C-Speak: The Language of Executives

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 entrepreneurial journey began right...

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. “And our core values are (to) be the...

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 education needs, but also gr...

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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,” historically redlined communities of “fol...

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 episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Ha...

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.” 

“We're rapidly moving towards ...

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 CEO of the Massachusetts ...

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 years serving on the board ...

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 because I wasn't from indu...

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 industry, including how ...

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 C-Speak podcast.

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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 to think if they’re on social media wit...

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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’s stretching me p...

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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 has so much connection to ...

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, managing partner and CEO of HYM Investment...

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 Movement Maker, by awarding grants — ...

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 of the 2019 Ernst & Young Entre...

Salient Ventures CEO Diane Hessan has always wanted to “lead something big,” as she shares in the latest episode of PNC C-Speak. That desire was the impetus for leaving her role with a small startup and founding Communispace, now known as C Space, in Boston. These days, she leads angel investment firm Salient Ventures in its efforts to support early-stage companies that show a lot of promise.

Hessan’s embrace of startups, ...

Massachusetts, says Locus Robotics CEO Rick Faulk in this episode of C-Speak, has “lots of robots looking for a problem as opposed to a problem looking for a robot.” That’s because numerous companies lose sight of two things: adhering to their core mission and catering to their clients’ specific needs, according to Faulk.

Faulk points to targeted growth as an integral element in Locus Robotics’ evolution from a third-party...