Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com February 1, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 3 It is not every day you hear about a 31 year old who made partner at one of Worcester's most prestigious law firms. Actually, it's not any day you hear about it, since AiVi Nguyen is the youngest part- ner in the 102-year history of Bowditch & Dewey. When I first heard about Nguyen's meteoric rise for what turned out to be our Jan. 18 Movers & Shakers feature, her name was already familiar to me, since she had penned an opinion column for the same edition about the need of Worcester businesses to cater to the younger workforce or risk losing out on future relevance. As a tightly focused business-to-business publication, Worcester Business Journal doesn't cater to a wide audience like a daily newspaper or other mass publication would. Instead, our market is reaching the region's economic decision makers – from CEOs to small business owners and managers in a variety of leadership positions, as well as key public officials. Typically this means the median age of our readers falls into their early 50's, which makes sense as more people advance into leadership roles as they gain experience. This can also mean that there are more male than female readers (though that gap has closed significantly over the years) and that our audience is likely to be more white than the demographics of the commu- nity we serve. For us and many in the business community, outreach to non-traditional audiences is essential, but finding those stories often does not involve our typical sources. As Digital Editor Sam Bonacci's profile on Nguyen shows, Central Mass. has economic leaders who are young, female and minority; just like Staff Writer Laura Finaldi's deep-dive into Seven Hills' study on foreign-born populations shows the entre- preneurial impact of people who arrived in the region from outside the country. I'm pleased we're discovering and reporting on these stories and would like to offer more of this kind of story mix in the coming year. While you might not see a profile of a 31-year-old law firm partner every issue, we've got our eyes and ears open for telling more of those kinds of stories about the next generation that will be building careers and growing businesses in our region. Let us know what you see happening....... - 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 avail- able for $54.95. For more information, please emai l wbjour nal @ cambe y west. 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 responsi- bility 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: CORRECTION: The Jan. 18 story entitled "10 Things I Know about …. Successfully sourcing IT talent" had the wrong headline. The correct headline is "10 Things I Know about … Business Security." Reaching the right demographic NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 22 Accolades & Honors 4 Briefing 25 Editorial 24 Flash Poll 22 Incorporations 19 Knowhow 23 Movers & Shakers 21 Networking/Events 26 Photo Finish 5 Real Deals 8 Ticker 25 Viewpoint ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS This edition's Focus on Banking & Finance finds quite a bit going on in the industry with community banks partnering with cutting-edge technology firms, Cumberland and Gulf looking for room to grow after separating and potential major change to how energy projects are funded in New England. 12 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 "Kudos to @lauraefinaldi for wading through the information on MA #solar and getting the facts out there @WBJournal" - Mary-Leah Assad (@leahassad) Jan 19, on Laura Finaldi's "Solar without subsidy" article Top Facebook comment "Great idea! Drive out people who already pay taxes and leave the ones who don't." - Nate Curran, Jan. 20, on the proposed Massachusetts millionaires' tax Top Facebook post "There's something special about purchasing a piece of property and laying down roots whether it's a home or a business site." - Sam Bonacci, Jan. 19, on Cinch IT's pending purchase of a new headquarters in Worcester Most read stories on WBJournal.com 1. WBJ Announces Best of Business winners 2. IT company sets roots in Worcester 3. Leominster HealthAlliance recognized by Harvard Pilgrim 4. Late MetroWest entrepreneur to be honored 5. Natick flex space sold for $2.3M Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wjournal.com Digital Editor, Sam Bonacci, sbonacci@wbjournal.com (Real estate, construction, retail) Staff Writers Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care, government) Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, energy, technology, higher education, finance, nonprofits) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com Livia Gershon 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 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 14 FERC examines transmission payments Federal regulators are considering a change to how much New England utilities can collect on their transmission lines, a ruling that could have long-term ramifications on ratepayer bills and energy infrastructure. 20 What GE's move says about Central Mass. GE's selection of Boston as its new headquarters says a lot about the state's business climate – from its tax structure to its political will, writes columnist Jack Healy. Top social story WBJ Announces Best of Business winners WBJ Facebook post: The Central Massachusetts business community voted, and now the Best of Business winners are here. Check out who held down their category and what newcomers have come along and shaken things up • The story reached 5,026 people and was shared or liked 254 times on Facebook.

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