Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | April 30, 2018 | wbjournal.com "at's where my heart lands usually," she sad. "I enjoy helping out." To celebrate her 30 years of work, the chamber will host a retirement party on May 10 at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough. C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F Marlborough chamber CEO retiring after 31 years BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer V E R BAT I M Worcester taxes "The tax rate is an issue I think that Worcester is going to have to face, but it kind of gets blended in. We look at the total cost, not just the elemental cost. We're paying a little more on certain line items, but less on the tax rate in West Boylston." Curtis Industries President and CEO George Psyhojos, on Worcester's high commercial tax rate's role in his company leaving for West Boylston Woman-owned businesses "It is impossible to run a successful company without surrounding yourself with great people and resources." Shrewsbury-based Unic Pro Inc. President Lilian Radke, on being named the Massachusetts Woman Small Business Owner of The Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration Deep-space missions "This is going to be highly complex. Results will be downloading every five seconds. If there's a correction needed, we have to provide it right away. We want to make sure this is successful." Jamal Yagoobi, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, on a device being tested by NASA to help cool spacecraft for deep-space missions W T he longtime head of the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce is retiring at the end of August. Susanne Morreale Leeber joined the chamber in January 1987 as the membership director and has served as the president and CEO since 1991. When she came aboard, there were only 165 member organizations and dozens of empty commercial spaces aer Digital Equipment Corp. began selling off its many properties in Marlborough. Now, there are 470 members, and the area is home to some of the largest biotechnology and pharmaceutical com- panies in the Northeast. e chamber, Leeber said, is in the best position it has been in over the last 20 years. "So, it is time," she said. "I have family across the United States, and my grand- children are growing up." More than 80 applicants have applied to the chamber's board of directors to fill the vacant CEO position. Candidates are currently being screened, ahead of Leeber's August departure. Booming Marlborough Under Leeber, the chamber played an integral role in bringing Fidelity Invest- ments to Marlborough and getting the Solomon Pond Mall project approved in the early 1990s. She worked with Providence Bruins owner Larue Renfroe to see the approval of the New England Sports Center, an eight-rink ice-skating and hockey facility on 22 acres in Marlborough. Construction on the facility began in 1994, and subsequent additions were completed as recently as December. anks to Leeber's work alongside then State Sen. Paul Salucci, exit 23C on I-495 was built in 2000. Off of that exit are some of the city's largest companies, including GE Healthcare, medical imaging device giant Hologic and corporate offices of retailer TJX Cos. Medical device giant Boston Scientific found its home in Marlborough in 2012 aer moving from its former headquar- ters in Natick. e company operates four buildings on a 119-acre campus. e city has become a biotech hub, including other large publicly traded companies like Sunovion Pharmaceu- ticals, Quest Diagnostics, RXi Pharma- ceuticals and Oxford Immunotec. "It was exciting to land those big com- panies," she said, recalling that Fidelity Investments was among the first of the large ones to come to the city. More recently, the chamber worked with developers of the Apex Center, a 475,000-square-foot hub of entertain- ment, dining and hotels off of Route 20 in Marlborough. All of the businesses in the center are members of the chamber. "It's exploding," Leeber said of the development. Currently, the chamber is working with Quinsigamond Community Col- lege and Framingham State University to open satellite campuses in the city to help boost the talent pipeline for the cluster of large companies in the city. Challenges for successor Going forward, Leeber said she wants her successor to bring more public transportation to the city. Currently, the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority operates a fixed-route bus route, stop- ping at six locations in the city. "I'd love to see a public transportation system," Leeber said. "I don't know how far off that will be, but I think that would be a boon, especially to future employees who don't have vehicles." e lifelong business advocate is still planning to work with nonprofits. Susanne Morreale Leeber, retiring president and CEO of the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce PHOTO/COURTESY

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