Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com February 29, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 15 >> H E A LT H Y B U S I N E S S MEMBER FDIC MEMBER DIF countrybank.com • 800.322.8233 • Business Banking Specialists Focused on Your Success Peter Rovezzi, Business Development Officer; Carla Alves, Vice President, Business Development; Shana Hendrikse, Business Development Officer; Tracey Wrzesien, Business Development Officer Put our team to work for you. Competing in today's business environment means surrounding yourself with the best. That's how you hire employees. Do the same with your bank. For the business banking products and services you need to succeed, connect with our business banking specialists today by visiting countrybank.com/business/business- banking-specialist. 2014, when Boston Scientific moved its headquarters to the city from Natick, consolidating its operations. Paul Joseph, president and CEO of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, said the diversity of employers and the opportunities available to entrepre- neurs in the region helps cushion work- ers whose lives are shaken up by acqui- sitions. He experienced that himself when a former employer was acquired. While he was offered a job with the newly combined firm, he decided he didn't want to deal with the longer commute that would have entailed. Instead, he took the opportunity to start his own business in Natick, where he lives. "One of the things I love about our area is the diversity of the employers but also the chance for people to rein- vent themselves," Joseph said. "Change can also be a big positive." Innovation life cycle Local resources – like Hopkinton business incubator TechSandBox and a microloan program from Framingham- based South Middlesex Opportunity Council – help motivated people create and grow startups, Joseph said. If those startups end up getting big and then getting acquired, that's just how businesses work, Joseph said. "You look at the life cycle of a busi- ness," he said. "Over time they need more resources to be able to generate profits." Joseph doesn't worry too much that companies with corporate headquar- ters elsewhere will neglect the local community. While local companies may be a bit more attuned to the place where they do business, he said, any firm that gets large enough has to repri- oritize, no matter where it's based. "When you're a huge company, you're not looking at an individual location," he said. "You have to be pragmatic. Your job is to look at the system as a whole." Ultimately, the main signal Joseph sees when there are lots of acquisitions of local companies is the region is doing a good job developing technolo- gies and products. "You've got some blue-chip compa- nies looking at some blue-chip resourc- es in this area," he said. n Susanne Morreale-Leeber, president and CEO of the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce The rendering of the GE Healthcare headquarters in Marlborough, which is more likely to be an acquirer but creates a spinoff culture full of smaller companies primed to be bought out by larger, out-of-state firms.

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