The Power 50: Robert Walker
ROBERT WALKER
Principal
RA Ventures, Westford
School: Nashoba Valley Technical High School
Area shoppers and diners know developer RA Ventures, even if the name of the company doesn't ring a bell. The Westford firm owns the fast-expanding eatery 110 Grill, which opened in downtown Worcester this spring as its 14th location, and Italian restaurant Evviva Cucina, which has three locations, including in Marlborough. In fact, it's in Marlborough where RA Ventures may be making a name for itself in the biggest way. Its $160-million, 475,000-square-foot Apex Center of New England opened last fall with a Hyatt Place hotel, a Fairfield Inn & Suites, an office building, Qdoba, T-Mobile, Sport Clips, Okami Hibachi, Zoots, IC Federal Credit Union, Protein House, Batteries + Bulbs and others, including one of RA Ventures' 11 Pro Clean Auto Wash locations. As for what really makes the plaza stand out? A two-story building with restaurants and bars, a Planet Fitness gym, bumper cars, a virtual reality gaming center, an escape room, bowling, laser tag, a kart track, an ax-throwing center and a rope course. Add it up, and the Apex Center has added a new feature to Marlborough, a city more traditionally known for its huge corporate campuses and hotels but has more expanded out to provide more amenities for residents and visitors.
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.
WBJ Web Partners
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