Massachusetts High Technology Council Holds 2019 Annual Meeting

BURLINGTON, Mass., June 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Before an audience of 200 technology and civic leaders at Boston's Seaport Hotel, the Massachusetts High Technology Council honored University of Massachusetts at Lowell Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney with its Ray Stata Leadership and Innovation Award, and hosted Governor Charlie Baker and Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy, III at its 2019 Annual Meeting on June 10.

The Council's annual meeting is the Commonwealth's premier forum for leaders from business, government, and academia to convene, collaborate and advance initiatives that drive research, innovation, and the region's technology economy.  

Moloney, a national leader in innovation in higher education, was appointed Chancellor by the UMass Board of Trustees in 2015 and is the first woman to lead the university since its founding in 1894.  Moloney was an early proponent of integrating entrepreneurial lessons and opportunities throughout campus life, and she was a pioneer in web-based learning and continuing education.

The Stata Award was created by the Council in 2017 and is awarded from time to time to a technology leader who is currently active in Massachusetts and exhibits the key leadership qualities and commitment to philanthropy and civic engagement possessed and demonstrated by Massachusetts technology pioneer Ray Stata, the founder of Analog Devices and a co-founder of the High Tech Council.  

"It is an honor to be presented with the Ray Stata Leadership and Innovation Award. At UMass Lowell, we work every day to find ways to partner with industry. These collaborations provide hands-on learning opportunities for our students through co-ops and internships and enhance our faculty's research efforts. I know Ray Stata was an early and vocal champion of this united approach to lift up the Commonwealth and I am thankful to him and the Massachusetts High Technology Council for their continued advocacy and friendship," said UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, noting that inaugural Stata Award winner and outgoing Council Chairman Aron Ain, CEO of Kronos, Incorporated is one of the university's closest industry partners. 

Outgoing Council Chairman Ain noted that over the past 10 years, the Commonwealth has experienced a rarely-seen explosion of capital investment, wealth creation, and employment growth and encouraged attendees to join the Council in a concerted effort to further enhance the competitiveness of the Commonwealth's economic climate and expand its positive impacts on Massachusetts.  Ain was the inaugural recipient of the Stata Award in 2017.

"Working together, we will continue to move Massachusetts forward," said Ain.  "As I pass the Council Chairmanship into the very able hands of Udit Batra, our focus remains the same: catalyzing growth and continuing to create economic opportunity and improving the quality of life for all Massachusetts citizens through research, advocacy and collaboration, specifically including impactful partnerships between private enterprise and the public sector."  

Incoming Council Chairman Udit Batra, Member of the Executive Board, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and CEO of the Life Science business, MilliporeSigma, and Council President Chris Anderson praised Ain for his leadership and recognized several key accomplishments the Council's members were able to achieve during his tenure including:  

• Leading the successful legal strategy to prevent an unconstitutional income tax proposal from advancing;
• Adding a State Fiscal Stability Index to MATTERS, the Council's 50-state competitiveness dashboard, to dynamically measure and assess the Commonwealth's comparative and absolute fiscal stability; and
• Launching the Council's Women in Leadership Initiative for the Next Generation to leverage proven best practices to advance women into leadership roles throughout the Council's community of employers.

Anderson urged the leaders of the Commonwealth's private economy to unite and collaborate with public officials to leverage the Commonwealth's advantages and economic momentum while avoiding complacency and policy missteps. 

"With a private economy whose strength is the envy of the nation," said Anderson, "now is the time to accelerate our economic momentum and capitalize on our advantages.  We can avoid the negative fiscal and competitive consequences suffered by other states that have pursued misguided policies.  Together, we will seek to strengthen and protect the conditions for investment, employment growth and a highly-ranked quality of life in Massachusetts."

Meeting attendees enjoyed remarks from Governor Charlie Baker and a keynote address from Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy, III.

The Governor recognized the Council's history of impact and current leadership on key issues.  "For forty-two years, the Massachusetts High Tech Council has played an integral role advocating for the tech-based private economy and catalyzing public-private collaborations in ways that help enhance Massachusetts' economic competitiveness and expand opportunities for our citizens." said Governor Baker. "We look forward to the Council's leadership and guidance to ensure Massachusetts remains one of the most competitive states in the country, including through Council initiatives focused on improving the Commonwealth's transportation system, continuing to secure our fiscal health and stability, and advancing women in leadership roles throughout our innovation economy." 

Congressman Kennedy renewed his call for a moral capitalism. "Building a moral capitalism requires a private sector willing to be a force for good. Few industries are better positioned to rise to that challenge than our Commonwealth's tech sector. By working together with the Massachusetts High Tech Council, we can unlock an economy that is measured not just by how much it produces, but how broadly it empowers."

 Anderson also recognized the support of the 2019 Annual Meeting's Presenting Sponsors Eloxx Pharmaceuticals and Oasis Systems and Stata Award Presenting Sponsor MKS Instruments.

In addition to electing Batra as Chairman, Council members elected Robert Reynolds, CEO of Putnam Investments as Vice Chairman and reelected Christopher Anderson as Council President; Jim Boyer (Executive Professor, Northeastern University) as Treasurer and Mike Kendall (Partner, Goodwin Procter) as Secretary.

Members also elected Jane Steinmetz, Boston Office Managing Partner for EY to the Council's Executive Committee, re-elected 32 incumbent directors and elected the following 4 new directors at the Annual Meeting:   

• Sam King, Chief Executive Officer, Veracode
• Douglas P. Robbins, Air Force Group Vice President, The MITRE Corporation
• Navjot Singh, Boston Office Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company
• Corey Thomas, President and CEO, Rapid7, Inc.

About the Massachusetts High Technology Council –www.mhtc.org

The Massachusetts High Technology Council, Inc. is an organization of CEOs and senior executives representing technology companies, professional services firms, and research institutions who are dedicated to creating and sustaining conditions that support investment, job growth and improved quality of life in Massachusetts. Our members are growth-oriented, knowledgeintensive employers and institutions that develop, deliver and depend on technology products, services and innovations to advance their organizational objectives—a definition which covers just about all business enterprises in Massachusetts today.

The Council advocates for the high technology economy in Massachusetts by providing members with opportunities to connect with peers, and by facilitating cooperative relationships and results-focused strategies among senior leaders from industry, finance, academia and government.

Our mission is simple: to help make Massachusetts the world's most attractive place in which to live and work, and in which to create, operate, and grow high technology businesses.

Founded in 1977, the Council has consistently led the development and implementation of strategies that impact the most important state, local and federal policy issues facing technology-focused organizations. The Council's lean-by-design staffing model ensures we are focused on policy issues that are most critical to CEOs and senior executives. 

SOURCE Massachusetts High Technology Council

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http://www.mhtc.org