will be effective Aug. 15, according to a July 17 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Green will be replaced by Harvard Bioscience's board member John Duke, who also serves as CEO of the plas- tic manufacturing company Plastic Molding Technology out of Colora- do. During his incumbency, Duke increased Plastic Molding's annual revenue growth by 20%. "I am thrilled to have John as my successor," Green said in the press release. "During the board search earlier this year, I identified him as my ideal candidate. I am confident in the company's future with John at the helm and committed to ensuring a smooth transition. I look forward to remaining a significant investor in the business, as I strongly believe in the value and prospects at Harvard Bioscience." Duke joined Harvard Bioscience's board in June following the resignation of its director omas Loewald. Harvard Bioscience's leadership tran- sition comes shortly aer the company fell out of Nasdaq compliance following the June 10 resignation of board mem- ber Alan Edrick. Edrick's departure le the firm with only two members on its audit committee, one member short of the stock exchange's three-member minimum criteria. In response, the company has ap- pointed Rob Gagnon and Seth Benson to its board, naming both to Harvard Bioscience's audit committee with Gag- non set to serve as chair, effective July 16, according to the S.E.C. filing. Gagnon previously worked as Har- vard Bioscience's CFO from 2013 to 2018, and Benson serves as CFO of Nu- clera, a Cambridge biotech company. In April, the company announced its CFO and Treasurer Jennifer Cote was set to resign from the role following a three-year tenure. Mark Frost was named her interim successor and con- tinues to serve in the role today. Worcester native takes over leadership of Webster Five Brian Westerlind has taken on the role of leading Webster Five bank, following the July 1 retirement of Presi- dent & CEO Don Doyle. Westerlind's succession of Doyle, first announced in June 2024, sees the MetroWest Medical Center names its seventh CEO in eight years Just over three months aer the CEO of MetroWest Medical Center resigned from the role, the Framingham-based facility has selected Greg McFarland as its new leader. In his new role, McFar- land will oversee the center's Fram- ingham Union Hospital and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick, serving as the hospitals' seventh CEO since 2017. "Greg brings a great blend of expe- rience, leadership skills and strategic thinking to this role," Denten Park, CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and of the Massa- chusetts market for parent compa- ny Dallas-based Tenet Health- care, said in the release. "We are honored to have him lead the team at MetroWest Medical Center to deliver high-quali- ty care to the communities we serve." McFarland comes to MetroWest Med- ical Center having most recently served as chief operating officer of Hillcrest Medical Center, a 656-bed hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He held that C-suite role since March 2023 aer having first joined the facility in December 2020 as an assistant administrator, according to his LinkedIn profile. McFarland succeeds John Whitlock, who stepped down as CEO in early April. Whitlock had assumed the in- terim position in January 2023 and was named to the permanent role in July of that year. At the time of his resignation, Whitlock was the longest-serving CEO out of the center's previous four leaders since December 2020. Whitlock now serves as CFO of Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Methuen. McFarland earned his master's degree from Trinity University in Texas and his bachelor's degree from Eastern New Mexico University. Harvard Bioscience replaces retiring CEO Harvard Bioscience has yet anoth- er leadership shakeup as the Hollis- ton-based biotech firm's CEO is set to retire and two new members have been added to its board of directors in an attempt to regain compliance with the Nasdaq stock exchange. Jim Green will retire from his roles as chairman, president, and CEO of Graduate Programs Clarku.edu/graduate Sustainable Business | Climate and Environment Finance & Fintech | Analytics | Game Design Artificial Intelligence | IT & Computer Science Project Management | Public Administration Generous Scholarships for Central Massachusetts Residents Focused on Future Careers Continued on next page Greg McFarland, CEO of MetroWest Medical Center Strongly approve Approve Neither approve nor disapprove Disapprove Strongly disapprove 21% 14% 20% 24% 26% 16% 27% 27% 6% 19% January 2024 July 2025