RALPH CROWLEY JR.
President & CEO
Polar Corp., Worcester
As head of the Crowley family’s main business holding, Ralph has pushed for Polar Beverages to innovate in a soda market dominated by two national players all while employing 700 and generating $465 million in 2017 revenue. Polar Beverages has been family owned and operated for 136 years, first founded as a whiskey and seltzer company, with an inflatable company mascot polar bear still greeting Worcester visitors and residents along the I-290 corridor. Now, it’s the largest independent bottler in the U.S., providing packaging services for national soda brands with a new $10-million canning line and water treatment system, all while still making strides in its own products. Polar routinely releases creatively named flavors – like Yeti Mischief and Unicorn Kisses – in colorful packaging and has seasonal flavors like Watermelon Margarita, Pineapple Grapefruit and Mango Berry. Yet, the development of a new seltzer line has been new real invention, standing out on grocery shelves. Ralph works with his sister and three brothers on the family’s other prominent business holding – Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, which invested $2 million in snowmaking equipment in 2016, allowing it to produce a record amount of snow for the past two seasons.
Read about the WBJ’s 2018 Power Players:
Retail
Harry Kokkinis, Table Talk Pies
Steve Rotman, Rotman’s Furniture & Vystar
Ernie Herrman, TJX Cos.
Michael Dundas, Sira Naturals
Ralph Crowley Jr., Polar Corp.
Christopher Baldwin, BJ’s Wholesale Club
Amy Lynn Chase, Crompton Collective & Haberdash
Food & Culture
Robb & Madeline Ahlquist, Worcester Restaurant Group
Troy Siebels, The Hanover Theatre
Karim El-Gamal, Rail Trail Flatbread Co., New City Microcreamery, Less Than Greater Than
Eric, Sam & Jack Hendler, Jack’s Abby Brewing
Lynn Cheney, Lettuce Be Local
Sandy Dunn, DCU Center
Higher Education & Nonprofits
Ann T. Lisi, Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, College of the Holy Cross
Javier Cevallos, Framingham State University
Michael F. Collins, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Jill Dagilis, Worcester Community Action Council
Dr. David A. Jordan, Seven Hills Foundation
Laurie Leshin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Corner Office
Kate Sharry, Group Benefits Strategies
Tina M. Sbrega, GFA Federal Credit Union
John C. Roche, The Hanover Insurance Group
Elaine Osgood, Atlas Travel
Michael P. Angelini, Bowdtich & Dewey
Susan Mailman, Coghlin Electrical Contractors
Edward F. Manzi Jr., Fidelity Bank
Manufacturing
Dinesh Wadhwani, ThinkLite
Ravi Vig, Allegro Microsystems
Nobuhiko Tamura, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals
Daniel McGahn, AMSC
Michael Mahoney, Boston Scientific
Jeannie Hebert, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce
Valentin Gapontsev, IPG Photonics
Chris Coghlin, Coghlin Cos.
Health care
Kevin O’Sullivan, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives
Kurt Isaacson, Spectrum Health Systems
Tarek Elsawy, Reliant Medical Group
Jeffrey M. Welch, Saint Vincent Hospital
Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial Health Care
Holly Chaffee, VNA Care
Richard P. Burke, Fallon Health
Economic Development
Ann K. Tripp, Opus Investment Management
Robert Walker, RA Ventures
Yvonne Spicer, City of Framingham
Cliff Rucker, Worcester Railers Hockey Club
Sherri Greene Pitcher, Fidelity Bank
Timothy P. Murray, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
Anthony Consigli, Consigli Construction Co.
Jennie Lee Colosi, E. T. & L. Corp.
