Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | August 7, 2017 | wbjournal.com Kevin O'Sullivan has ushered community de- velopment in Worcester since the 1970s, now focusing on growing the biotechnology industry 40 years of service K evin O'Sullivan first showed up on the Worcester eco- nomic development scene as a newly-minted college graduate in the late 1970s. It was a time of desperation, with double-digit unemployment and infla- tion, and job prospects weren't good for a 21-year-old with no experience. "Worcester's manufacturing base was really hurting. You could very clearly see it going south, and going across seas," O'Sullivan, the president and CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) said. In Worcester, O'Sullivan – who spent most of his childhood in the city – found an outlet for his youthful enthu- siasm and background in community development, which was his minor at Springfield College, where he earned a physical education degree. Now 62 and with a master's degree in public administration from Clark University, the ever-energetic O'Sullivan still has a passion for pushing Worcester forward. For the past 14 years, O'Sullivan has channeled his talents as a mover and shaker as chief executive at MBI, the biotechnology incubator founded in 1985 as a partnership between the public and private sectors to propel health and life sciences commercial development. New wave manufacturing In MBI, the idea was to create a bio- technology corridor anchored by Greater Boston and Worcester. The organization began incubating startup companies in the late 1990s when O'Sullivan joined, becoming president and CEO in 2003. Today, MBI has three incubator sites in the city, and O'Sullivan is playing an integral role in developing the next wave of biotechnology develop- ment: small-scale biomanufacturing. O'Sullivan, who served eight years in the Massachusetts Legislature from 1987 to 1995 and worked two separate stints in community development and marketing at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce in the 1980s and 1990s, sees Worcester as an ideal place for clinical-stage companies and larger pharmaceutical companies work- ing on new cures for diseases to manu- facture their products for development purposes, such as clinical trials. City leaders are targeting companies needing to produce relatively small batches of molecules for therapies to treat cancer and other diseases. Worcester pitches itself to companies as being part of the Massachusetts research and development Mecca, but offering a better value than the pricey Greater Boston area, O'Sullivan said. "You can't biomanufacture things in the Boston Metro area because it's too damn expensive. You sure as heck can do them, though, out here in Worcester," O'Sullivan said. BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer F OC U S B I O T E C H N O L O G Y P H O T O / E M I L Y M I C U C C I In addition to his role at MBI (here at its Gateway Park location), Kevin O'Sullivan helps shape the community by serving on boards like the Worcester Economic Development Coordinating Council and Reliant Medical Group.

• Cover