Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/611067
www.wbjournal.com December 7, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 3 "Well, let's see, there's Tim Murray. Oh, and the head of Hanover, his name is Ebbinger or something. We are writing a story, too, about this guy who is develop- ing these two towers downtown. He seems like a player." This was the diatribe out of my mouth after I first asked the publisher about this special Power Players feature that was planned for the first issue in December, something that would take deep institu- tional knowledge. Roughly two weeks into new role as Worcester Business Journal editor, the situation seemed almost comical. Nearly all publications do lists. Some are good; some are bad. The bad ones are thrown together without a lot of thought or creativity, put forth mostly to generate attention and increase web pageviews. The good ones have a clarity of purpose and are well organized. Putting together a list like Central Massachusetts Power Players really strikes at the heart of what WBJ does. As a thought leader in the business-to-business community, if WBJ were to put together a list like this based strictly on our edito- rial knowledge (rather than lists like 40 Under Forty and Outstanding Women in Business, which have nomination periods and are scored by outside judges), it would have to have 1) clear criteria, 2) a sense of timeliness, 3) a reflection the sensibilities of our audience and 4) a deep background of the region. Luckily for me, I had the big brains of Sam Bonacci and Emily Micucci, who as members of the WBJ editorial team, have made it their goal in life for the past several years to know all the ins and outs of the Central Mass. economy. Plus, our publisher, Peter Stanton, has operated in the market for the last 35 years, so he has just a little bit of familiarity of how business works in the region. By reaching out to key commu- nity members and leveraging our own knowledge, we started with more than 300 nominees before we began winnowing it down to the final list. Putting together the Central Massachusetts Power Players list certainly wasn't easy — nor was it a task we took lightly — but the end result was exactly what I was looking for. And I learned how to spell Eppinger. Follow the conversation online and on social media with #WBJPowerPlayers. - Brad Kane, editor This Week In The WBJ Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063- 6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal • 172 Shrewsbury Street • Worcester, MA 01604 • 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: Picking the #WBJPowerPlayers NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 25 Accolades & Honors 4 Briefing 29 Editorial 28 Flash Poll 26 Fresh Beginnings 26 Incorporations 24 Knowhow 25 Movers & Shakers 27 Networking/Events 30 Photo Finish 5 Real Deals 8 Ticker 29 Viewpoint ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Worcester Business Journal's second ever Central Massachusetts Power Players list dominates this issue. We broke the players down into five categories: Change Agents, Visionaries, Politicos, Fresh Faces and the Inner Circle. Pages 10-20 From WBJournal.com to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, the Worcester Business Journal offers breaking news and thoughtful analysis throughout the Internet. Tweet of the week "#UMassMed is at the center of a growing biomanufacturing initiative in #Worcester." - @UMassMedNow, Nov. 24 Top Facebook post A new group of officers and direc- tors will help determine how Central Massachusetts lives United. Congratulations to everyone who has committed to give their time to direct- ing this organization. Top Facebook comment On the Classic Toy Shop story: "So sad - I have a lot of memories of this store. We went there over the years for many special surprises!" - DonnaMorse Most read stories on WBJournal.com 1. Iconic Worcester toy store to close 2. Paxton tennis club sells; will remain open 3. Former Patriots player founds Worcester towing company 4. Reliant Medical Group appoints new CEO 5. Brewers, bottlers rake revenues from competitors Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wjournal.com Digital Editor Sam Bonacci, sbonacci@wbjournal.com (Banking & Finance, Real Estate, Manufacturing, Technology) Staff Writer Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health Care) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com Livia Gershon Christina P. O'Neill Research Director, Stephanie Meagher smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin hmartin@wbjournal.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes mhayes@wbjournal.com Manager of Video/Multimedia Services, Matthew Volpini mvolpini@nebusinessmedia.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Account Manager Daniel Pelletier, dpelletier@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Controller, Mary Rogers mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Valerie Clark vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources Manager, Donna Currie dcurrie@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com Group Publisher, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com WBJournal .com Worcester Business Journal Online 6 Local banks keep identities, increase power The advantage local banks have over their national competitors is their ties to the community and a loyal customer base. In order to keep that advantage while increasing their financial backing, local banks are looking to mergers where they keep their brands. 29 Protecting trade secrets As Central Massachusetts develops more high-tech industries, the New England Council is pushing for federal protections against intellectual property theft. Top social story The Classic Toy Shop that has been providing toys and games to the children of Worcester and surrounding communities for the past 35 years will shut its doors before the end of the year. • The story reached 7,800 people and was shared or liked 84 times on Facebook.