Christine Tieri founded the advertising agency smith&jones in 1994 in Worcester and operated under that brand for 21 years, mostly out of a building Tieri owned at 76 Main St. in Sturbridge. On Sept. 1, the company moved into a new, more open space at 420 Main St. in Sturbridge, under the new brand Idea Agency, Inc. to symbolize its shift toward an integrated brand development company.
Very few people could plan to leave a job as head of Worcester's largest publicly traded company and still retain an outsized influence on the region, but such is the pull Frederick H. Eppinger has had on the region since 2003.
Robert E. Johnson has taken his presidency at Becker College as an opportunity to both turn around a school that lacked a coherent direction and in the process become one of the most engaged and dynamic college figures on the Greater Worcester community.
Laurie Leshin landed on the Worcester business and higher education scene in 2014 when she became the first female president in the 150-year history of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.