🔒The next generation of leadership

Back in March, we wrote in this space about how pending retirements among longtime CEOs and executive directors at more than a dozen key businesses and nonprofits like Edward M. Kennedy Health Center in Worcester, the YMCA of Central Mass., Main Street Bank in Marlborough and the Worcester Community Action Council were going to create a leadership vacuum in the region’s business community, especially with the loss of such significant institutional knowledge in such a short period. While the corporate level of turnover feels more normal, the leadership changes in the nonprofit sector is dramatic.

As those empty leadership chairs have been getting filled with the likes of longtime employee Jim McCarthy at R.H. White Cos. in Auburn, former Obama Administration official Barbara Fields at the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and seasoned hospital executive Lou Brady at the Family Health Center of Worcester, it’s rewarding to see Central Massachusetts organizations attracting such qualified hires with a diverse array of backgrounds and experience. While only time will tell how each of the new leaders performs in their roles, the organizations experiencing a transition in leadership appear to have landed in capable hands.

With the Baby Boomer generation well into retirement age, we expect this wave of leadership changes to continue for years. In the Shop Talk feature for this issue, Marybeth Campbell discusses how she plans to build on Jill Dagilis’ legacy at the Worcester Community Action Council in being the leading voice for anti-poverty issues. Over at the Kennedy Community Health Center in Worcester, former Democratic National Convention CEO Steve Kerrigan is taking over a strong organization Toni McGuire guided for more than a decade and plans to continue to make a difference for the underserved in the community. Starting in September over at the SHINE Initiative, new Executive Director Fred Kaelin is going to have the opportunity to work alongside outgoing leader Paul Richard, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Retirements aside, some turnover is a natural part of the mix, as Timothy McGourthey left the leadership of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau to become the No. 2 honcho at the state’s economic development office, with his former role at the WRRB being filled by Paul Matthews, who’s left the executive director’s position at the 495/MetroWest Partnership open for a new leader there.

What do all these new Central Massachusetts business leaders have in common? Not much. Some are longtime agency employees; others are new to the field. Some, like David Connell at the YMCA, are the first people of color the lead their organizations. These new leaders are both from outside the region and from inside its ecosystem. Each has the ability to shape the future of their organizations, influence the region and carve out a legacy for themselves. They all have big shoes to fill, but from what we can tell so far, they all seem up to the task. While some of the retiring leaders may move away or put up the “Gone Fishin” sign, others have kept their hand in the game, taken on part-time gigs, and increased their volunteer time in the community. It’s nice to see the skills and connections of so many longtime leaders continue to be put to good use.