Message from Roundtable Staff

As the Roundtable enters its 45 ^th year, we continue to be grateful for the commitment of the state’s public and private leaders to the social and economic success of Massachusetts. In 2024, the public and private sectors worked together to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the state, such as tax policy, housing costs, child care affordability and accessibility, and supporting the industries that drive our economy today and into the future. In each of these instances, the Roundtable worked side by side with policymakers and other stakeholders on transformative solutions to address the state’s competitiveness. We are grateful for the collaborative spirit that made this possible.

As 2025 begins, the Roundtable is energized to seize upon collaborations with the public sector, community-based organizations, labor, and the private sector to build upon the state’s foundation and improve the state’s competitiveness. Since our inception 45 years ago, the Roundtable has brought together business leaders to ensure their expertise and ideas impact and influence complex state public policy issues. That was on full display in 2024 and promises to continue in the year to come. Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

JD, Lauren, Rebecca, and Tonja

Quarterly Policy Roundup

Taking Aim at the Commonwealth’s Competitiveness

As 2024 came to an end, so did the 2023-2024 legislative session. Over the past two years, the Legislature and the Healey-Driscoll Administration took direct aim at addressing the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, including passing nearly $1 billion in tax cuts and almost $10 billion in bond authorization to address housing, economic development, and more. As part of a statewide business community that has been sounding the alarm on the state’s competitiveness, the Roundtable is grateful to public leaders for taking action, and for the opportunity to collaborate on these important initiatives.

As we look back at this past legislative session, it is clear that it will be consequential to the state’s economy for years to come. If you haven’t already, read our end-of-session blog post highlighting the end-of-session activity and the impact the Roundtable had on these initiatives, and read our end-of-session impact report, released in September 2024.

What’s next? As we enter 2025, the Roundtable will be releasing a refreshed and updated Talent Agenda, outlining our work and priorities for the 2025–2026 legislative session, focusing on improving the biggest challenges facing the state: cost of living; outmigration; and cost of doing business.

Board of Directors Meeting

Quarterly Meeting of the Board of Directors

Roundtable Hosts Board Meeting Featuring Rich Davey of Massport

On December 3, the Roundtable held its final board meeting of 2024. The highlight of the meeting was hearing from guest speaker Rich Davey, President & CEO, Massport. Rich spoke about Massport and the impact it has on the state’s economic activities; addressing greenhouse gas emissions; housing; and more. MassPort is an important driver of economic activity for the region and the Roundtable looks forward to partnering with Rich and his team on economic development policy in the year ahead.

After Rich spoke, there was an engaging discussion on the Roundtable’s Talent Agenda and a post-election state competitiveness conversation. In particular, members discussed the changes occurring at the federal level and the potential impact on the Massachusetts economy. Many expressed optimism, and most expressed some combination of concern and uncertainty as they prepare for potential federal policy changes. The issues Roundtable members are watching most closely are tariffs on foreign imports; reductions in government spending; and the scaling back of renewable energy investments. The Roundtable will continue to monitor the impacts of federal policy on those industries core to the Massachusetts economy.

Welcome to the Roundtable

Navjeet Bal

President & CEO

MassDevelopment

Paul Blanchfield

President

Lantheus Medical Imaging

JC Burton

Founder & CEO

Maven Construction

Tim DelGiudice

Director, New England Government Relations| Portsmouth, RI Site Executive

Raytheon Technologies

Susan Fournier

Allen Questrom Professor and Dean

Boston University Questrom School of Business

Matthew Gardner

Managing Partner

Sustainserv

Ethan Gauvin

Head of Government Affairs, Northeast

Google

Grace Lee

Executive Vice President, MA Regional President

M&T Bank

Paul Petrignani

Global Business Director

Specialty Minerals Inc.

Michal Preminger

Head of Innovation, E. North America

Johnson & Johnson

Malisa Schuyler

Senior Vice President of Government Affairs

Beth Israel Lahey Health

Maeghan Welford

Director, Strategic Finance, Growth, and Transformation

The MITRE Corporation

Open Forum Recaps

NOVEMBER OPEN FORUM

The November Open Forum brought members together for a discussion concerning how neurodiverse talent, an untapped talent pool, can be better supported to contribute meaningfully to the state’s workforce. Roundtable members Jay Gonzalez, President of Curry College and Jane Steinmetz, Atlantic Growth Market Leader and Boston Office Managing Principal at EY, led this engaging conversation. Members learned about best practices for recruiting and retaining neurodiverse talent and how academic institutions could serve as a pipeline for such talent. They were also provided access to resources to further guide efforts to better integrate neurodiverse talent into the workplace.

The following resources were shared at the Open Forum:

Curry College is now providing training for employers around hiring and supporting neurodivergent workers. For more information, contact Jay Gonzalez.
The Neurodiversity Network has resources to support employers, universities, and neurodiverse individuals.
The Neurodiversity Playbook: How Neurodivergent People Can Crack the Code of Living in a Neurotypical World.

DECEMBER OPEN FORUM

The final Open Forum for 2024 was led by Roundtable member Bryan Stevens, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Commercial Operations at Schneider Electric, and his colleagues Leslie Vitrano, Global Channel Marketing Manager, and Don Pretty, Senior Account Executive. The discussion addressed best practices relative to Employee Resource Networks (ERN) and Employee Resource Groups (ERG) and ideas for providing a richer experience for employees. As part of the discussion, members recognized that ERNs and ERGs generate positive impacts for both employees and businesses and contribute to workforce diversity. Members further discussed the possibility of creating a DEI Council that includes Roundtable member organizations to scale ERNs and ERGs.

Going Around the Table

Sharing a few highlights from member companies!

Roundtable Keynotes Workforce Conference: This fall, Roundtable EVP Tonja Mettlach was honored to join the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce as their afternoon keynote speaker at the Game Changers 2024 Workforce Conference. Addressing nearly 200 attendees, Tonja spoke and presented data about the Commonwealth’s competitive advantages, challenges, and, most importantly, the solutions the Roundtable is working on to tap untapped talent and grow our state’s workforce. View photos from the event on our LinkedIn.

UMass Luncheon: The Roundtable was honored to join UMass President Marty Meehan for a lunch and conversation between Roundtable members and the Chancellors from the University’s five-campus system about the valuable talent resource UMass provides to employers and the economic impact the institution and its graduates have on the Commonwealth. This is the beginning of efforts to build relationships and connect Roundtable members to diverse talent pipelines. We hope to have similar future events in 2025.

Each of the University's five-campuses would welcome the opportunity to work more closely with Roundtable members. The following resources preview the ways employers can engage more closely with each campus:

Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report: The Roundtable once again partnered with member organization Bentley University for a business leaders’ conversation around Bentley’s 3 ^rd annual Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report. The conversation focused on the challenges businesses face during this time of technological change and political tension and explored questions including: When should organizations speak out? How should they adopt AI? What should they do about diversity and inclusion? Visit the Roundtable’s website to read a guest blog post by Helen Henrichs, Director of News and Public Relations, Bentley University, that recaps the conversation.

Takeda and Boston Medical Center Announce Innovative Collaboration: Roundtable member organization Takeda and Boston Medical Center recently announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration focused on identifying innovative solutions to reduce hard-to-abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the health care sector. The collaboration aims to reduce the GHG emissions caused by the disposal of regulated medical waste, such as pharmaceutical packaging and single-use plastics, which are among the most difficult environmental challenges facing the industry. The two health care leaders will also seek to scale the interventions developed through the collaboration by sharing best practices to help other organizations adopt and learn new ways to decarbonize their operations to drive wider health care ecosystem impact. A key objective of this collaboration is to effectively identify, pilot, and share valuable insights on decarbonization solutions that other healthcare organizations can adopt as they also seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

UMass Boston Announces Free Tuition for Eligible Students: Roundtable member organization UMass Boston recently joined Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, Senator Collins, Representative Hunt, Representative Biele, students, business leaders, and more to announce a free tuition pledge for students with the greatest needs. The new Beacon Pledge will combine university, state, and federal aid to provide unprecedented certainty to students and families as their college application process begins. As noted in the press release by Roundtable member Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, with over 80% of UMass Boston graduates remaining in Massachusetts after graduation, this additional investment in public higher education is an investment in the state’s future workforce.

Expanding the Table

Roundtable initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace

Transforming Democracy in the Latino Century Event

A few weeks before election day, the Roundtable was honored to partner with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and Conexión for a captivating discussion on how the Latino community is reshaping American politics and democracy. Renowned authors and national experts Mike Madrid and Ray Suarez discussed the growing impact of the Latino vote both now and into the future, particularly as the United States becomes closer to a majority-minority nation. This event was part of a series of Roundtable convenings in the fall aimed to promote dialogue in the business community around key issues in advance of the November election. View photos from the event on LinkedIn.

Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition Breakfast

The Roundtable, as a founding member of the Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition , co-hosted a breakfast during National Caregiving Week , focused on strategies to support family caregivers in the workplace. The event featured an excellent panel, moderated by JD Chesloff, President & CEO of the Roundtable; Lauren Jones, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development; Chrissy Lynch, President of the MA AFL-CIO; Robin Lipson, Secretary of Elder Affairs; and Jill McNamara of Care.com. Thank you to Roundtable member Sarah Iselin of Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA for hosting the event and Undersecretary Josh Cutler for his leadership on this initiative.

MassSkills Convening

This fall, the Roundtable co-hosted a convening of the MassSkills Coalition, a coalition the Roundtable co-chairs with Lauren Jones, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development; Jerry Rubin of Eastern Bank Foundation; and Chrissy Lynch of the MA AFL-CIO. In a packed room filled with employers, workforce partners, academia, vocational schools, training providers, and more, attendees discussed how skills-first strategies can help grow a stronger, more competitive, and equitable workforce. The event also featured a fireside chat with Roundtable member Jane Steinmetz of EY. The convening concluded with a preview of what is to come for 2025, including learning communities on data and measurement; hiring; and retention and upward mobility, which will be launching in the coming weeks.

In addition, a key partner to the Roundtable, the national Business Roundtable (BRT), recently released three resources to aid employers as they implement skills-based hiring strategies within their own companies. Informed by lessons learned by BRT members, these resources underscore CEOs’ commitment to expanding employment opportunities for more U.S. workers without college degrees. The new resources released include:

Impact Measurement Framework Playbook: A detailed guide that offers practical recommendations to help companies quantify the success of their skills-based talent strategies.
Cultivating a Skills-Based Culture: A compilation of best practices for how companies can promote a culture that supports skills-based hiring and advancement for workers without college degrees.
Regional Skills-Based Strategy Guide: A comprehensive toolkit to aid companies in implementing skills-based strategies at the regional level that leverages community partnerships and reflects local employment needs.

If you are interested in joining the MassSkills Coalition or want to learn more about skills-based talent strategies, reach out to Roundtable EVP Tonja Mettlach anytime!

Upcoming in January

Invest in Early and Mid-Career Professionals of Color

Registration for The Partnership’s renowned leadership development programs for early and mid-career professionals of color is open through January 31, 2025. Programs are offered annually and are designed to accelerate professional growth, expand leadership skills, and support the advancement of professionals of color at each stage of their career. Programs for the Class of 2025 are open to a national cohort of professionals of color and begin in February. Please contact Claire Cooper to learn more about opportunities for companies to invest in rising professionals of color, or visit The Partnership's website.