Power is fleeting, as is influence.
The Central Massachusetts economy is constantly changing. With every company 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 continue 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. 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 remarkably changed from last year. In fact, there are only four people who made the list both this year and last, and the reasons were 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.
Gathered below are Central Massachusetts’ 2016 Power Players:
Standard Bearers: Long-time forces in the business community
- Timothy P. Murray, President & CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Mike Angelini, Chairman of Bowditch & Dewey
- The Crowleys, Owners & Shareholders of Polar Beverages & Wachusett Mountain Ski Area
- Sandy L. Dunn, General manager at the SMG/DCU Center
- Don Irving, President of Black Point Realty & Nichols Square LLC
Trail Blazers: Pioneers setting the latest economic trends
- Karim El-Gamal, Co-owner of the Rail Trail Flatbread Co./New City Microcreamery/
- Ed Moore, President & CEO of Harrington HealthCare System
- Girish Navani, CEO of eClinicalWorks
- Kevin O’Sullivan, President & CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, Worcester
- Alec Lopez & Sherri Sadowski, Owners of Armsby Abbey/Crust Bakeshop/The Dive Bar
Behind the Scenes: People in the background who keep the wheels turning
- Cheryl Lapriore, Chief of staff & chief marketing officer at UMass Memorial Health Care
- Gordon Lankton, Retired president of Nypro Inc.
- Ann T. Lisi, President & CEO of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation
- Kate McEvoy-Zdonczyk, Vice president of business development at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Jim McGovern & Karyn E. Polito, U.S. Congressman & Lieutenant Governor
Next Wave: Forward thinkers ushering in the new economy
- Travis McCready, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
- Che Anderson, Project manager at the Office of the Worcester City Manager
- Jeannie Hebert, President & CEO of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Dean Rohan, Co-founder & owner, Tree House Brewing Co.
- Christine Thomas, Development partner at XSS Hotels and Colwen Management
Gear Shifters: Up-and-comers breathing new life into old ideas
- Meredith Harris, Executive director of the Marlborough Economic Development Corp.
- Tarek Elsawy, MD President & CEO of Reliant Medical Group
- Justin & Ashleigh Gelinas, Attorneys at Gelinas & Ward, LLP
- Cliff Rucker, Owner of the Worcester Railers Hockey Club and Worcester Sports Center
- Matthias Waschek, Director at the Worcester Art Museum
