New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu spoke to Council members about his work to promote economic growth in the Granite State at an October 4, 2018, breakfast at the Bedford Village Inn.  The event was sponsored by BAE Systems.  Gov. Sununi is pictured here with Christiana Thornton of the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation. 

On October 17, 2018, the Council partnered with several other regional organizations to host a special event highlighting business opportunities in Cuba, Cuba's Ambassador to the US José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez.  The Ambassador is pictured here with Norbert Strissel of JetBlue, which will launch direct service from Boston to Cuba in November. 

The Business Opportunities in Cuba event also featured presentations by jetBlue and Massport, a panel discussion with regional business and education leaders, and remarks from Representative Jim McGovern.  Picutred here are (L-R) Ambassador Rodriguez, Elizabeth Stevenson of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and Congressman McGovern. 

Senator Jeanne Shaheen updated NEC members on her recent work in the Senate at a Congressional Roundtable Breakfast at the Bedford Village Inn on October 26, 2018.  BAE Systems generously sponsored the program.  Senator Shaheen is pictured here (right) with Pamela Kidwell of Mercury Systems.

On October 11, 2018, some 1700 New England Council members and guests from throughout the New England region gathered at the Seaport Hotel/World Trade Center in Boston for The New England Council's 2018 Annual Dinner.  The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the New Englander of the Year Award to four remarkable honorees:

• General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, President and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Staff Sergeant (ret) Travis Mills, Army Veteran and Founder, Travis Mills Foundation
• The Honorable Niki Tsongas, U.S. House of Representatives

Guests were also treated to performances by Rene Rancourt, longtime performer of the National Anthem at Boston Bruins games, Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan, and Deputy Superintendent Pauline Wells of the Cambridge Police Department.  

The Council is grateful to Dinner Co-Chairs Darren Donovan of KPMG and Bob Rivers of Eastern Bank, as well as all of the event sponsors.  View Bill Brett's photos or the NEC's Flickr Album.

Tim Grady of PwC moderates the panel discussion at New England Innovates: Leading the way in FinTech.

On October 26, 2018, The New England Council presented "New England Innovates: Leading the Way in FinTech." The event, hosted by NEC member Bank of America at their Boston office, was the fourth in the Council's "New England Innovates" series, which aims to highlight how New England businesses and organizations are leading the way in the innovation economy, and to promote an ongoing dialogue in the region about how we maintain our reputation as a global innovation hub.

The event featured keynote remarks from Craig Phillips, Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Treasury and co-author of the department's recent report on FinTech. Following Mr. Phillips' remarks, a panel of Council members highlighted their own FinTech initiatives and discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with this rapidly evolving sector.

The panel was moderated by Tim Grady, Financial Services Partner and East Region Assurance Leader at PwC, and panelists were:

• Jay Biancamano - Managing Director, Digital Product Development, State Street
• Jean Donnelly, Executive Director, FinTech Sandbox
• Steve Leschuck - Vice President, New Products, Liberty Mutual
• George Marootian - Executive Vice President, Head of Technology, Natixis Investment Managers
• Debarshi K. Nandy, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Finance, Brandeis University International Business School

The next episode of DC Dialogue will air on NECN on Sunday, November 18, at 11:30 a.m.  We'll welcome our new host, Peter Howe, a veteran Boston news reporter who is currently Senior Advisor at NEC member Denterlein.  In the first segment, Peter and Jim Brett will talk with political commentator and national syndicated columnist Mark Shields, who will offer his analysis of the 2018 midterm election results.  Later in the show, former Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman will join us to share his current work at the Institute for a Competitive Inner City along with Jose de la Rosa, the co-founder of Guardian Healthcare.  Be sure to tune in or watch online!