Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | October 20, 2025 | wbjournal.com BUSINESS LEADERS HALL OF FAME AWARDS & BUSINESS LEADERS HALL OF FAME AWARDS & Winners will be profiled in a March 2026 edition and will be honored at a special ceremony in late March. Know someone worthy of one of these awards? NOMINATE THEM TODAY! Nomination deadline: December 1, 2025 Further details and nomination form at www.wbjournal.com/businessleaders This special edition and event honors top business leaders in Central Massachusetts for their companies' successes and contributions to the community. Our Business Leaders of the Year will be recognized in the categories of small and large business, nonprofit, innovator and family business leader of the year. In addition, we'll induct another select group of Central Mass business leaders in our 10th annual Hall of Fame awards. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS! working directly within the company to its independent network channel. Cotter grew up in Worcester in a neighborhood off of Burncoat Street and graduated from Burncoat High School before attending UMass Lowell. He later managed Wells Fargo's Worces- ter office for about 18 years. "I built my practice here in Worces- ter, and when opportunities to manage offices in and around Boston presented themselves, I always chose to stay here," Cotter wrote in an email to WBJ. "Many clients have come to me because we are in Worcester and support our Worcester business community." A graduate of Purdue University, Ro- ering has nearly 35 years of experience in the financial service industry. "I believe true success is built by a team that is deeply committed to prioritizing the client's best inter- ests—through every investment, every strategy, and every decision we make," Roering wrote in an email to WBJ. "at client-first philosophy has been the cornerstone of the enduring success I've experienced throughout my career." UMass Chan chief advancement officer leaves for Holy Cross Following an 18-year tenure with Worcester's UMass Chan Medical School, John Hayes has le his position as vice chancellor for advancement to move on to a similar position at the city's College of the Holy Cross. Hayes will begin his tenure with Holy Cross as its vice president for advance- ment on Nov. 1, according to a Sept. 22 internal memo sent by UMass Chan Chancellor Dr. Michael Collins. "John, an alumnus of Holy Cross, came to UMass Chan in 2007 from UMass Boston as director of individual giving and earned numerous promo- tions, culminating in the role of chief advancement officer in 2015. He is a seasoned advancement leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher ed- ucation fundraising who served UMass Chan with distinction, overseeing record fundraising growth," Collins wrote. roughout his past decade as vice chancellor, Hayes managed the medi- cal school's $279-million Pathways of Promise campaign and its $500-mil- lion Advancing Together campaign, aimed at amplifying healthcare educa- tion, research, and community-based initiatives, according to a Sept. 22 press release from Holy Cross and UMass Chan's website. "John Hayes' wealth of experience, forward-thinking leadership, and deep ties to the Holy Cross community make him the perfect person to lead our advancement office during a time of great change in fundraising and higher education," Holy Cross President Vin- cent Rougeau said in the release. "I'm confident that John will help build on the progress we've made as part of our Aspire strategic plan, as we look towards our next campaign and continue to build a culture of philanthropy with a modern approach to fundraising." At UMass Chan, Hayes has been replaced on an interim basis by Prescott Stewart, the medical school's executive director of advancement. "Please join me in thanking both colleagues for their service and wishing John success in this next phase of his career," Collins wrote. Before joining UMass Chan in his executive capacities in 2015, Stewart worked at Harvard Business School, ending his eight-year tenure at the Bos- ton school as senior director of principal gis, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he held leading roles at educational institutions, including the University of Hawaii and Salisbury School and Trinity College, both in Connecticut. Auditor: Worcester among hardest-hit in unequal Mass Save benefits A state auditor report has found the Mass Save program provides a skewed distribution of its resources favorably benefitting higher-income commu- nities, with Worcester among the top Massachusetts municipalities negatively impacted. Mass Save is a financial incentive pro- gram operated by electric and natural Continued from previous page John Hayes, vice president for advance- ment at College of the Holy Cross

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