Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | January 26, 2026 | wbjournal.com 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, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2026. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $100.00. For more information, please email circulation@nebusinessmedia.com or contact our circulation department at 508-755-8004 x242. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Kris Prosser at 508-755-8004 ext. 286. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608 508-755-8004 tel. • 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, banking & finance) Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (manufacturing, health care, education) Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Sara Bedigian, 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 General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Special Product Manager Regina Stillings rstillings@nebusinessmedia.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, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Chief Operating Officer, Andrea Tetzlaff atetzlaff@mainebiz.biz President & CEO, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com Hanscom Federal Credit Union completes acquisition of Maryland firm Littleton-based Hanscom Federal Cred- it Union now has a presence on Chesa- peake Bay, as it has completed its purchase of e Peoples Bank, a credit union based in Maryland. e acquisition, first announced in December 2024, means Hanscom now has approximately $2.1 billion in total assets and will serve more than 115,000 mem- bers, according to a Jan. 5 press release. "e completion of this acquisition marks an extraordinary milestone for both organizations," Peter Rice, pres- ident & CEO of Hanscom, said in the press release. "Hanscom and e Peoples Bank have always shared the same core values – putting people first, strengthen- ing communities, and delivering trusted, unbiased financial guidance. Now, as one cooperative, we are even better positioned to fulfill our mission: To be the trusted ad- visor people turn to for unbiased financial guidance." e People's Bank has seven branch- es across three counties in Maryland's Eastern Shore region, the area of the state situated between the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware. Hanscom will retain all of e People's Bank employees, which will now operate as Peoples Powered by Hanscom Fed- eral Credit Union. As part of the deal, Hanscom purchased Fleetwood Insurance Group, the insurance agency subsidiary of e Peoples Bank. Hanscom will continue to be the third-largest credit union based in Central Massachusetts, according to information provided to the WBJ Research Depart- ment. It trails the largest credit union in the region, Digital Federal Credit Union, which completed its merger with Califor- nia-based First Tech Federal Credit Union in December. Marlborough-based DCU had $12.91 billion in assets prior to the merger, with the combined entity now having $28.7 billion. e second-largest credit union in the region is Littleton-based Workers Credit Union, with $2.44 billion in assets. Bowditch trusts and estates attorneys launch Newton- based practice e leader of Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey's trusts and estates practice area, along with another attorney from the firm, have started their own estate-focused law firm in Newton. Kristin Shirahama and Rebecca Mac- Gregor announced the formation of Fides Law earlier in January through separate LinkedIn posts, with two serving as the firm's founding partners. e firm will focus on estate planning and administration, as well as trust ad- ministration, according to its website. Shirahama was the leader of the trusts and estates practice area for Bowditch when she le the firm in January, according to her LinkedIn profile. She started at Bowditch in 2015 aer a stint at Newton-based Rosenberg, Freedman & Goldstein. She obtained her law degree at University of Connecticut School of Law. MacGregor was a partner in Bowditch's trusts and estates practice area when she departed in December, according to her LinkedIn profile. She joined Bowditch in 2020 aer seven years at Wellesley-based Wilchins Cosentino & Novins. She ob- tained her JD from Roger Williams Uni- versity School of Law and a master of laws from Boston University School of Law. e new firm includes two other former Bowditch employees: other staff attor- ney Erika Alley and paralegal Vinitha Krishnan. e five-person Fides Law is rounded out by administrative assistant Julie Dorley. Neither Shirahama nor MacGregor responded to WBJ requests for more information about the firm. Shirahama and MacGregor's departure comes aer Bowditch merged with Bos- ton-based Kenney & Sams in December, expanding its reach further in Massachu- setts and into Rhode Island. at merger came aer about a dozen attorneys le Bowditch in September 2024 to join Bos- ton-based Prince Lobel Tye as it opened a Worcester office. Bowditch retains 12 employees focused on estate planning and administration, according to its website. Milford Regional Physician Group joins UMass Memorial Health Fieen months aer Milford Regional Medical Center became a member of the Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health, Milford Regional Physician Group is following in the facility's footsteps as it has officially joined the UMass Memorial Medical Group, the second-largest physi- cian group in Central Massachusetts. With the incorporation, Milford Regional Physician Group brings its 135 physicians, 113 advanced practice pro- viders, and 386 staff members to UMass Memorial Medical Group, according to UMass Memorial Health's website. Milford Regional's group offers primary and specialty care to 42 outpatient centers in addition to UMMH's Milford Regional Medical Center. As the second-largest physician group in the region, UMass Memorial Medical Group employs 1,374 physicians, accord- ing to data collected by WBJ's Research Department. "For 33 years, Milford Regional Phy- sician Group has earned the trust of the region by providing high-quality, compas- sionate care close to home. Patients will continue to see the same trusted provid- ers, care teams, and staff they know, now supported by the expanded resources of UMass Memorial Medical Group," a state- ment on UMass Memorial's website reads. Milford Regional Medical Center final- ized its corporate affiliation with UMass Memorial on Oct. 1, 2024 aer 33 years of clinical affiliation. e corporate affiliation came aer Milford Regional experienced a $15-mil- lion operating loss in fiscal 2023, the facility's President and CEO Edward Kelly previously told WBJ. "We didn't want to get to the point where we were changing who Milford Regional was, just to stay independent," Kelly said at the time. With 148 licensed beds as of the second quarter 2025, Milford Regional is the fourth-largest hospital in Central Massa- chusetts. At the time, the facility employed 561 registered nurses and 307 physicians. Founded in 1903, the hospital generated $395.31 million in revenue in 2024. CEO, COO of Milford life sciences firm step down Rentschler Biopharma, Germany-based biopharmaceuticals manufacturer with a U.S. headquarters in Milford, is under- going a major executive transition as the firm's CEO and chief operating officer have stepped down and an interim leader has been named. e departure of Benedikt von Braun- mühl, Rentschler's former CEO, was announced in a Jan. 20 press release from the manufacturer. Braunmühl originally joined Rentschler in late 2023 from his role as CEO of HMNC Brain Health in Munich, Germany. "I want to thank all of my colleagues for their dedication and the strong collabora- Peter Rice, president and CEO of Hanscom Federal Credit Union Continued from previous page

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