Inside Route 128, incubators for early-stage companies are numerous, but in MetroWest and Greater Worcester, the options are far more limited. But two local nonprofit leaders, Kevin O’Sullivan, president and CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives in Worcester, and Barbara Finer, CEO of TechSandBox in Hopkinton, have been pioneers on the incubation frontier and are leading ongoing efforts to increase resources to help local startups thrive.
O’Sullivan heads up incubation for the biotech industry at Gateway Park facilities in Worcester, and he’s looking toward what he believes is Worcester’s biggest life sciences opportunity: biomanufacturing. O’Sullivan pitched Worcester as an ideal hub for small-scale biomanufacturing, showing Gov. Charlie Baker a Union Street building to possibly convert.
Meanwhile, Finer opened TechSandBox two years ago to provide startup office space and professional development programs to people starting their own ventures in the technology sector. An incubator in the MetroWest tech cluster was something Finer had long envisioned, knowing that many industry professionals would prefer to skip the long commute to Boston if they had the resources. Today, TechSandBox is nestled in a Hopkinton office park near major technology companies, like EMC Corp. and is host to several tenants as well as a number of popular events.
Read about other Central Massachusetts Power Players
Change Agents: Executives bringing their organizations to new heights
- Eric Dickson, President & CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, Worcester
- Barbara Doyle, President & CEO of MetroWest Medical Center, Framingham
- Susan Hertzberg, President & CEO of Boston Heart Diagnostics, Framingham
- Douglas Petersen, President & CEO of Workers’ Credit Union, Fitchburg
Visionaries: Forward thinkers pushing to realize the promises of the future
- Robert E. Johnson, President of Becker College, Worcester
- Charles Faris, President & CEO of Spectrum Health Systems, Worcester
- Edward Moore, President & CEO of Harrington HealthCare, Southbridge
- David Jordan, President & CEO of Seven Hills Foundation, Worcester
- Ralph Crowley Jr., President & CEO of Polar Beverages, Worcester
Politicos: Public officials leveraging their positions to further business development
- Dean J. Mazzarella, Mayor of Leominster
- Economic Development Coordinating Council, Worcester
- Michael F. Collins, Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester
- Arthur Vigeant, Mayor of Marlborough & Susanne Morreale Leeber, President & CEO of the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce
Fresh Faces: Newcomers to Central Massachusetts with refreshing perspectives and ideas
- Amy Lynn Chase, Owner of Crompton Collective, Worcester
- Nick Capasso, Museum Director at the Fitchburg Art Museum
- Laurie Leshin, President of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Charles “Chip” Norton, President of Franklin Realty Advisors, Worcester
- Venkat Kolluri, CEO of Cidewalk and Chitika, Southborough/Westborough
Inner Circle: Long-time players who continue to have a significant role in new developments
- Christina Andreoli, Vice President of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Kevin Meehan, Owner of Imperial Cars, Mendon
- Michael P. Angelini, Chairman of Bowditch & Dewey, Worcester
- Brian W. Thompson, President & CEO of Commerce Bank, Worcester
- Susan Mailman, President of Coghlin Electrical Contractors & Coghlin Network Services, Worcester
- Dr. Charles and Janet Birbara, Owners of the Beechwood Hotel, Worcester
- Frederick H. Eppinger, President, CEO & Director of Hanover Insurance, Worcester
