C-Speak: The Language of Executives

For Lisa Wieland, president of National Grid’s New England business, today is the best time to work in the evolving energy sector. “To be at the heart of the energy transition is a pretty exciting place to be,” she said. The company’s goal, “is to build out the future grid while also balancing the need to ensure that we continue to support and enable economic development, not only here within the...

Creating an inclusive, equitable workplace and “workforce of the future,” says Dr. Anne Klibanski, is imperative for any organization with a goal of delivering patient-focused health care.  “I think one of the most important lessons for all hospitals is to think about the local community,” says Klibanski, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham – which, she notes, “needs to look first at how to...

For Brooke Thomson, president of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the statewide business advocacy organization’s mission is clear. “We are here to help businesses succeed. We know that when our businesses are strong, when our economy is strong, we can hire more people, we can pay great wages, people can have a good quality of life and do the things that they want to do,” Thomson says. I...

What drives innovation? Andrew Bialecki, CEO and president of Klaviyo, says it’s people willing to take chances and “embrace the willingness to be wrong.” “If you surround yourself with a lot of other ambitious, thoughtful people, you're just naturally going to want to try things,” says Bialecki, one of the company’s co-founders. “At Klaviyo, we're not afraid to take risks.” In this epis...

The Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund’s goal, says Dr. Makeeba McCreary, is to raise $100 million to support nonprofit leaders of color.  In this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, McCreary, president of the fund, delves into how the organization is disrupting the philanthropy sector.  McCreary, born and raised in Boston’s South End, launched her career in service to others, whic...

The New England Aquarium, says president and CEO Vikki Spruill, is far more than a tourist attraction.  In this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Spruill details the scope and significance of the 54-year-old institution’s contributions – research, education and advocacy, among others – to Boston and far beyond the city limits. As the leader of a marine-based nonprofit with a workforce of 290 and...

Robert Lewis Jr. will never forget Boston’s desegregation busing crisis in the 1970s – an intensely volatile period during which his home was firebombed.  In this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Lewis, now Nicholas President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and a longtime community leader, reveals how the unrest became the genesis for his purpose. Lewis, who was 16 when his East...

As president and CEO of Meet Boston, Martha Sheridan’s job is to position Boston “as one of the premier destinations in the world.”  On this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Sheridan details how she and her 501(c)(6) organization – that markets the Boston area as a destination for meetings, conventions and leisure visits – accomplishes that goal. “if we don't invite them, they're not...

Perhaps there’s no one better to lead the academic institution ranked No. 1 in entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report than a serial entrepreneur who developed a small Utah business into a national franchise brand . On this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Stephen Spinelli, Ph. D., details “the intersection between business” and Babson College, where he is president. Spinelli’s entrepr...

For Sarah Iselin, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts, being raised by parents who led “lives of service” has had a huge impact on her career choices – including her current executive role with a mission-driven, not-for-profit health care plan. “Our new mission is to show up for everyone like they're the only one,” says Iselin on this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast....

The arts’ contribution to the state’s GDP is significant, says Michael Bobbitt, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council . The sector in Massachusetts is a $27.2 billion industry, Bobbitt says on this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast. That’s based on a 2021 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report .  “We know that arts are great for supporting people's health needs and their...

Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Glynn Lloyd has a passion for advancing entrepreneurship and community. Lloyd is executive director of Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI), a community development finance institution that helps to provide capital “where traditional capital usually doesn’t get to,” historic...

If you’re in need of advice on how to emerge from corporate devastation, Rob Hale, CEO and president of Granite Telecommunications, has plenty to share. In 2002, Hale’s thriving company, Network Plus, went bankrupt during the stock market crash. “That morning (Feb. 4) when we went bankrupt, that equity, which was $1.4 billion, officially finally became zero, never to return,” he recalls. In this e...

Dr. Kevin Tabb’s self-described “eclectic background” includes service in the Israeli military, completing medical school and a residency, and roles in health care IT on the east and west coasts in the U.S.   Over the years, he’s witnessed an evolution in patient care that he notes, “will always be needed in hospitals, but more and more care is provided outside of the four walls of the hospitals.”...

JD Chesloff credits a diverse range of mentors, and experience, for his ability to transition from public service to the private sector. A former state and federal employee, Chesloff began developing key insights that continue to shape his approach to work.   “Showing up, getting out of your lane and bending toward collaboration are three lessons that I have lived by,” said Chesloff, president and...

Paul Ayoub, chair and partner of the law firm, Nutter, grew up in West Roxbury (Ward 20) in a Syrian and Lebanese American family that instilled strong values in him. In this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, he says his family never took anything for granted and his dad taught him, “The privilege of whatever you receive is to give back.”  Ayoub’s dad is the reason he has invested more than 30 y...

Kendalle Burlin O’Connell relishes a challenge. That’s just what she got her first day leading the purchasing consortium in 2008 with the company now known as MassBio – when a vendor said she was “not the right person for this job” because she lacked experience in biotechnology. Burlin O’Connell, an attorney, ended up negotiating what’s now MassBio’s largest supplier agreement. “I think that becau...

Passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 proved to be the catalyst for Cain Hayes’ pivot from the financial services sector to health care. “What I saw is that people would oftentimes do a great job of building financial health in retirement only to get to retirement and have a poor quality of life,” said Hayes, now president and CEO of Point32Health.  Hayes details his experience in the industr...

A self-described “social impact entrepreneur” with experience in multimedia arts, Jean Dolin said an early fascination with storytelling and American culture are key factors in his current role as a community advocate. Dolin, founder and creative director of “Portraits of Pride,” details his journey from being a young news junkie in Haiti to a prominent leader in Boston, in this episode of the PNC...

Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.   According to Colette Phillips, president and CEO of marketing and public relations firm Colette Phillips Communications, the best way to make a difference is to get involved and form real relationships, she said in this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast.    “Young people tend...

Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), never expected to be leading the organization a year or so after she began working with them as a consultant. “It’s the hardest thing, but the most satisfying job I’ve ever had,” she says. “It’...

Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Aisha Francis’ childhood dream was to be a teacher – which is why she pursued the education field after graduating from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Now president of Franklin Cummings Tech (formerly known as Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology), Francis relishes “leading an institution that...

Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.  Tom O’Brien’s early-career stint as a campaign worker for presidential candidate and governor Michael Dukakis didn’t pay much – he remembers not being able to make car payments – but was nevertheless a rewarding, “transformative experience,” he said in this episode of PNC C-Speak. O’Brien, co-founder, managi...

Experience as a classroom teacher in California set Jim Canales on the path toward his role as president of The Barr Foundation, Canales shares in the latest episode of PNC C-Speak. One of the foundation’s focus areas is education. In 2022, the foundation awarded nearly $140 million to grant recipients. “The foundation’s mission is to invest in potential,” says Canales, a Boston Business Journal M...

Flywire CEO Mike Massaro does not take credit for building the once-struggling tech startup into a global, publicly traded company. The credit goes to the company’s “flymates,” aka employees, Massaro shares in the latest episode of PNC C-Speak.   Massaro, who once considered himself unprepared for the job and thought he’d be “the shortest-tenured CEO in the history of tech CEOs,” was the recipient...