Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal • February 16, 2015 www.wbjournal.com W hen her predecessor, Barbara Clifford, retired last year, Karen Chapman had already been well established at the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce, hav- ing been its vice president for 12 years. At the time of her promotion, the chamber's chairman, Steve Anderson, said Chapman has "a keen understanding of Corridor Nine's past, as well as proven experience in bringing innovative and visionary ideas for the future." You're running this organization at a time when there's positive momentum in the area's economy. Do you see that as well? Yes … business has been booming. Genzyme just moved (into Westborough) in November with 500 employees, and I've seen a lot of new business in the last year. Chick-Fil-A moved into town, Taco Bell moved into town. They're talking about a micro- brewery that's going to be moving in. The proposed Whole Foods coming into Shrewsbury. I can't think of a better time to become president of a chamber. What do you think is fueling this growth? Many reasons. Definitely the stellar school system (which) attracts businesses, (and) with them come families. We have single tax (rates) in our communi- ties. That's definitely positive for people who want to do business here. And I think also the access — 495, Route 9, 20 — we're just the hub of that kind of busi- ness activity. AstraZeneca is leaving Westborough after being somewhat of a cornerstone of the town's economy for years. How is the chamber involved in trying to fill that upcoming void? We were aware a few years ago that they were going to be downsizing. They've been a very good corpo- rate community citizen. It was a big disappointment. But we're working closely with the town to help bring in that next tenant. Of course, the chamber has many and diverse businesses. Are there one or two concerns that are common to all of them? (For) a lot of them, it's definitely still striving through a tough economy. When you own your own small business, you don't have enough time, you don't have enough staff. You're working very lean. So that's still a concern, although I would say I've been seeing a little more momentum from small business; they're getting a lot more engaged. We're at a demographic crossroads with baby boomer business leaders nearing retirement and millennials moving into leadership roles. Do you see a change in the priorities of millen- nials? We started a young professionals group in 2007, and one of the things that came along with that was to develop those (leaders) and to figure out what is of interest to them … they're very interested in commu- nity service. We've been partnering with the Community Harvest Project in North Grafton, which is a great place because all the food they raise there goes to the Worcester County Food Bank. They've done (the) big part of our annual food drive, which is something the chamber does every year. So we're try- ing to … make them future leaders of our communi- ties. With the change in governors, what do you see as the new administration's top priority for business? One of the things we're very interested in knowing is how they feel about tax incentives. Marlborough is doing a very good job with that. And retaining and recruiting businesses. I'm very interested in hearing their position on that issue, since we want to continue to bring business to our region. What are the top three things member businesses approach the chamber for? For us, it's to grow their business, so they're looking for networking opportunities to make business con- nections. Second, some visibility within the commu- nity, get their brand and their name out there. And third, assistance. We want to be a resource to them. n n Net income for Hanover Insurance of Worcester in 2014, a 12.35-percent increase over 2013, helped by an 18-percent jump in operating income before taxes. THETICKER In The File Karen Chapman In charge at Corridor Nine SHOP TALK $282M $413.4M n Quarterly revenue for Virtusa of Westborough, up nearly 22 percent year over year for the business consulting and technology outsourcer, and continuing a string of double-digit percentage gains dating back to 2010. $123M This interview was conducted and edited for length by Rick Saia Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer 37.3% >> n Year-over-year increase in net income for L.S. Starrett of Athol ($1.78 million to $2.45 million) in its fiscal year 2015 second quarter, on revenue of $63.8 million. Source: Unum Group Source: L.S. Starrett Co. Source: Virtusa Corp. TITLE: President, Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce, Westborough RESIDENCE: Oxford EDUCATION: South High School, Worcester; Institute of Organizational Management at U.S. Chamber of Commerce Karen Chapman, President, Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce, Westborough n Net income for Tennessee-based insurer Unum, with operations in Worcester, for 2014, down nearly 52 percent. But that came after Unum set aside $453.8 million in reserves in the fourth quarter to cover future long-term care claims. Go to WBJournal.com to watch a video clip from our interview with Karen Chapman On WBJournal.com Source: Hanover Insurance Group P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I A few highlights from quarterly reports released early this month by public companies in Central Massachusetts.

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