This has been an incredibly unique year—and perhaps not unexpectedly—an amazing year of impact and membership engagement at the High Tech Council.

On June 29, our 44^th Annual Meeting focused on the incredible opportunity we have to shape our post-pandemic climate for investment and job growth over the next 10 years.

“It’s groups like the Massachusetts High Technology Council that are so critical to advancing programs and policies that drive local investment and job growth. The Council’s leadership on issues like COVID-19 response, diversity, equity, and opportunity, women in leadership, and public policy is invaluable.” — Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna

The economic dynamics of long-term work-from-home realities, such as permanently altered commuting patterns and where remote workers choose to live or relocate to, are challenging the fundamentals of our economic landscape. And we are working to assure the welcome mat remains in place in Massachusetts for businesses and their employees.

“As we move forward through this recovery, we will continue to benefit from the innovation that's occurring in our high-tech sector, led by many of the member companies that are part of this organization, and will continue to collaborate with our partners at the Mass High Tech Council to support this economic recovery.” — Mass. Governor Charlie Baker

The High Tech Council’s Executive Committee gathered for dinner in November, and our Board of Directors convened on December 8 in-person for the first time since 2019. During the hybrid gathering, hosted by Council Chair Bob Reynolds at Putnam Investments, Council leadership discussed a forward-looking agenda for 2022 and beyond, including public policy priorities that support a growth-oriented private sector and competitive climate for investment and job growth, and a proposed collaboration between private, public, and academic leaders to generate bold ideas for Massachusetts’ future. Stay tuned for additional details and engagement opportunities regarding our long-term vision for the Commonwealth’s innovation economy in the new year.

2022 will be another busy one for the Council to help the business community navigate short-term uncertainty and cast an eye to the future to position the Commonwealth to lead the country on emerging technologies and industries on a much longer timeline. We will advance a robust legislative agenda focused on workforce development, excellence in K-12 and higher education, sound public financial management, prudent allocation of unprecedented federal funds to invest in impactful infrastructure projects, and policies that advance conditions enabling our innovation economy to thrive.

As we noted in our December 1st statement, Governor Baker and Lieutenant Governor Polito’s announcement that they will not be running for re-election in 2022 means a new administration will take office in January 2023. While six gubernatorial candidates have officially announced they will run, the list of candidates vying for the top executive office is expected to grow considerably now that Baker and Polito out are of contention.

Throughout the coming election cycle, the Council will be focused on ensuring that all candidates understand the heightened correlation between job growth and retention, and the ease of moving employment away from uncompetitive state business climates.

A significant effort for the Council in 2022 will be our strategic focus on the proposed Tax Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution to establish a graduated income tax. In November, we carried out a key step of a legal strategy by sending a letter to the Attorney General of the Commonwealth requesting that the description of the question on the 2022 ballot make clear to voters that any new revenue from the tax will not necessarily go towards new spending on transportation and education.

From polling that we conducted in November before sending the letter, we learned of several takeaways with important implications for our 2022 efforts.

First, after testing support for the initial ballot language again, we learned that there is still high support for yes—but by a much smaller margin.

Second, a significant majority of respondents—over 70%—indicated that they would feel misled if they learned that the tax amendment could result in no increase in education or transportation spending.

Importantly, this reporting of feeling misled was consistent across all partisan affiliations. The big takeaway: the results confirmed voter support drops dramatically when voters realize the Legislature can appropriate the new revenue as they please, without dedicating a single dollar to education and transportation.

In early 2022, we look forward to sharing an update on the ballot campaign and what we are doing to support the Coalition’s critical work in helping voters understand the ramifications of the Tax Amendment.

We have been especially active on the Commission over the last few months in discussing reforms. In October, the Council led the analysis to augment presentations from outside experts and legislative staff and, in partnership with the eight other employer groups on the Commission, produced a report and recommendations. More recently, we developed a streamlined set of proposals as a framework for final recommendations that we have been advocating for as we enter the final stage of the Commission.

On December 13, Governor Baker signed a $4 billion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and surplus tax revenue spending bill, returning the bill to the House with minimal vetoes and amendments. The final package is $176 million beyond the prior agreement in mid-November and generally aligns with the areas advanced by the Baker Administration in June. The bill makes significant investments in housing production and affordability programs ($400 million) and puts over $100 million into various workforce development appropriations, including $37.5 million for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund.

As we shared in our December 13 statement, the spending package dedicates $500 million to the UI Trust Fund, which falls short of the $2 billion employer groups had been advocating for. With $2.3 billion in ARPA funds remaining, the Council will be advocating for additional replenishment of the Trust Fund as the legislature resumes deliberations in 2022.

To see more of our commentary and recommendations for ARPA spending, see our past testimony and statements.

As the Legislature determines uses for the remaining billions in ARPA funds, they and the Governor will soon have billions more to appropriate via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Based on federal highway formula funding for highways and bridges, Massachusetts will receive approximately $5.3 billion to spend over five years—just under 50% more than the current per year formula funding. This amount does not include $2.8 billion to the Commonwealth for public transportation improvements over five years and potential additional resources via competitive grants.

The bottom line is that the infrastructure package sends billions in guaranteed funds for overdue transportation investments but also gives Massachusetts opportunities to compete for billions more. The Council is excited to advocate for maximizing the Commonwealth’s resources to make our transportation systems among the best in the nation. We are also committed to ensuring that the Legislature and the Governor devise a realistic plan to disburse the funds within the designated timeframe given workforce shortages and other potential obstacles to rolling out spending expediently.

Throughout 2021, we worked diligently on redeveloping our 50-state competitiveness dashboard, MATTERS. We also developed a new technology workforce dashboard, which will be an important complement to MATTERS that provides dynamic data on technology occupations in the Commonwealth. The progress we have made wouldn’t have been possible without support from our talented advisory group and our partners with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Brandeis University in reimagining and expanding on the original platform.

We are currently planning to launch the new platform in early 2022. Together, the dashboards will serve as a robust toolkit to inform policymakers and our members on how Massachusetts is doing a range of key indicators related to the innovation economy, talent recruitment and pipeline, and public financial management.

From the global vaccine rollout and subsequent boosters to understanding emerging variants and navigating federal vaccine and mask mandates and impacts of federal court challenges, employers and policymakers faced a wave of new pandemic-related impacts, challenges, and risks in 2021. To help navigate the ever-evolving public health crisis and make the best decisions possible for a safe and sustained recovery, the Council continued our COVID-19 Recovery & Return to the Workplace Virtual Roundtable Series with a range of subject matter experts who provided important insights and updates on some of the most pressing concerns and topics leaders grappled with amid the second year of the pandemic.

Most recently, on December 14, the Council hosted a Virtual Roundtable featuring Dan Barouch, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Bain Capital Life Sciences Managing Directors Adam Koppel, M.D. Ph.D., and Andrew Hack, M.D., Ph.D., and Bain Capital Co-Chair, Boston Celtics Co-Owner, and Council Director and Executive Committee member, Steve Pagliuca.

Dr. Barouch kicked off the program with updates on the now-dominate omicron variant before Dr. Koppel and Dr. Hack joined Pagliuca for a conversation around vaccine and therapeutic developments, and how these advances will affect the future of work and help turn the global health crisis into a manageable virus.

Two weeks prior, Chartwell Strategy Group Co-Founder and Managing Director Ozzie Palomo, Goodwin Procter Partner Jennifer Fay, and Nutter McClennen & Fish Co-Managing Partner Liam O'Connell joined Council President Chris Anderson to discuss the Biden administration’s Federal Contractor Executive Order and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on vaccinations, masking, and testing for private employers with over 100 workers. The experts provided a detailed overview of both policies, the legal status of each as of December 1, and explored how the requirements may affect return to office plans.

The Council is actively monitoring the changing conditions of the pandemic and will continue to provide relevant expert insight and guidance to help business and civic leaders make informed decisions.

To watch previous sessions, including our February 2021 Roundtables on the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines, and the August 10, 2021 program on the delta variant, click here.

Concurrent with our COVID-19 Recovery & Return to the Workplace Virtual Roundtable Series, the Council launched a limited-run Reimagining the Future of Work After COVID-19 Virtual Roundtable Series in March 2021, with support from Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company.

With a focus on the changing New England economy and future workforce trends, local and regional thought leaders examined how the pandemic accelerated changes in specific areas, including hybrid and remote work, talent development, and the future of Massachusetts’ economy, and provided solutions for leaders navigating the evolving business landscape.

The Council’s Women in Leadership (WIL) Initiative finished the year off strong with our December 1 program, Women in the Workplace: Bold Steps to Address Burnout and the Broken Rung, co-hosted by 2021 Annual WIL Sponsor PTC and Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company. Megan Greenfield, Ph.D., of McKinsey, kicked off the event with a presentation of key findings from McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2021 report before moderating a fireside chat featuring Aron Ain, Chairman and CEO of UKG and Council Director, and Rebecca Schechter, CEO of Optum Behavioral Health.

The leaders discussed major themes from the report, including mental and behavioral health and burnout, and the pandemic's impact on working women and the corporate pipeline during the fireside chat. With support from content partners reacHIRE and Bentley University, and sponsors Azenta Life Sciences, MilliporeSigma, and Onto Innovation, the program also provided attendees with the unique opportunity to take a deeper dive into the topic during a special bonus Q&A session with the featured speakers following the formal agenda.

We are thrilled to host the second of our two-part member-only executive training program, Leaders for the Future, virtually on February 1, 2022, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm ET. The series, owned and operated by Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company with support from Annual WIL Sponsor PTC, offers cutting-edge coaching for senior women leaders exclusively to MHTC members. The second session, titled Leading Innovation, will focus on the impact of innovating an organization’s business model to improve performance and sustainability, the five elements of business model innovation, and making it happen by cultivating new disciplines for leaders and their teams.

The good news? We are offering additional spots for women leaders on your teams! For those interested in attending or nominating an executive to participate in the second session, please contact the High Tech Council’s Digital Communications Manager, Jenny Enfield. Participants must be senior-level women (VP or above) leading major businesses with P&L oversight and major functions (e.g., strategy, marketing, finance).

Mentoring relationships increase success for all employees across our member organizations. However, access to mentors and knowledge of how to succeed as a mentor or mentee isn’t always available. Our WIL Initiative is pleased to launch a pilot Group Mentoring Program in 2022 to help bridge this gap for early/mid-career women mentees who are employees of MHTC member companies.

Mentors of either gender can apply to participate. We will select sixteen senior-level leaders who are enthusiastic about sharing expertise and giving back and looking to enhance their own leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, and those who are champions for DEO, and passionate about cultivating cultures of belonging for all employees.

For questions about the program, contact Joanne Kamens, Ph.D., and for questions regarding participation, contact Jenny Enfield.

From hosting the inaugural Black Representation and Equity (BRE) Initiative event, Jumpstarting Your DEO Journey, which marked the beginning of a 10-year commitment by participating MHTC members to increasing Black employee representation at all levels in their respective organizations to approximate or exceed the level of diversity within the community, to our first ever BRE and WIL collaborative event, BRE’s first official year was a success—but there is still a long way to go. We look looking forward to advancing our BRE commitment in 2022 with Annual BRE Sponsor Waters Corporation and Strategic Partner Bain & Company as we pivot from webinars and best practices to providing toolkits and hosting skill-building programs with expert speakers. Stay tuned for information around programming and engagement opportunities in the coming weeks.

The Council proudly launched (and re-launched) two new DEO Initiatives in 2021—The School Series and U.S. Tech Vets, respectively. In September, we hosted the inaugural event for The School Series, a program dedicated to addressing educational opportunity gaps, with a webinar highlighting the life-changing work of Lawrence Catholic Academy (LCA). Click here to watch the session and learn more about LCA’s impact, the challenges its students face, and the importance of ensuring schools like LCA have the resources and tools needed to provide students with a path to limitless opportunity. We are excited to build up The School Series next year with our 2022 Annual Sponsor Analog Devices.

In November, the Council announced our plans to enhance our commitment to veterans through a new partnership with U.S. Tech Vets, a technology industry career portal created to connect veterans, including transitioning military personnel and their spouses, with meaningful jobs in tech. As one of America’s fastest-growing business sectors, the tech industry is hungry for high-quality veteran talent, and with 250,000 veterans transitioning to civilian life annually, U.S. Tech Vets provides a way for the technology community to find and hire top-quality talent. Interested in getting involved with U.S. Tech Vets? Contact Chris Anderson to learn about engagement opportunities.

We are pleased to offer a variety of high-impact, high-visibility sponsorship and partnership opportunities. The benefits, programs, and resources outlined in our 2022 MHTC Sponsorship Opportunities provide members with the chance to encompass their brand with the High Tech Council’s mission, values, and priorities while also supporting the growth of Massachusetts’ innovation ecosystem. As a sponsor, you are directly investing in the resiliency and long-term strength of the Massachusetts economy and enhancing the quality of life in our great state. To learn more and reserve your 2022 sponsorship request, please contact Chris Anderson.

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