Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1543986
16 Worcester Business Journal | March 23, 2026 | wbjournal.com Largest woman-led employers Ranked by number of local employees ((11)) Employer 2025 employees local/ statewide/ worldwide Industry/ 2024 revenue Top executive(s)/ year founded 1 Staples Inc. 500 Staples Drive, Framingham 01702 508-253-5000 • staples.com 5,000 (2) N/A 12,000 (2) Office supplies $8 billion Rachel Huckle CEO, U.S. 1986 2 National Grid 55 Bearfoot Road, Northborough 01532 508-389-2000 • nationalgridus.com 2,000 7,193 31,645 Energy utility N/A Lisa Wieland president, New England 1961 3 Seven Hills Foundation and Affiliates 81 Hope Ave., Worcester 01603 508-755-2340 • sevenhills.org 1,923 3,289 4,018 Health and human services $466.3 million Kathleen M. Jordan president & CEO 1953 4 Advocates Inc. 1881 Worcester Road, Framingham 01701 508-628-6300 • advocates.org 1,898 2,537 2,555 Health and human services N/A Diane Gould (3) president & CEO 1975 5 Bristol Myers Squibb 38 Jackson Road, Devens 01434 978-588-6001 • bms.com 1,680 N/A 34,000 Biopharmaceuticals $48.3 billion Odile Smith vice president & site lead, Devens 1887 6 Heywood Healthcare 242 Green St., Gardner 01440 978-632-3420 • heywood.org 1,670 N/A 1,756 Health care N/A Rozanna Penney president & CEO 1907 7 Bose Corp. The Mountain, Framingham 01701 508-879-7330 • bose.com 1,500 (4) N/A 6,000 (4) Manufacturing N/A Lila Snyder CEO 1964 8 Fitchburg State University 160 Pearl St., Fitchburg 01420 978-665-3000 • fitchburgstate.edu 1,166 (5) 1,166 (5) 1,166 (5) Higher education $136.6 million Donna Souder Hodge president 1894 9 Insulet Corp. 100 Nagog Park, Acton 01720 978-600-7000 • insulet.com 1,108 (6) 1,357 (7) 3,900 (8) Medical devices $2.1 billion Ashley McEvoy president & CEO 2000 10 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 100 Institute Road, Worcester 01609 508-831-5000 • wpi.edu 1,095 (9) N/A 1,383 (10) Higher education $356 million Grace Wang president 1865 11 Digital Federal Credit Union (11) 853 Donald Lynch Blvd., Marlborough 01752 508-804-9705 • dcu.org 933 N/A 1,653 Financial services N/A Shruti Miyashiro president & CEO 1979 12 South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) 7 Bishop St., Framingham 01702 508-872-4853 • smoc.org 820 N/A N/A Human services $169.3 million Susan Gentili president & CEO 1965 13 DCU Center (12) 50 Foster St., Worcester 01608 508-755-6800 • dcucenter.com 800 N/A N/A Tourism & entertainment N/A Amy Peterson (13) general manager 1982 14 Framingham State University 100 State St., Framingham 01701 508-620-1220 • framingham.edu 783 (14) 783 (14) 783 (14) Higher education $139 million Nancy S. Niemi president 1839 15 Qnity Electronics Inc., New England Manufacturing & Technology Center (15) 455 Forest St., Marlborough 01752 508-481-7950 • qnityelectronics.com 505 N/A 10,000 Manufacturing $4.3 billion Ellen Jansen Mager manufacturing & technology site leader, New England 2025 16 Davis Farmland and Davis Mega Maze 145 & 142 Redstone Hill Road, Sterling 01564 978-422-6666 • davisfarmland.com; davismegamaze.com 500 (16) 500 500 Agriculture & recreation N/A Nicolette Sacco general manager 1846 17 Wegmans Food Markets Inc. 9102 Shops Way, Northborough 01532 508-936-1900 • wegmans.com 492 2,564 54,710 Retail grocery N/A Colleen Wegman president & CEO Nicole Wegman president of Wegmans brand 1916 18 Ascentria Care Alliance 18 Chestnut St., Suite 410, Worcester 01608 774-243-3100 • ascentria.org 469 1,253 2,178 Human services $143 million Angela Bovill president & CEO 1872 19 RFK Community Alliance 971 Main St., Lancaster 01523 978-365-7376 • rfkcommunity.org 437 557 575 Human services $46.5 million Kathy Savage Mills president & CEO 1896 Sources: Each employer via survey, annual reports, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filings and company websites. Notes: N/A=not available. Only employers whose Central Massachusetts employee counts could be determined are included on this list. (1) Local employee counts as of Q1-Q2 2025; Q1 2026 employee counts are footnoted, where available. (2) Local employee count falls within a range of 5,000 to 9,999, according to Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development; additional 19,000 associates in more than 900 retail locations. Revenue is from Forbes 2024 list of best private companies. (3) Plans to retire on July 1, 2026, to be succeeded by COO Regina Marshall (4) Employee counts from WBJ's 2024 survey (5) 1,096 employees as of February 2026 (6) 1,249 employees as of February 2026 (7) 1,529 employees as of February 2026 (8) 5,411 employees as of February 2026 (9) 1,066 employees as of February 2026 (10) 1,377 employees as of February 2026 (11) On Jan. 1, 2026, officially merged with First Tech to form a single credit union named First Technology Federal Credit Union, with headquarters in San Jose, Calif. (12) Expected venue name change is pending rebranding efforts after the merger of Digital Federal Credit Union with San Jose, Calif.-based First Tech. (13) In February 2026, succeeded Sandy Dunn, upon her retirement (14) 794 employees as of February 2026 (15) Formerly DuPont Electronics and Imaging; announced separation from DuPont de Nemours Inc. on Nov. 1, 2025 (16) Seasonal workforce -Compiled by: Heide Martin and Stephanie R. Meagher, research@nebusinessmedia.com F O C U S WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP