David ‘Duddie’ Massad: Chairman, Commerce Bank & Trust, Worcester

Duddie earns power and influence the old-fashioned way: He buys it.

David Massad Jr. has come a long way since his bootstraps upbringing on Worcester’s East Side. This year, his Commerce Bank & Trust, the second-largest bank based in Central Massachusetts, continued to grow its assets, buying Boston-based Mercantile Capital and its subsidiary, Mercantile Bank & Trust, for $26.5 million.

The deal gave Commerce a physical presence in Boston. It now has combined assets of $1.6 billion, with 16 retail banking offices serving people and businesses across the central and eastern parts of the state, including three offices in the Boston metro area.

Not bad for a guy who, in his teens, was a barker at the old White City Amusement Park in Shrewsbury, and who continued to scrape his way up from the economic bottom, operating the old Webster Square Cinema (with renowned ’60s activist and Worcester native Abbie Hoffman as his manager). Duddie made his mark with car dealerships Duddie Ford in Westborough and Diamond Chevrolet in Worcester, now in Auburn. He’s also one of the region’s largest commercial property owners.

IN THE COMMUNITY
In 2005, he donated $12.5 million for a new medical facility at UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Lake Avenue campus in Worcester, whose emergency room and trauma center bear his name. Another big donation renovated Foley Stadium, which also includes Commerce Bank Park as part of its moniker.

John Prosser: Chairman, Seven Hills Foundation, Worcester

James Paulhus: President and CEO, UniBank for Savings, Whitinsville

Michael O’Brien: City Manager, City of Worcester (Until Jan. 5, 2014)

Tim Murray: President and CEO, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

Jim McGovern: U.S. Rep., Worcester

William Manley: Founder and CEO, Calare Properties, Hudson

Gordon Lankton: Founder, Museum of Russian Icons and Gallery of African Art, Clinton

Warner Fletcher: Partner, Fletcher Tilton, Worcester

Gerald Fels: Trustee Emeritus, Nichols College, Dudley

Fred Eppinger: President and CEO, The Hanover Insurance Group

Mary DeFeudis: Philanthropist and Volunteer, Northborough

Dr. Eric Dickson: CEO, UMass Memorial Health Care Inc., Worcester