Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | December 5, 2016 | wbjournal.com POWER PLAYERS The 2016 business leaders who leveraged their positions in the community to have an outsized influence on the Central Massachusetts economy P ower is fleeting, as is influence. The Central Massachusetts economy is constantly changing. With every com- pany relocation, new product launch, closing, groundbreaking, promotion and even job posting, the makeup and priorities of the region's business community evolves every so slightly. As the players in this economy go about trying to con- tinue its strengths and shore up its weaknesses, their roles change as the business community changes. When Worcester Business Journal first launched this Central Massachusetts Power Players feature in 2013, it was intended as the end-all, be-all list of the power brokers in the region – the people that has the most influence based on their position and personality. The CEOs of the Worcester chamber, Hanover Insurance Group and UMass Memorial Health Care would always be on it, for the simple fact they led the largest business organizations in the region. In 2014, WBJ decided to forgo doing the list altogether, since it would be almost entirely repetitive. In 2015 – the year I joined WBJ as editor, not coincidentally – we decided to go another way. Rather than trotting out the same 20-25 people year after year, we highlighted the power players behind the changes in the region's business community. As a result, this list is remark- ably changed from last year. In fact, there are only four people who made the list both this year and last, and the reasons were significantly different than 2015. This was not only a convenient way to recognize more of the literally hundreds of Central Massachusetts power brokers annually but gave us a chance to reflect at the end of each year how the economy had shifted and who was responsible for it. - Brad Kane, editor Christina Andreoli, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Michael P. Angelini, Bowditch & Dewey Dr. Charles and Janet Birbara, Beechwood Hotel Nick Capasso, Fitchburg Art Museum Amy Lynn Chase, Crompton Collective Michael F. Collins, University of Massachusetts Medical School Ralph Crowley Jr., Polar Beverages Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial Health Care Barbara Doyle, MetroWest Medical Center Economic Development Coordinating Committee, Worcester Frederick H. Eppinger, Hanover Insurance Charles Faris, Spectrum Health Systems Barbara Finer, TechSandBox Susan Hertzberg, Boston Heart Diagnostics Robert E. Johnson, Becker College David Jordan, Seven Hills Foundation Venkat Kolluri, Cidewalk Laurie Leshin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Susan Mailman, Coghlin Electrical Contractors Dean J. Mazzarella, Leominster Kevin Meehan, Imperial Cars Edward Moore, Harrington HealthCare Susanne Morreale Leeber, Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce Charles "Chip" Norton, Franklin Realty Advisors Kevin O'Sullivan, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiative Douglas Petersen, Workers Credit Union Brian W. Thompson, Commerce Bank Arthur Vigeant, Marlborough Last year's Power Players F OC U S P O W E R P L A Y E R S P H O T O / E D D C O T E

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