Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | October 20, 2025 | wbjournal.com BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor S andy Dunn, general manager of the DCU Center, will retire in January aer leading the Worcester arena and convention center for the past 30 years. Jim Moughan, DCU Center's assistant general manager and director of sales, will retire in January as well. Combined with Dunn, the two executives have 88 years experience working in the live entertainment industry, according to a press release issued by the DCU Center on Oct. 10. Dunn has been in the GM role at the DCU Center since 1995, according to her LinkedIn profile, managing the 14,000-seat arena and 85,520-square- foot convention space. Her tenure included the venue hosting national conventions, major musical acts, and sporting events, including games which were part of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2005. She began her tenure at the DCU Center in 1983 as a receptionist. Since taking over at general manager, Dunn has been a key leader in the hospitality and entertainment industries in Central Massachusetts, particularly in Downtown Worcester. She has been named multiple times to WBJ's Power 100 list of the most influential professionals in the region, most recently in 2025. "It has been an honor to lead the DCU Center and serve this incredible community," Dunn said in the press release. "I am immensely proud of I N B R I E F Genius grant "I think of cartography as a way of writing about concepts that are hard to convey in the mere text. Cartography can help us keep narrative situated in space, or it can also follow narrative through space." Margaret Wickens Pearce, alumna of Clark University in Worcester, on being named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow, also known as the genius grant, for her maps of Indigenous peoples' land. Trump's $110M cut "Importantly, our funding path is diversified well beyond DOE. We are replacing the remaining unused portion of the DOE grant with a mix of other sources of funding available to the company including equity, project finance, municipal bonds, and other forms of debt." Linh Austin, president and CEO of Ascend Elements in Westborough, on the President Donald Trump Administration cutting $110.2 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding for its plans to establish an electric vehicle battery recycling facility in Kentucky. Ascend is planning to restart construction on the project in 2026. New CEO "I am excited to join the team at Universal and continue to build on the significant progress the organization has made." Jeff Reilly, on being named the new CEO of Marlborough-based Universal Window and Door, which provides materials for historic renovations, among other products Sandy Dunn to retire as head of DCU Center what our team has accomplished over the years and grateful for the colleagues, partners, staff, and friends who have supported me along the way. Worcester will always be home, and I look forward to watching the DCU Center continue to thrive in the years ahead." In addition to her work in Worcester, Dunn oversaw the construction and opening of SNHU Arena in New Hampshire. Moughan, a native of Leicester and graduate of Assumption University (then Assumption College) in 1981, began his career at the DCU Center in 1982 as an assistant box office manager. He has helped lead a team that has attracted about 400 events every year to the facility. "Working alongside Sandy and our incredible team has been the privilege of a lifetime," Moughan said in the press release. "e DCU Center has been my second home for nearly four decades, and I'm grateful to have played a role in its growth and in bringing world-class events to Worcester. I'm proud of what we've built together." Dunn and Moughan are both technically employees of Legends Global (formerly ASM Global), which has managed the DCU Center since before its official opening in 1982. e firm was purchased by Legends Hospitality in August 2024, aer the deal was announced in November 2023. e company's contract to run the City-owned venue was extended for 10 years last October. "ere have been no better or bigger champions for the DCU Center in its 40-plus-year history than Sandy Dunn and Jim Moughan," City Manager Eric Batista said in the press release. "Not only have they been the custodians of its brand and stewards of its success, but together they've been a trailblazing duo in the venue-management industry nationally." e venue has been undergoing upgrades over the past few years, including the addition of a new sound system in July. Marlborough-based DCU Federal Credit Union, which has the naming sponsorship of the DCU Center, is anticipating changing the name of the venue to most likely First Tech Center, aer the credit union completes its $29-billion merger with California- based First Tech Federal Credit Union, according to Boston Business Journal. W Sandy Dunn (left), the longtime leader of the DCU Center in Worcester, is planning to retire from her post in January. Jim Moughan, the center's assistant general manager, is expected to retire at the same time. PHOTOS | COURTESY OF DCU CENTER

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