PBN C-suite 2023

✺ CAREER ACHIEVER ✺

ANN M. KASHMANIAN Brown Medicine CEO

Kashmanian’s path to leadership steered by mentors PAGE 4

Despite the difficult circumstances brought about by the pandemic, geopolitical conflict, and economic turbulence, your unwavering dedication, innovation, and leadership have had a significant positive impact on Rhode Island.

As we look ahead, your agility and adaptability in the face of evolving business trends will continue to drive growth and success in your respective industries. That’s why KPMG is honored to recognize all of the distinguished Providence Business News’ C-Suite Award recipients for continually leading by example and serving as an inspiration to others.

Grow by helping others

NO ONE RISES to the C-suite without help.

For Brown Medicine CEO Ann M. Kashmanian, this year’s Career Achiever, getting help from mentors and passing it on fueled her rise and development as a leader.

“People need to feel someone’s interested in their development,” she said.

Former Newport Hospital President Arthur Sampson and Dr. Louis P. Rice, Brown University’s chair of medicine, were both influential in her career path and development as a leader charged with helping others grow and succeed.

Sampson showed her the importance of having a vision beyond meeting day-to-day challenges and the importance for a hospital administrator to build relationships with physicians.

And Rice’s vision for leading Brown Medicine – and belief that senior managers there work for the doctors – also rubbed off on her. When Rice stepped aside, Kashmanian took over as CEO.

Mentors have similarly played a major role for many of this year’s other award winners, including Geralyn Hashway. She’s McGuinness Media & Marketing’s director of accounts and operations and this year’s Rising Star.

Megan McGuinness, the marketing agency’s owner, helped her believe in her value in a way that inspired her to achieve. It’s an approach she carries forward in the onboarding of new hires and engagement of long-standing employees.

Read on for more examples of leaders learning from others and passing it on.

Returning for the eighth year as presenting sponsor is KPMG LLP. We thank them for their support.

COVER PHOTO BY DAVID HANSEN

Michael Mello Editor

Kashmanian’s path to leadership steered by mentors

TAKING NECESSARY STEPS: Brown Medicine

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

IF IT TAKES A VILLAGE to raise a child, it takes equally committed supporters to mentor a career. As East Providence-based Brown Medicine’s CEO since 2018, Ann M. Kashmanian leads one of the state’s largest multispecialty medical groups with more than 200 doctors, as well as several patient care offices around Rhode Island. If you’ve visited a specialist – an endocrinologist for example, a gastroenterologist, or an infectious disease expert – chances are you’ve seen a Brown Medicine physician.

Having a mentor – and being one – is important in climbing the management ladder, Kashmanian says.

“You look for someone to help steer you. It’s crucial in becoming a leader that you have a team that you’re building,” she said. “People need to feel someone’s interested in their development.”

Kashmanian nods to her first Lifespan Corp. job, as Newport Hospital’s treasurer and chief financial officer, as pivotal in illustrating this belief. Arthur Sampson, hospital president at the time, was a mentor to Kashmanian. “He had a vision about health care and great relationships with physicians,” she said. “I respected how he interacted with people.”

She says Dr. Louis P. Rice, Brown University’s chair of medicine, has also been influential. Kashmanian says Rice’s vision for Brown Medicine and his attitude toward senior management is that “we work for the doctors.”

Like many top professionals, Kashmanian, a Lincoln native, explored a slew of interests

as an undergrad. She majored in art history at the College of the Holy Cross. Her parents believed in a liberal arts education, she says, which helped her become a good writer.

Always intrigued by numbers, Kashmanian also took economics classes. The deal was sealed when she realized she could do both, and graduated from Northeastern University with an MBA and a Master of Science in accounting.

Kashmanian began her career at KPMG LLP, an accounting firm where many of her clients were hospitals. It’s a complicated field, and hospital accounting strategies are challenging, she says.

“I was drawn to the industry because of their mission-driven purpose. I felt I could contribute,” Kashmanian said.

After holding top-level financial positions at Lifespan, Kashmanian was named Brown Medicine’s chief financial officer in 2016. When Rice stepped aside two years later, she became CEO, leading the group’s mission –

providing high-level care, advancing medical knowledge and science, and developing medical cures. “It became clear that her talents in operations were as prodigious as her talents in finance,” Rice said.

Since then, the medical group has opened an endoscopy facility in East Providence, expanded services and locations to Smithfield and East Greenwich, and offered a same-day respiratory clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 didn’t change how she does her job because her role as an administrator is in supporting the group’s physicians, she says. It did change how the doctors interact with patients, however, shifting to telemedicine quickly because of a good administrative and information technology team, she says.

Staffing levels at Brown Medicine have climbed from 541 in 2020 to 611 in 2022, in part because of an increased number of providers, Kashmanian says. Gross revenue, on the other hand, has fluctuated between $94.4 million in 2020, $98.7 million in 2021 and $91 million in 2022.

Brown Medicine was helped by the Coronavirus AId, Relief and Economic Security Act, which allowed the organization to stay open even as revenue from patient visits dropped during the pandemic, a decline that affected its bottom line, she says. Expansion plans will help address this, including a clinic to treat irritable bowel disease, and a lung institute, in partnership with Rhode Island Hospital.

With workdays starting as early as 7 a.m., Kashmanian does yoga and enjoys walking. It clears her head, she says. She also credits her husband, John, for being a big supporter.

“He’s always encouraged me to have faith in my abilities to take on more challenges and responsibility,” she said. And most challenging of all? “Being open to new ideas, having a good team, and following the mission. That’s why I enjoy coming to work every day,” she said. n

‘You look for someone to help steer you. It’s crucial in becoming a leader.’

ANN M. KASHMANIAN Brown Medicine CEO

CEO Ann M. Kashmanian says having a mentor, as well as being one, is important to climb the management ladder.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

PUBLIC COMPANY:

For Thomas, being surrounded by good people builds success

BY ANTHONY VECCHIONE | Contributing Writer

Thomas will be saying farewell to those people soon. The outgoing Hasbro Inc. executive vice president and chief financial officer is retiring after 25 years with the Pawtucket-based toy maker.

Gina Goetter, who was CFO for motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson Inc., has been named Hasbro’s new CFO. Thomas now will take on an advisory role because it’s important to her to make sure Goetter has the best information available about the company and is prepared to succeed.

“I want to make the transition as easy as possible for [Goetter], as well as the employees of the company,” Thomas said. “Being a leader in an organization, you want to make sure that the team and the organization has the smoothest transition possible.”

When Thomas became CFO of Hasbro in 2009, she assumed not just the technical aspects of the role but also the internal leadership and external public-facing roles. She was ranked as one of the Leisure Sector’s Top CFOs by Institutional Investor Magazine, as voted on by the buy-and-sell-side community, on multiple occasions.

Along with her CFO role, Thomas has also contributed to Hasbro’s growth. She led the company’s information technology department and supported the implementation of statutory accounting principles, the company’s enterprise financial reporting system, and other platforms to advance and streamline finance operations.

“IT is incredibly important whether it’s technology in your product or it’s just the technology used to support your company,” Thomas said. “It is very important to have data and information to provide to your team as they are thinking about what is the next new product that we want to design.”

According to her colleagues, one of the most important aspects of Thomas’ leadership is that she takes the time to know her Hasbro team members as people, not just as employees. Colleagues appreciated that Thomas helped employees do their best work and gave them a reason to believe in her as their leader. She also believed in her team.

Thomas listened to what her colleagues had to say and took all views into consideration when making decisions at the company.

Early on in Thomas’ tenure, a team member held an event for investors. Management initially supported it but questioned its value. The event ultimately went forward, and it was successful. Following the event, Thomas sent her team an Edible Arrangement with a note that read: “Thank you for knowing what we needed, even when we all didn’t realize it.”

“The work is great, but the people are great too. Knowing who their families are and what interests them enriches me. I often find that you’ll find someone who has this amazing hobby that I know nothing about, I get to learn some-

thing new when I talk to them. But I also learn about what interests them,” Thomas said. “And as a leader, when you can tap into the interests of people, you are often picturing what their next role could be and how you develop them, so it’s good for them and its good for the company as well.”

Thomas has also contributed to Hasbro’s growth as a female leader and mentor to women across the global organization. She led Hasbro’s finance team, which is traditionally thought of as a male-dominated field, with strength and poise. Thomas has also built a team of senior leaders who are predominantly women. Thanks to Thomas, Hasbro is on its way to meeting its 2025 goal for female leadership across the company.

Thomas, in reflecting on her quarter century with the worldwide toy maker, said that she had learned something every day on the job.

“I have not been bored once in 25 years. I’m fortunate,” Thomas said. “I am at a great company, with great brands. I am very fortunate.” n

DEBORAH A. THOMAS HAS A STRONG BELIEF: “It’s the people that you meet in life that makes life interesting.”

‘I have not been bored once in 25 years. I’m fortunate.’

DEBORAH A. THOMAS

Hasbro Inc. executive vice president and chief financial officer

ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: Deborah A. Thomas, Hasbro Inc.’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, is retiring after 25 years with the Pawtucket-based toy maker.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

[ DEBORAH A. THOMAS ] Hasbro Inc. | Executive vice president and chief financial officer

SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY: [ CHRISTOPHER D. LAVINE ]

Marstone Inc. | Co-founder, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer

Marstone’s LaVine makes investing more accessible

BY DONNA WHITEHEAD | Contributing Writer

AFTER COLLEGE, Christopher D.

LaVine took a job in a small community bank outside New York City. The bank offered an old-school management training program, in which employees work in all aspects of the business to learn how it operates.

“As part of rotation, they had recently acquired [an] investment management firm. I knew I liked math and finance and the idea of investing,” said LaVine, co-founder, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer of Marstone Inc., a Providence-based digital wealth management company. “I went there on day one and just fell in love with the investing universe.”

LaVine managed money for individuals and institutions for several years and then decided to go to business school at the University of Virginia. He was halfway through graduate school when Margaret J. Hartigan, a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch, called. She had a thought on how to demystify finance for investors, and LaVine said he immediately loved that idea.

When LaVine completed his MBA, he joined Hartigan and Robert Stone to launch Marstone Inc. in 2014. The company’s mission is to enhance financial literacy, deepen financial inclusion and humanize finance.

Marstone provides digital wealth management technology to community banks, credit unions and other partners, dramatically reducing the cost of providing these services to their customers and as a result opening investing to a wider variety of clients, LaVine says.

Marstone’s minimum account size is $500. Prior to that minimum, balances needed at some institutions could range from $50,000 to $100,000, LaVine says. By changing the minimum balance, banks now serve the vast majority of customers, not just the top 1% or 5%, LaVine says.

“It’s a tremendous financial inclusion, financial wellness concept,” LaVine said. “We’re able to dramatically lower the account size necessary to work with an institution.”

Last year, LaVine also spearheaded a new business line called Marstone@ Work. This business line is a digital product that companies can offer to their employees as a financial wellness tool. Companies who implement

Marstone@Work use Marstone’s technology to offer workers fee-free digital advice.

“The ability to say we are helping our team and not just the top 1, 5 or 10% of the team is really demonstrably important to organizations,” LaVine said. “I’m really proud of it.”

In the community, LaVine has served as a mentor for the Fresh Air Fund, which works with at-risk high school students to remain engaged in education and prepare for college. He is also a member of the CFA Institute, a national nonprofit organization that promotes new ideas and industry issues related to the investment community.

Nisha Cordero, chief people officer and general counsel at Marstone, says LaVine has always played a role in thinking about the company strategically, where it should be in the market relative to other

competitors, and how Marstone can continue to build upon its mission of financial literacy and inclusivity.

“He’s a great communicator, collaborator and always been approachable and open to ideas,” Cordero said. “Chris has been committed and focused since inception of the company. He has a lot of empathy.”

Empathy, LaVine says, is incredibly important to any role, especially in a financial type role that deals with uncertainty. LaVine says he has realized that uncertainty creates confusion and concern for some individuals.

For example, a canceled meeting may alarm an employee who doesn’t know the reason for the change in plans. LaVine says it’s important to be sympathetic to that and remember people may not have all the information you do.

One major piece LaVine is working on at Marstone now is explaining the “why” behind any request to make sure people in the business realm really understand the ‘why,’ ” he said. “This allows them to be much more strategic themselves.

“We will continue to get more focused on making sure once people are in the boat, we are all rowing in the same direction and we all know why we are going in that direction as well,” LaVine said. n

ENHANCING FINANCIAL LITERACY: Christopher D. LaVine in 2014 helped co-found Marstone Inc. in Providence in order to deepen financial inclusion and humanize finance. COURTESY MARSTONE INC.

‘We will continue … making sure once people are in the boat, we are all rowing in the same direction.’

CHRISTOPHER

D. LAVINE Marstone Inc. co-founder, chief financial officer and chief strategic officer

Showcasing Rhode Island on a global stage

CONGRATULATIONS to our Executive Director Meghan Grady on Your C-Suite Award!

Chief Marketing Officer Rhode Island Commerce 2023 PBN C-Suite Honoree

Serving as Chief Marketing Officer of Rhode Island Commerce, Anika Kimble-Huntley works every day to shine a bright spotlight on everything that makes the Ocean State a premier place to live, work and play.

Congratulations to Anika and all of this year’s Providence Business News C-Suite honorees. Thank you all you do on behalf of our home state. Commerceri.com

We congratulate all of this year’s well-deserving winners.

rimeals.org

JON GIAMPIETRO Executive Vice President,

North America and Vietnam Operations

During your 18 years of service with Taco Comfort Solutions, you have demonstrated outstanding commitment to excellence and unwavering dedication to ensure our company’s long-term growth and success. We appreciate all that you do, and are so proud to announce your promotion to Executive Vice President, North America and Vietnam Operations.

We congratulate you and all the Providence Business News C-Suite Award recipients!

Anika Kimble-Huntley

SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY:

ResusciTech Inc. | Chief marketing officer

Going outside the box to build partnerships

BY HUGH MINOR | Contributing Writer

WHEN RESUSCITECH INC. PLANNED to launch its CPR certification app, the Providence-based technology company decided to take a different approach when presenting the new tool to the public.

“To deliver an innovative product, we needed to innovate our marketing strategy,” said Brian Morley, ResusciTech’s chief marketing officer.

Morley has been a leader in product development, marketing, strategy and commercialization for more than 20 years, primarily in the medical device industry. ResusciTech hired him as a marketing consultant in 2020 and he was quickly elevated to his current role as chief marketing officer in 2021.

ResusciTech has seen significant benefits with Morley leading the company’s marketing efforts. Under Morley’s guidance, the company has gone from zero to $300,000 in revenue and expects to reach the $3 million revenue mark within the next three years.

Instead of focusing on sales, Morley builds strategic partnerships. Collaborators try the product, see how it addresses their needs and incorporate it into their own systems. One of Morley’s out-of-the-box ideas was the company’s donation of 1,000 CPR training certificates in response to the collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin due to cardiac arrest during an NFL game last season. ResusciTech’s

leadership team saw what a critical role CPR training played in saving Hamlin’s life.

Through this outreach, the company provided training opportunities to coaches, teachers, parents and students, increasing the safety and wellness in the community while introducing its product to a new market.

“We try to be part of something bigger by offering a solution, not [just] selling a product,” Morley said. “Once they try it, they love it and they love the relationship we’ve built.”

ResusciTech’s client base, mainly in the fitness space, includes American Council on Exercise, Anytime Fitness, Yoga Alliance, National Association of Youth Sports, Positive Coaching Alliance and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia.

“The fitness industry is quick to adopt new technology,” Morley said. “They’re more innovative. Everyone from personal trainers to instructors to front-desk staff needs CPR training and the app is the perfect way to deliver consistent certification across the board.”

Rather than targeting individual users, Morley took a vertical approach by focusing on large groups such as the California-based

ESCALATING QUICKLY: ResusciTech Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Brian Morley helped the company increase its revenue from zero to $300,000 in a short time period, and expects the company to reach the $3 million revenue mark within three years.

ACE, one of the leading organizations in personal trainer certification with more than 90,000 members. ResusciTech’s app was added to ACE’s personal training certification course so that everyone participating in the program could choose it as their tool.

The CPR certification model allows users to earn their credentials anytime, anywhere in 90 minutes, using only their smartphone. ResusciTech’s vision is to provide people with the best, most intuitive and easily accessible tools for training and emergency response.

“Now that we’ve established a fully mobilized CPR training device, we can build out new modules in other areas such as first aid, [automated external defibrillators] and even overdose prevention,” Morley said.

Developed by Brown University engineering undergraduates Abigail Kohler and Greg Fine, the app provides training by using smartphone-based feedback technology that evaluates performance and issues certification to successful students.

With more than 20 million people certified in CPR, the team brought Morley on board to figure out the best way to market the product to get it to the public.

“Every package requires CPR certification,” Morley said. “Through our channel partnership with ACE, we were able to make the app part of the package to provide virtual options for their members.”

In the app’s first year of use, ResusciTech saw a 20% adoption rate by new users. That was achieved with little money spent on marketing, which is unusual for a new product launch.

Morley continues to focus his marketing attention on the fitness industry. He regularly has conversations with organizations such as the YMCA. But the app could be applied to many fields and sectors, including health care, emergency response and education.

“We’ll continue to scale up within fitness as we explore other avenues [such as] athletics, private clubs and K-12 education,” Morley said. “We’ll leverage everything we’ve learned to move into the next vertical space.” n

‘We try to be part of something bigger by offering a solution, not [just] selling a product.’

BRIAN MORLEY

ResusciTech Inc. chief marketing officer

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY: [ MICHAEL FRIEDMAN ]

Paolino Properties LP | Director of sales and leasing

When challenges arise, Friedman closes the deal

BY HUGH MINOR | Contributing Writer

IN JUST TWO YEARS on the job, Paolino Properties LP Director of Sales and Leasing Michael Friedman’s impact on the firm has been significant.

When space becomes available in buildings owned by the Providence-based real estate firm, Friedman goes into overdrive – sometimes literally. Along with working the phones and sending emails to potential clients and tenants, Friedman frequently gets into his vehicle to drive across the Ocean State, from Providence to Cranston to Barrington and Newport, to visit properties and field inquiries from the public.

Such a work ethic that Friedman provides is needed for the firm to stay ahead in a highly competitive local real estate market.

“Michael demonstrates every day how valuable he is to this company with his commitment to ensuring our buildings, apartments and office space are full,” said Joseph R. Paolino Jr., managing partner of the firm. “Michael makes it his priority to ensure the public is aware of our open space. He remains ahead of the curve by ensuring we reach a wide range of potential clients and tenants.”

Paolino Properties is a fourth-generation, family-owned and -operated real estate investment, development and management company with an annual revenue of $50 million. It is one of the largest family-owned commercial real estate companies in New England, managing more than 40 properties totaling 3 million square feet.

The challenge of real estate at this level is what drives Friedman to succeed. “Each deal is very unique,” he said. “We put all these heads together to figure it out. It’s like solving a puzzle.”

Friedman joined the firm two years ago with more than two decades of experience in real estate sales and investment. His priority is filling the open space within retail, commercial, residential and hospitality properties.

Understanding trends in the local market is an invaluable asset that Friedman brings to the job.

“The Providence market has undergone major change in the past two to three years,” Friedman said. “There has been a transformation away from corporate toward

more residential use. People want to move downtown where they can experience the coffee shops and restaurants and entertainment.”

The six-story Studley building on Weybosset Street in Providence is one example of an office space being repurposed as living quarters. Its 65 units are a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments that provide immediate access to all that downtown has to offer.

There has also been a resurgence in retail space within the state. Friedman said that many merchants are returning to more-traditional locations so they can put their brand in front of customers who want access to products they can touch and feel.

“They realize that there is a value to the customer interaction of an in-person experience. It gives them legitimacy in the market,” Friedman said. “And we’re here to help them find the right space to do that.”

Friedman’s success can

be attributed to the relationships he builds with potential and existing tenants from downtown Providence to Newport. Along with finding and maintaining tenants, Friedman has also been instrumental in acquiring and selling multimillion-dollar properties. He has played a key role in diversifying the firm’s portfolio to ensure continued growth and success, often offering a fresh idea or new approach to each unique deal.

“There is no one-sized solution for these complicated real estate transactions,” Friedman said.

In the last four years, digital marketing has become an essential tool for successful Realtors at every level. Friedman ensures that Paolino Properties has an active presence on sites such as Crexi and LoopNet, the commercial industry’s version of Zillow.

“For a 100-year-old company, we are using technology to assist in marketing and with transactions,” Friedman said. “At the same time, we know there is a value to having a physical sign that people see and respond to.”

Friedman’s engagement extends into the community where he currently serves as treasurer of Grow Smart Rhode Island and participates as an active member of the Rotary Club of Metro Providence. n

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS: Michael Friedman, Paolino Properties LP’s director of sales and leasing, says the Providence real estate market has moved away from corporate toward more residential use over the past two to three years.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

‘He remains ahead of the curve by ensuring we reach a wide range of potential clients and tenants.’

JOSEPH R. PAOLINO JR. Paolino Properties LP managing partner

MIDSIZE PRIVATE COMPANY: [ BRUCE BERARD ]

Stanley Tree Service Inc. | Vice president and chief operating officer

Returning to his roots to help Stanley Tree grow

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

FROM THE TIME he was very young, Bruce Berard has always enjoyed the challenge of building and leading a team. That desire to create something and see it grow has remained with him to this day.

Today, as vice president and chief operating officer of Stanley Tree Service Inc. in Smithfield, Berard has led the 100% employee-owned company to significant growth and expansion, as well as making employees feel like family.

“Many employees know everyone’s name and share stories of the days when they worked in the field,” Berard said. “You are not a number here. Leadership truly cares about each employee and that will never change. The culture at Stanley Tree Service is family and health first, everything else second.”

Berard served with the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier. He received an honorable medical discharge from the Army in 2006 due to a knee injury. After his military service, Berard sought a new career path to provide for his family.

He eventually started a small landscaping business, serving just a handful of clients at

first. The business grew quickly and within two years, Berard’s customer list had swelled to more than 100.

Then the Great Recession hit in 2008. The economic crunch forced Berard to shutter his business and take a foreman role with Stanley.

After briefly working for National Grid, Berard returned to Stanley as a general manager at the request of company founder and CEO Stanley Zuba to help “take the business to the next level,” Berard said. Berard has led several internal changes at Stanley. Among them was reworking the company’s organizational structure in an effort to eliminate duplicated efforts, maximize productivity and reallocate responsibilities.

Additionally, Stanley’s outdated estimating software was replaced. The company is finalizing the rollout of a Stanley Tree App specific to employees that will provide a central location for all company information, news and events.

In 2022, Stanley unveiled Tri State Power Equipment, a new branch developed to both provide better service to Stanley’s internal and external customers in the outdoor power equipment and arborist supply space.

Berard, who was directly involved with Tri State from its pitch as a conceptual business right on through to its launch, views the business as a natural progression for Stanley.

Julian Emerich, Stanley’s director of marketing and purchasing, who has worked with Berard since 2018, says Berard offers a refreshing style of leadership. He says Berard floats around visiting every division, speaking with employees and constantly listening to their ideas.

“He even recently gave up his office so a new hire could have a comfortable place to work while our office addition is being built,” Emerich said. “His belief in his team and philosophy of leveraging employees’ strengths in every capacity creates an environment where growth and success is contagious.”

Since Berard’s return to the company, Stanley has grown exponentially – and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Emerich said the company was almost half its size before Berard returned. Doubling Stanley’s revenue and employee count in such a short window of time is something Berard took pride in, Emerich said.

“This explosive growth also translates into added financial stability for every employee’s future now that we are employee owned, something Bruce has been a proponent of since day one,” Emerich said.

Not one who seeks out recognition and praise, Berard admits his pride in what he and the Stanley team have accomplished so far.

GOING NEXT LEVEL: Bruce Berard, Stanley Tree Service Inc.’s vice president and chief operating officer, helped double the company’s revenue and employee count.

“Some people say I am a workaholic, but I truly love being challenged and overcoming the adversity of someone saying, ‘You can’t,’ ” Berard said. “Seeing where Stanley Tree Service is now as a company compared to where it was when I returned is beyond rewarding. I continue to push forward, encouraging my team to seek out new [opportunities] and better themselves daily.” n

‘Some people say I am a workaholic, but I truly love being challenged.’

BRUCE BERARD

Stanley Tree Service Inc. vice president and chief operating officer

MIDSIZE PRIVATE COMPANY: [ ROXANNE NELSON ]

Falvey Insurance Group | Chief people officer

Ensuring a bright future for Falvey employees

BY NANCY KIRSCH | Contributing Writer

EMPLOYEES UNEXPECTEDLY RESIGNING.

A global health crisis. Other employee-related matters. Many aspects of a professional setting can change in a blink of an eye.

It is part of Roxanne Nelson’s daily life at Falvey Insurance Group as the North Kingstown-based insurance agency’s chief people officer. But even with regularly confronting those challenges, Nelson says she finds it “deeply rewarding” to watch employees grow both as people and in their careers.

One of many employees who rose through the ranks at the agency, Nelson joined Falvey Insurance 23 years ago as a secretary. She held other positions and is now in the C-suite at the agency. That, according to Chief Operating Officer Jack Falvey, was due to “her ability to quickly learn things, keep things organized and work with people.

“From modernizing our [human resources] department to recruiting and retaining talent during the pandemic, Roxanne has never shied away from a challenge,” Falvey said. “She helped create our company culture from the beginning.”

A few years ago, Nelson and fellow agency executives created several committees, focusing on diversity and inclusion, volunteerism and philanthropy, and wellness. Nelson also served as a founding member of the agency’s activities committee. Committee participation, she says, reinforces collaboration and employee engagement.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Nelson says Falvey Insurance’s information technology department and her team created a plan to allow for remote work. Once everyone was working from home, managing that process became the focus of Nelson’s team, she says.

“Managing and recruiting was a whole different scenario than we’d ever experienced before … we learned how to hold onto our culture even though we’re not together,” Nelson said.

Monthly happy hours, holiday events and spirit weeks – all on Zoom – kept employees motivated and connected at the time. In late 2021, Falvey Insurance adopted a highly flexible hybrid work model, which continues to this day.

Falvey Insurance currently employs 128 people

locally. It is a managing general agent specializing in solutions for cargo, supply chain logistics and transportation insurance, and supplemental products through its wholesale division.

The agency has been growing recently. Nelson attributes the 50% increase in employees between 2020 and 2022 to new and expanded business lines, as underwriting, claims, developers and administrative staff were added. Even with that growth, the agency is still hiring, Nelson says, and Falvey Insurance recruits both college graduates with an interest in insurance and experienced professionals who are seeking new opportunities.

“We’re a very niche market … we are looking for their skills and abilities, though not necessarily within our particular line of insurance,” Nelson said. Falvey Insurance also experienced a 62% growth in revenue between 2020 and 2022, according to company data.

Nelson says the agency has seen a drop-off in talent choosing to make insur-

ance their career within the last five years. To address that industrywide decline, Nelson initiated an internship program three years ago.

To date, the agency hired two interns from its program and has seen other interns pursue careers with other insurance companies. Falvey Insurance’s employee turnover rate averages roughly 3% to 5%, in contrast to the industry’s average of 9% to 12%.

“About 25% of our employees have been here for 10 years or more … and many have grown in their careers,” said Nelson, who created an onboarding process that allows employees to start working with their teams on their first day of work.

Falvey says the onboarding process highlights the agency’s value and culture, while ensuring the new hires are motivated when they join their teams.

“Roxanne has ensured [that] new employees are set up to win,” Falvey said.

Within the community, Nelson is a volunteer with the Rhode Island State Grange and the Washington County Ponoma Grange, which sponsors the annual Washington County Fair. Nelson is also an avid traveler, and has some potential destinations mapped out.

“I have a goal to see all seven continents,” she said. “I have Asia, South America and Antarctica left on my bucket list.” n

‘Roxanne has ensured [that] new employees are set up to win.’

JACK FALVEY Falvey Insurance Group chief operating officer

OPENING DOORS: Falvey Insurance Group Chief People Officer Roxanne Nelson created an internship program three years ago that has produced new employees within the insurance industry, including two now working full time at Falvey.

GIAMPIETRO

Taco Inc. | Senior vice president of operations

Giampietro’s positive mindset a net gain for Taco

BY ISABELLA DELEO | Contributing Writer

IT IS SAID that there are those who look at the proverbial glass half full, and those who look at it half empty. Jon Giampietro, Taco Inc.’s senior vice president of operations, is recognized by his colleagues as a “glass half full” person. That positive mindset shows throughout his work as a business leader.

“I believe enthusiasm is contagious,” Giampietro said. “There are many challenges in life and the jobs we all do. Approaching those work challenges with enthusiasm and optimism encourages those around us to ‘dig’ into the problem with enthusiasm and drive towards results.”

In his position at the large Cranston-based manufacturing company, also known as Taco Comfort Solutions, Giampietro brings enthusiasm to all of his work. Recently, most of his leadership has been focused on helping manage Taco’s five-year facility master plans for the company’s North American and Vietnam operations, as well as the security task force and risk mitigation teams. Giampietro says the plans allow each facility to identify their constraint to growth in advance of it coming to fruition.

“This allows us to launch continuous improvement activities in the short term to move the constraint out and get more return on investment on our Taco physical assets,” he

said. “It also allows us to plan for building expansion, building acquisition, or lease renewal well in advance.”

Giampietro, who has been with Taco for 18 years, has worked to develop his leadership and management skills. Through that experience – which includes Giampietro starting out as a supply chain manager and later leading the valves and accessories business unit – he’s had the opportunity to learn all about Taco and the manufacturing industry.

“I had great mentors at that time that

encouraged me to learn the whole business. I took the opportunity to learn and develop the supply chain and really understand it,” he said. “This knowledge allowed me to learn the cost side of the business and focus on cost reductions and work with engineering and product management to drive cost but not value out of our products.”

Giampietro thus far at Taco has had to work through challenges, in particular leading the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. Giampietro says there was no playbook to deal with the challenges that were brought forth by the worldwide health crisis. Risk assessment was something the company needed to do daily, he said.

While Taco had constantly heard across the market that all manufacturers were struggling, the company struggled less and performed at a higher level through that time, Giampietro says.

“Our supply chain team worked so hard during those times to leverage relationships and knowledge, our operations folks pivoted daily to where we had components, and our sales team gave honest and frequent feedback to our customers,” he said.

True to his positive attitude, Giampietro says the most rewarding aspects of his work at Taco are driving results and helping others be successful in obtaining solid results.

“I enjoy being in a position to influence decisions that give folks an opportunity to advance based on their prior performance,” he said.

Moving forward, Giampietro has his sights set on helping Taco expand its international reach. The company, he says, has nine facilities around the globe and is working with many strong people from North America, Europe and Vietnam.

Ultimately, it is Giampietro’s fellow Taco employees that make his time at the company full of positive experiences. He says he has worked with many talented employees over the years at Taco. He describes his co-workers as “selfless in their approach and have given back to others’ careers as much as their own … [who] inspired me and ... [have] shaped me as a professional.”

“I really enjoy giving employees opportunities to grow professionally. Rewarding people for their hard work and willingness to take on new and challenging responsibilities is the fun part of the job,” Giampietro said. n

INFLUENCER: Helping fellow employees achieve the best they can be is what helps drive Taco Inc. Senior Vice President of Operations Jon Giampietro.

‘I believe enthusiasm is contagious.’

JON GIAMPIETRO

Taco Inc.

senior vice president of operations

EDUCATION: [ E. PAUL LARRAT ]

University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy | Dean

Providing communities with the right prescription

BY ANDY SMITH | Contributing Writer

THERE HAVE BEEN a lot of changes in the pharmacy profession since E. Paul Larrat, the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy’s dean, was a student there in the 1980s.

The days of the mom-and-pop pharmacy on street corners are mostly gone, as the industry has been taken over by big chains such as Walgreens Co. and Woonsocket-based CVS Health Corp. Drugs have become more numerous and complex, with rising costs becoming a concern.

But some things have not changed about the industry or its goals.

“Our goal is to create knowledgeable and empathetic pharmacists,” Larrat said. “We go out of our way to encourage professional leadership and involvement in the community. It’s the leadership skills that set them apart.”

Larrat, 63, was born in Philadelphia but has lived in Rhode Island since he was a small child. Like many pharmacists, the profession runs in his family – an aunt, an uncle and a cousin all owned pharmacies. His mother was a chemist.

“I knew what [profession] I was getting into,” Larrat said.

With that background, URI’s pharmacy school was a natural fit, Larrat says, and he’s been based in the state ever since. He earned a bachelor’s degree, MBA and a Master of Science from URI, and a doctorate in epidemiology and biostatistics from Brown University.

Although he has been a URI faculty member since 1992, Larrat has also done some interesting work off campus. In 2004, he was appointed as a faculty fellow for NASA, and worked studying the risks of volatile organic compounds – gases such as benzene and formaldehyde – on humans and plants during extended space travel.

Larrat says he always wanted to be an astronaut, and this was as close as he was going to get.

In 2010-11, Larrat worked in Washington, D.C., as a health policy fellow for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. “It was a great opportunity to see how health policy is developed,” Larrat said.

URI graduates about 120 pharmacy students each year. Some of them still

work in retail pharmacies, although Larrat –the pharmacy college’s dean since 2013 – says career pathways have broadened since he was a student. Many URI pharmacy grads now go to hospitals, universities, research settings, large medical practices and corporations. Larrat notes that most of the people working behind the counters at retail pharmacies are pharmacy techs, not pharmacists.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists now give immunizations and, in limited cases, can prescribe medication. “COVID-19 was a major turning point for us in some ways, as we saw pharmacists assuming new roles,” Larrat said.

Education in URI’s sixyear pharmacy program has become more hands-on, Larrat says. Sometimes the school will recruit people to come in and pose as patients. Students also practice their skills on $80,000 “mannequins” that can stick out their tongues, move their eyes and even

“die” if subject to a particularly severe drug interaction.

Larrat has also seen a gender shift at his school. When he was a student, he says, about two-thirds of his colleagues were male. Now about two-thirds of URI’s pharmacy students are female.

Larrat has also contributed research on the relationship between cocaine use and HIV infection, the development of special care units for Alzheimer’s patients, and pharmacy management in a state correctional system. URI has formed a partnership with the state to help manage pharmaceutical costs at the R.I. Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

Kerry LaPlante, who chairs URI’s department of pharmacy practice, says Larrat has been an effective leader who knows what it takes to train other effective leaders.

“He has the vision and the focus to create the next generation,” she said.

But Larrat plans to retire as dean at the end of the year after a decade and return to teaching.

“The school needs some new ideas and new energy,” he said. “But I still love the job and being with students on a daily basis. That’s very energizing for me.” n

BEYOND OVER THE COUNTER: University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Dean E. Paul Larrat says there are now more career pathways for pharmacy graduates to enter the health care field.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

‘Our goal is to create knowledgeable and empathetic pharmacists.’

E. PAUL LARRAT

University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy dean

GOVERNMENT AGENCY: [ JASON GOMEZ ]

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport | Chief technology officer

Infusing technology on the front lines

BY NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER | Contributing Writer

AS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER OF Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division

Newport, Jason Gomez is responsible for shepherding the research and technology that scientists and engineers are creating for use within the U.S. Navy.

The warfare center has approximately 3,600 scientists and engineers working on sonar, weapons, and range technology, or “what the Navy needs for its mission,” Gomez said. The Newport division, one of the warfare center’s two divisions, is focused on research, development, testing, evaluating, engineering and fleet support for submarine warfare systems and other structures dealing with underwater warfare.

Gomez first began working for NUWC in 1992 after graduating from Syracuse University and became chief technology officer three years ago. He knows the center does not have enough people and is intimately involved with increasing the workforce by expanding the research base into universities. The warfare center also searches for specific skills during expansion, along with hiring a small number of people per year.

Gomez often communicates and collaborates with universities and businesses to learn what initiatives they are working on. He also oversees NUWC’s summer programs for students, which regularly see between 4,000 to 5,000 students joining the team for a period. “They can see where they fit,” he said.

Gomez has also enabled scientists and engineers he works with to publish their results. Over the past three years Gomez has been in his current role with NUWC, scientists have internally published more than 500 articles, with more than 100 published in journals. Engineers have had 110 patent applications and 44 patents were issued.

Dawn Vaillancourt, the warfare center’s business director, feels that communication is one of Gomez’s best qualities, as he easily relates to researchers and has discussions with leadership. Gomez is integral in the science and technology community, she said.

“Under his leadership as Division Newport’s chief technology officer, Jason has been instrumental in strengthening our science and technology posture both internally

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport chief technology

and externally,” Vaillancourt said. Vaillancourt says Gomez has led efforts across the organization to align NUWC’s science and technology portfolio with technology focus areas that address current and future fleet needs, and has built relationships and collaborative partnerships across government, industry and academia. Gomez also helps the division strengthen science and technology communications, and to reward and recognize science and technology accomplishments such as patents and technology transitions, she said. Gomez also gives other people opportunities to add input but he ultimately decides what direction to take, Vaillancourt said. The center performs a variety of work with sonar, underwater acoustics and underwater vehicles. Teams are also working on research to keep combat systems protected from cyberattacks, Gomez said.

“You get to use your capabilities to provide to

sailors and perform a meaningful mission,” Gomez said about working for the Navy. “These are 18- to 20-year-old kids trying to protect our country. It’s important.”

The technology that Gomez oversees is out in the fleet, including technology that has been added to weapons.

“Some of my stuff is out there,” Gomez said, adding, “the environment is more than just me. A person’s research grows bigger than when they started. It’s rewarding.”

In addition to his work for the Navy, Gomez also served on East Greenwich’s planning board for nine years. The group, which oversees any possible development within the town, needed technical people to serve and Gomez volunteered.

“It was fun to see how the town’s developing and what developers were doing,” he said.

Along with his degree in aerospace engineering from Syracuse, Gomez earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Rhode Island. Gomez believes he has become more patient over time as a leader with NUWC.

“I don’t have a leadership style,” he said. “There are a thousand different things, and no one style. Someone needs you to be a leader in a certain way at a certain time. You become what people need at that moment.” n

‘Someone needs you to be a leader in a certain way at a certain time. You become what people need at that moment.’

JASON GOMEZ

officer

BUILDING THE FUTURE: Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport Chief Technology Officer Jason Gomez oversees summer programs at the base for students to understand the technology aspect of its operation. COURTESY NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIVISION NEWPORT

GOVERNMENT AGENCY: [ ANIKA KIMBLE-HUNTLEY ] R.I. Commerce Corp. | Chief marketing officer

Kimble-Huntley’s career is full of entertainment

BY KIMBERLEY EDGAR | Contributing Writer

A MARKETER

WHOSE

TRANSCONTINENTAL CAREER began with toy maker Hasbro Inc., jumped west to casino gaming and landed back in Rhode Island is hitting the jackpot with the state.

Since Anika Kimble-Huntley became R.I. Commerce Corp.’s latest chief marketing officer in September 2021, Rhode Island’s quasi-public tourism and economic-development arm has increased the number of email addresses in VisitRhodeIsland.com’s database by 400%, through in-person and online promotions.

R.I. Commerce, with Kimble-Huntley’s marketing savvy, almost doubled national media impressions, from 3.2 billion in 2021 to 6.2 billion last year, for tourism and business attraction to the Ocean State. Plus, R.I. Commerce partnered with the R.I. Airport Corp. to market Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport’s flight service in key demographic areas, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia and Chicago, while promoting drive vacations to the Ocean State in Virginia and West Virginia.

With plans to lure the top 1% of the world’s wealthy to the state through luxury travel, Kimble-Huntley is only just getting started.

“She has a perspective of consumer marketing that none of [her predecessors] have brought to the table,” R.I. Commerce Director of International Tourism and Group Sales

Mark Brodeur said. “The fact that she also is African American means she has a much better understanding of that demographic and making sure our marketing is seeking to integrate all ethnic groups.”

Kimble-Huntley began her career at Hasbro in 1997 as a temporary employee, filling in during a co-worker’s maternity leave. Having graduated from Simmons University’s intensive 11-month MBA program, Kimble-Huntley made her mark. In February 1998, Hasbro hired the Las Vegas native permanently to help the company strengthen its position in overseas markets.

“If you can imagine, we were hedging the U.S. dollar against the European currencies,” she said. “Our role was to make sure we were, basically, taking advantage of any foreign exchange gains while we could.”

That was before the euro. Back then, there were almost as many different currencies as countries in Europe. “Excel,” to most people, was nothing more than a Webster’s dictionary entry, between “exceedingly” and “excellence,” not the end-all, be-all numbers-crunching spreadsheet software.

STATE ATTRACTION: Since becoming R.I. Commerce Corp.’s chief marketing officer, Anika Kimble-Huntley has increased the number of email addresses in VisitRhodeIsland.com’s database by 400%, through in-person and online promotions.

“People say, ‘You did what?’ ” Kimble-Huntley said. “What used to take me a week to verify manually and create a hedge position, now just takes the press of a button. … It gave me the confidence to do anything anyone threw at me.”

Over the next four years, Kimble-Huntley climbed the international company’s ladder before spring-boarding into the casino-gaming industry’s marketing realm in her hometown. In Las Vegas, she quickly rose from marketing associate to manager to director before earning an executive office position as marketing vice president for a Windsor, Ontario-based venue in Canada, across the Detroit River from downtown Detroit.

It was the first of four separate marketing vice president positions that she held with casino-gaming venues in West Virginia, Ohio and Nevada before launching her company, Marketing Mix One LLC, in June 2016 in Las Vegas. By December 2017, she was back in the executive suite as a national marketing vice president. She helped launch Massachusetts’ first resort casino in metro Springfield – MGM Grand Springfield.

Her last stop before coming home to her husband’s native Rhode Island was Sacramento, Calif., where Kimble-Huntley served as marketing vice president for Hard Rock International Inc.’s properties.

“I’ve moved and been in different positions a lot,” she said. “And about 98% of the moves were because I was referred or promoted.”

Kimble-Huntley also serves as a Community College of Rhode Island Foundation trustee and an occasional instructor at College Unbound, which aims to help adult learners overcome barriers to attending college.

Whether it’s been delighting children with toys, connecting people with pleasantly memorable experiences at hotels and other venues, or attracting people to Rhode Island, Kimble-Huntley’s career has been all about helping people have fun.

“That’s a common thread between Hasbro, gaming and tourism – it’s all entertainment,” she said. “The actual industries themselves are entertainment.” n

‘That’s a common thread between Hasbro, gaming and tourism – it’s all entertainment.’

ANIKA KIMBLE-HUNTLEY

R.I. Commerce Corp. chief marketing officer

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY: [ MEGHAN GRADY ]

Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island | Executive director

Setting a strong tone, vision at Meals on Wheels

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

MEGHAN GRADY LIVES AND BREATHES

Rhode Island – the state’s history, its culture and, most importantly, its people.

Since accepting the role of Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island’s executive director in 2019, Grady has relied on both her personal and professional experiences to lead the Providence-based organization.

Meals on Wheels, the state’s only nonprofit home-delivered meal program, has now served elderly and vulnerable residents in the state more than 20 million meals to date. Meals were still delivered at a high level during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grady says the organization provided as many as 4,000 meals a day, up from a pre-pandemic service level of about 1,200 meals per day.

“Our response demonstrated the strength of our model and the important role we play in the community,” Grady said. “Our team and volunteers were delivery heroes to many seniors who found themselves homebound for the first time and ensured they had access to nutritious food, safety checks and opportunities for socialization.”

A lifelong Rhode Island resident, Grady has always sought ways to provide support and to give back. In her own life, she worked closely with her family to support her grandparents in their later years. Grady says she always knew she wanted to spend her career impacting the lives of others in a positive way.

“I had experience with my family trying to balance my grandparents’ safety and nutritional needs with their desire to age in place, so I also understood the important role that Meals on Wheels can play in an older adult’s life,” Grady said.

Meals on Wheels is now delivering an average of 1,300 meals per day statewide by leveraging its More Than a Meal model. That model provides a meal that meets onethird of a senior’s dietary requirement and includes a safety-assuring wellness check and social visit.

Last year, Grady helped the organization launch additional programming that expanded the More Than a Meal model to other vulnerable populations by providing home-delivered meals to pregnant women and shelf-stable

food deliveries to people who can’t access the traditional food pantry network.

Grady and the organization’s board of directors recently devised and adopted a 2025 strategic plan in November called Planning for Our Next 20 Million Meals. The plan features a series of targets that focus on innovating the organization’s More Than a Meal model, sustaining and growing its home-delivered meal and congregate dining programs, and building capacity to respond to the anticipated demands of the aging population.

Last year, Meals on Wheels began a pilot project, funded by Point32 Foundation in partnership with Women & Infants Hospital, to serve meals to pregnant and postpartum women and their families. To date, more than 38 women and their families have received nearly 5,000 meals.

Additionally, Grady oversaw the launch of the

organization’s Culturally Responsive Meal Program as part of a continuing effort to help clients remain connected to their communities. Along with the organization’s traditional menu offerings, clients may now choose to receive food from Latin-, Asian-, kosher-, and heart-friendly-inspired menus.

Rebecca Keister, Meals on Wheels’ external affairs and mission advancement director, says Grady’s heart belongs to Rhode Island,as well as the work she does and her desire to make the state a better place for everyone, especially the organization’s clients. Keister recalled Grady often repeated the advice that her father gave her that “hard work pays off.” Grady took that to heart, Keister says.

“Her can-do attitude and charismatic personality set a strong tone that has permeated throughout the organization,” Keister said. “Since her arrival, Meals on Wheels is a stronger, more unified organization internally and has experienced an enhanced spirit of community involvement throughout the state of Rhode Island. Meghan has a vision for Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island and the wherewithal to turn that vision into reality. Because she leads by example, never shying away from getting ‘into’ the work, she is trusted and respected.” n

SPECIAL DELIVERIES: Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island Executive Director Meghan Grady oversees an organization that is currently averaging about 1,300 food deliveries a day.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

‘Because she leads by example, never shying away from getting ‘into’ the work, she is trusted and respected.’

REBECCA KEISTER

Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island external affairs and mission advancement director

McGuinness Media & Marketing | Director of accounts and operations

Self-value key in Hashway’s success

BY JENNA PELLETIER | Contributing Writer

GERALYN HASHWAY SOUGHT a new opportunity in the marketing realm by marketing herself.

She had worked for jewelry maker Alex & Ani LLC for six years, but McGuinness Media & Marketing in Warwick caught her eye in 2019. Hashway subsequently sent Megan McGuinness, the marketing agency’s owner, an email asking if she could introduce herself to McGuinness.

“I sent Megan an email saying, ‘I know you don’t have any positions, but I’d love to just come in for an informational interview to learn about your company,’ ” Hashway said. “It was a fairly small team at the time – they probably had five or six employees. And I really felt like I could bring something to the company.”

Her persistence paid off. Hashway, 33, was soon hired as the agency’s first associate account director. About two years into her employment, Hashway spoke up about the possibility of a promotion. The agency was rapidly hiring and expanding its client base, and she wanted to take on more responsibility. Recognizing her contributions, McGuinness Media promoted Hashway to her current role as director of accounts and operations.

Hashway, who grew up in East Greenwich and studied public relations and journalism at Suffolk University, soon began leading dayto-day client service, managing co-workers and developing systems and processes to help the business grow. She also took a lead role in helping the agency adapt to the upheaval associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hashway says she feels empowered and supported by her mentor and boss, McGuiness, which has helped her grow. “Megan makes it a point to let me know how much she values me,” she said. “And that makes me just want to work harder.”

On the leadership side, Hashway plays a large role in interviewing and hiring candidates, as well as keeping the agency’s 20 employees engaged in their roles. One of her favorite aspects of her job is thinking of ways to make McGuiness Media a great place to work. For Employee Appreciation Day, for example, she created custom cards that listed every employee’s positive qualities, as identified and shared by their colleagues.

Another project involved creating an internal company newsletter to keep everyone notified of developments such as new clients and internal promotions.

“Coming back from the pandemic and operating under a hybrid model, we’ve been working really hard to enhance our company culture,” she said. “Coming out of COVID-19

was really difficult for so many companies, and we lost people due to the fact that we were coming back to the office.”

Hashway’s role at the agency also includes an array of internal- and external-facing responsibilities, from onboarding new employees to serving as a point person for its nearly 50 clients, including Bally’s Corp. and HarborOne Bank. In her role working with clients, Hashway helped HarborOne Bank facilitate a spokesperson contract with New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.

“Again, as I do, I just cold emailed with agents, started a relationship and worked with them to negotiate a contract,” Hashway said. “That was huge for us as an agency. And of course, it was huge for the bank.”

McGuinness describes Hashway as her “right-hand person” at the company.

“I vet all company decisions and opportunities through [Hashway] and more times than not, we end up coming to a decision together,” McGuinness said. Shortly before Hashway joined the agency, at a time when she was feeling a little lost, she became a certified life coach. While she’s not currently pursuing that as a full-time career, Hashway carries the ideas conveyed in the training with her into her work at McGuinness Media.

“I did the certification at a time when I really needed a life coach in my own life, so I became one,” Hashway said. “Once I started here, that kind of fell to the wayside in terms of how much time I could dedicate to working with clients, but helping others achieve their goals is still something I really love and value.” n

TAKING THE LEAD: Geralyn Hashway, McGuinness Media & Marketing’s director of accounts and operations, has led day-to-day client service, managing co-workers and developing systems and processes to help the business grow since joining the agency.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

‘I really felt like I could bring something to the company.’

GERALYN HASHWAY

McGuinness Media & Marketing director of accounts and operations