Boston’s 50 Most Powerful People: The List
⬆︎ 31. Gloria Larson
President, Bentley University
Brilliant yet accessible, this former Patrick administration cabinet member transformed Bentley College into a top-tier business university in just eight years. Meanwhile, she’s the gifted collaborator every major board wants on its team.
Read more about Gloria Larson.
⬆︎ 32. Veronica Turner-Biggs
Executive vice president, Local 1199, SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Once the SEIU endorses a candidate or supports a law, you can consider it a done deal. That’s in large part because of Turner-Biggs, who’s widely regarded as the toughest labor leader in town.
⬆︎ 33. Tracy Campion/Kevin Ahearn
Principal and owner, Campion and Company/President and owner, Otis & Ahearn
Campion in the Back Bay and Ahearn downtown have long dictated what luxe living means in the city. No developer would break ground without consulting one of these real estate merchants.
⬆︎ 34. Jeffrey Bussgang
General partner, Flybridge Capital Partners
Boston’s innovation economy needs more champions, and Bussgang is a good one. When Charlie Baker wiped out his beloved pilot program to attract foreign student entrepreneurs, Bussgang convinced the administration to throw the program a lifeline.
Read more about Jeffrey Bussgang.
➡︎ 35. Bill and Alli Achtmeyer
Chairman and managing partner, the Parthenon Group/ Philanthropist
Bill has used his wealth to steer Boston’s cultural brands, including the BSO and the MFA. Alli is the consummate committeewoman, enriching nonprofits like UNICEF and MGH, one ball at a time.
⬆︎ 36. Rafael Reif
President, MIT
Reif presides over an institution that continues to transform Kendall Square into a hub of innovation and expense accounts. And it’s engaging Boston as well, partnering with Boston 2024 and Linda Pizzuti Henry’s upcoming HUBWeek festival.
➡︎ 37. Thomas Glynn
CEO, Massport
He’s the man who’s bringing Massachusetts to the world, and vice versa. Under Glynn, Boston has gone increasingly global, attracting new nonstop flights to Beijing, Dubai, Istanbul, and Panama. Soon, we’ll add Mexico City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv as well.
➡︎ 38. Swanee Hunt
Founder and chair, Hunt Alternatives
The daughter of an ultra-right Texas oil billionaire, Hunt has spent her life (and fortune) funding progressive causes. Her latest push? Persuading Mayor Walsh to adopt Demand Abolition, an anti-prostitution initiative to prosecute johns rather than sex workers.
⬆︎ 39. Atul Gawande
Professor of surgery, Harvard Medical School
A gifted surgeon, New Yorker staff writer, and educator, Gawande recently founded Ariadne Labs, a nonprofit that’s making healthcare safer, cheaper, and more accessible for patients, whether they’re at the Brigham or a clinic in India.
Read more about Atul Gawande.
⬇︎ 40. Ralph de la Torre
Chairman and CEO, Steward Health Care System
He’s leading the largest for-profit community-care organization in New England—17,000 employees, 11 hospitals—and betting on private healthcare. But with the closing of Quincy Hospital last year, many wonder: Is this experiment over?
