CEO Outlook

This issue of the Worcester Business Journal has a special focus devoted to taking a look at what is currently happening in our region's economy and what is in store for 2008.

In the following pages you'll hear from the CEOs of several of the area's leading firms and organizations about the trends in their industries and what they see for the future of their companies, their industry sectors and our regional economy.

Many common threads run through their forecasts. Concerns about energy costs and a weak U.S. dollar, as well as worries about how the subprime mortgage crisis might permeate the economy, are the "pocketbook issues" that repeat again and again.

But there's also a bright side. Central Massachusetts continues to be a center of innovation, and that's most apparent in the reports from our private schools and public colleges. They're either starting or in the midst of ambitious capital campaigns to upgrade their facilities and improve their offerings, including online classes that expand students' time horizons as well as their knowledge. The power and influence of the web creates communications challenges and opportunities for every industry sector. And environmental concerns are taking on increased priority across all sectors - not just the companies in the environmental assessment and conservation industry.

Central Massachusetts is proving to be a development center for the tools that will help us grapple with the today's challenges. Read these first-line reports from today's decision makers to get an idea of what tomorrow will bring.

View company profiles

Avidia Bank

Braley & Wellington Insurance Agency Corp.

Coldwell Banker

Conservation Solutions Corp.

Corporate Environmental Advisors, Inc.

Eagle Hill School

Enterprise Cleaning Corp.

Fuss & O'Neill

Isenberg School of Management

Mount St. Charles Academy

Nichols College