Boardroom Media (CEO News)
At CEO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Massachusetts based CEO’ operating in the Business Development space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Noubar Afeyan
Founder & CEO of Flagship Pioneering
Noubar Afeyan is Founder, Senior Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer at Flagship Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm. Noubar also leads the firm’s VentureLabs unit that invents and launches transformative startups. Noubar is a Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management where he has taught courses on technology-entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership since 2000. Noubar lectures widely in the United States and internationally on diverse topics ranging from entrepreneurship, innovation and venture capital to biological engineering, drug discovery, medical technologies and renewable energy. During his 28-year career as inventor, entrepreneur, CEO and venture capitalist, Noubar has co-founded and helped build over 35 successful life science and technology startups. Noubar was Founder and Chief Executive Officer at PerSeptive Biosystems, a leader in the bio-instrumentation field that grew to over $100M in annual sales within six years from its first sales. After PerSeptive’s acquisition by Perkin Elmer/Applera Corporation in 1998, Noubar was Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Applera, where he initiated and oversaw the creation of Celera Genomics. Currently Noubar serves on a number of public and private company boards including CiBO Technologies, Epiva BioSciences, Evelo BioSciences, Joule Unlimited, Kaleido BioSciences, Moderna Therapeutics, Pronutria Biosciences and Seres Therapeutics. Previously, Noubar was a Member of the founding team, Director and Investor in several highly successful ventures including Chemgenics Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Millennium Pharmaceuticals), Color Kinetics (acquired by Philips), Adnexus Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb) and Affinnova (acquired by AC Nielsen). Noubar received a Technology Pioneer 2012 award from the World Economic Forum in recognition of the breakthrough solar fuel technology being developed at Joule Unlimited. Noubar has served as Chairman of the Global Agenda Council on Chemicals, Advanced Materials and Biotechnology of the World Economic Forum as well as being a member of the Meta-Council on Emerging Technologies. Noubar is a Member of the Board of Overseers of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he serves on the board of AmeriaBank and of UWC Dilijan International School, both of Armenia. Previously, Noubar was a Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors at National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, a private-public partnership dedicated to promoting economic development in the former Soviet Republic of Armenia. In 2008 Noubar received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award granted to outstanding Americans who have distinguished themselves as United States citizens and who have enabled their ancestry groups to maintain their identities while becoming integral parts of American life. Noubar has authored numerous scientific publications and patents since earning his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from MIT in 1987. Cygnal is a best-in-class team of biomedical experts and leaders collaborating to revolutionize how the world treats diseases.
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About BIND Therapeutics, Cogen Therapeutics, Cygnal Therapeutics, Ensemble Therapeutics, Flagship Pioneering, Generate Biomedicines, Harvard Business School, Indigo, Joule Unlimited Technologies, Laronde, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Moderna Therapeutics, Omega Therapeutics, Permeon Biologics, Ring Therapeutics, Rubius Therapeutics, Seres Therapeutics: Flagship Pioneering is a venture capital firm that invests in life sciences and healthcare companies.
Philip Butler
Founder and CEO of Dragonfly
MIT, Yale, Veya, Dragonfly
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About Dragonfly, Veya: Dragonfly engages in acquiring and developing e-commerce businesses.
John Fanning
Founding Chairman & CEO of Netcapital
John Fanning is the Founding Chairman & CEO at NetCapital .
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About Napster, Netcapital: Netcapital enables investors to invest in entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital using technology.
Jason Frishman
Founder & CEO of Netcapital
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About Netcapital: Netcapital enables investors to invest in entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital using technology.
Rob Hale
CEO of Granite Telecommunications
Rob Hale is President and CEO of Granite Telecommunications and a co-founder of Copley Equity Partners. Rob currently serves on Copley’s investment committee and also serves as an entrepreneur in residence to assist the development of Copley’s portfolio companies. Rob founded Granite in 2002 and has grown the company into one of the largest privately held telecommunications services companies in the U.S., with revenues exceeding $1 Billion. Rob is the founder and board chair of Fox Rock Capital, a single family office based in Boston, founding owner of FoxRock Properties, a commercial real estate firm, and is co-owner of the NBA’s Boston Celtics and Boston Cannons of the MLL. Rob lives in the Boston area with his wife and three children. He serves on the Board of Trustees for Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the South Shore YMCA, and the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund.
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About Granite Telecommunications: Granite is a leading communications services provider for businesses with multiple locations.
James McCann
CEO of Food Retail Ventures
Retail Tech Investor | Board Member | ex CEO @Ahold @Carrefour @Tesco Investor in some of the most exciting early stage companies in the grocery tech, food tech and consumer goods space.
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About Food Retail Ventures: Food Retail Ventures invests in early stage food and retail technology companies.
Michael A Butler
Chief Executive Officer & President of Radius Bank
Since joining Radius Bank in March 2008, Mr. Butler has transformed the Bank into an innovative leader in the financial services industry, one focused on delivering superior customer service and leading-edge technology to its clients. He is an experienced banking executive with an extensive background in all facets of commercial and consumer banking. Prior to joining the Bank, Mike served as President, National Consumer Finance at KeyCorp in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a graduate of Providence College and the ABA’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking. Mike serves as a member of the Financial Services Committee for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, on the Board of Trustees for Thompson Island Outward Bound, and has been active with the Habitat for Humanity program. He was recently recognized as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® New England 2016 Finalist.
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About Grasshopper Bank, Radius Bank: Radius Bank is a forward-thinking community bank offering a full complement of convenient, leading-edge personal and business products.
Alan Trefler
Founder & CEO of Pegasystems
In a three decade career, Alan Trefler has been a visionary leader, a technology change-agent, an innovative philanthropist and a trusted advisor to business executives around the world. Alan’s unique technology vision and relentless focus on customer success is changing the way many of the world’s leading enterprises engage with their customers today. His life’s work has been to design a platform for living applications that businesspeople can evolve dynamically to manage the constant disruption and change in today’s customer-centric economy. Alan’s recent book, Build for Change, describes a new generation of customers that have unprecedented power to make or break brands and the changes businesses must embrace to succeed in today’s digital world. A best-seller, the book has been reviewed and featured in global media including Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily and Les Echos. Alan founded Pegasystems in 1983 and has built the company into a $600 million provider of strategic applications with more than 3,000 employees in 30 global offices, and growing more than 20 percent annually. Alan’s interest in computers originates from collegiate involvement in tournament chess, where he achieved a Master rating and was co-champion of the 1975 World Open Chess Championship. His passion and support for chess, the game’s community and current champions continues to this day. Alan’s industry recognition includes The American Business Award’s “Software CEO of the Year,” the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s “Public Company CEO of the Year” and the Babson College Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. He frequently presents to international business and technology audiences at industry conferences and has consulted extensively in the use of advanced technology and customer engagement Alan has been interviewed and featured in Global Media including Barron’s, the BBC, Bloomberg Television, The Boston Globe, CNBC, Customerfirst!, Les Echos, Fast Company, Fox Business News, Forbes, Fortune, The Huffington Post, Investor’s Business Daily, The New York Times, Reuters, TheStreet.com, TechCrunch and the Wall Street Journal. He has spoken about and consulted extensively in the use of advanced technologies and the future of software and has been named the inventor of numerous patents for Pega’s distinctive architecture. Alan holds a degree with distinction in Economics and Computer Science from Dartmouth College, where he was a winner of the John G. Kemeny prize in computing. A staunch advocate for education, Alan and his wife Pam established the Trefler Foundation in 1996 to improve educational outcomes. Recently, the Foundation has sponsored Union & Fifth, an innovative non-profit that turns clothing donations into money for charities.
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About Pegasystems: PegaSystems provides business process and customer relationship management solutions for organizations.
Kaushik Bhatta (KB)
Founder, CEO of B3 Alliance, Inc.
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About B3 Alliance, Inc., Shiva & Company, Inc.: Comprehensive Business Consulting Firm
Peter Caputa
CEO of Databox
Peter Caputa IV is VP Sales at HubSpot. As HubSpot employee #15, Pete has played a pivotal role in helping to develop the people, processes and systems that have helped HubSpot scale to 1,000+ employees, 2300+ agency partners, 15,000+ customers and $115M in revenue. Pete now oversees teams across the sales department—including the media team, which he helped build from the ground up. An expert on the B2B media industry and inbound marketing, Pete has helped hundreds of companies transform the way they attract, convert, and close customers for both themselves and their advertisers.
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About Databox: Databox is an application that operates as a personal data assistant for businesses.
Jason Pavona
CEO & Co-Founder of Pazien
Corporate Executive and Entrepreneur with 20 years of corporate leadership, product development, direct marketing, sales and organizational development experience. Innovative team leader with a two-decade track record turning leading-edge technology into profitable, fast-growing, yet scalable businesses that change industry product/services dynamics and competitive landscapes. • Future-focused business expertise – Pioneering software and SaaS platform, online and direct-to-consumer services, and customer intelligence expertise – across financial services, payments, mobile and ecommerce. • Revenue-generating innovation – Creative, yet disciplined, product and business development, sales and marketing strategist and manager. • Entrepreneurship – Extensive start-up and business incubation expertise, including raising capital, strategic vision and business planning, revenue and profit ramp-up. • Business value creation – P&L leadership success, brand building. partnerships, M&A and exit strategies. • Organization building – Architect of talented, highly productive global teams, organizational and systems infrastructure, and rigorous metrics-based business success measurement.
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About Pazien, Worldpay: Pazien builds products that demystify and simplify payments for merchants and partners
Rusty Wiley
President and CEO of Datasite
Rusty Wiley joined Merrill Corporation as chief executive officer in 2014. He comes to Merrill from IBM Corporation, which he joined in 1987. Wiley has extensive experience in executive roles, most recently serving as general manager, banking and financial services for IBM Corporation. During his tenure at IBM, he also held leadership roles involving sales, consulting and general management, including a global business services leadership role, with significant international responsibilities. Prior to his tenure with IBM, he was with EDS Corporation, a multinational information technology company, in sales and marketing roles. Wiley holds an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business and a BS from East Carolina University.
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About Datasite, Merrill Brink International: Datasite equips dealmakers with the tools they need to succeed in the entire M&A lifecycle.
Matthew Middleton
CEO and Co-Founder of Advisor Circle
Matthew Middleton is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Advisor Circle.
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About Advisor Circle: Advisor Circle is a creator, curator, and distributor of high-quality financial content for growth-oriented financial professionals.
Elery Pfeffer
Founder & CEO of Nift Networks
Elery Pfeffer is Nift’s founder and CEO. Nift is the first invitation-only network that helps neighborhood businesses get the right local customers to walk through the door. It’s the only network that guarantees businesses are discovered every time they thank their best customers. Nift, short for “neighborhood gift,” was founded in Brookline, Massachusetts and was developed in collaboration with the local businesses it was established to help. For more information, visit www.GoNift.com or follow @NiftNetwork on Twitter. Before Nift, Elery Pfeffer was Pursway’s founder CEO. Under his leadership as founder & CEO, the company grew from an idea, to product/market fit with seven figure annual sales to consumer facing fortune 100s and > $17m in venture financing. He earned his B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University.
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About Harvard University, Nift Networks: Nift is the first invitation-only network that helps neighborhood businesses get discovered.
Kal Gullapalli
CEO of EWC Growth
Kal Gullapalli currently works as the Chief Executive Officer for EWC Growth.
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About EWC Growth: EWC Growth franchisee European Wax Center works with employees to drive growth.
Paul Migliore
Global CEO of Citisoft
Paul has over 28 year’s experience providing investment management systems and operations services to leading firms, including investment managers, mutual fund complexes, insurance companies, and trust companies. Prior to joining Citisoft, Paul was a Partner with IBM Global Business Services and PricewaterhouseCoopers and was responsible for the US Investment Management practice. Paul has extensive business and systems expertise in trading, portfolio management, investment accounting, compliance, performance measurement, and financial reporting.
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About Citisoft: CitySoftis a professional services company specialising in the implementation of ERP software Sage X3, servicing the Southeast Asian region.
