Leading the City Forward
Who's Moving Out
|
 |
| |
Micho Spring. (Photo: Robin Lubbock.) |
 |
|
The John Hancock tower is an iconic part of the Boston skyline. It was built in 1976 for the Boston based insurance company. But the company, named for the first Governor of Massachusetts, was bought up in 2004 by a Canadian company, Manulife, and now that company is moving its Boston operations into the new Manulife building in Boston 's seaport district, causing some to ask: "What do you call the John Hancock building, when John Hancock is no longer there?"
It's symbolic of what's been going on at many of the signature companies once headquartered in Boston.
The loss of company headquarters have some worried about the changing business climate in the city. Are we losing our best and brightest to the competing regions of California , or the research triangle in North Carolina , or even to India or China? Will the loss of headquarters and executives be a catalyst in changing the economic fortunes in the city. But there is another question that is part of this transformation : What does the move mean for the civic leadership of Boston? David Luberoff from the Kennedy School of Government says the loss of company headquarters has at least two important effects: "One is a psychological effect... we like to think of Boston as a world class city... the second is this question of when the firms aren't local does it diminish the involvement of the firm, of it's senior leaders, in civic affairs?"
Who needs Civic Leaders?
Many think it's time to stop and assess the state of the Hub's civic leadership, those who will take the economy of Boston , and the cultural and social assets of the city, into the future. There are those like, Peter Meade, the Executive Vice President of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts, who are optimistic about what the city can do with civic leadership because it can be drawn from the educational and health institutions of the city.
|
 |
| |
Paul Grogan. (Photo: Robin Lubbock.) |
|
|
What seems obvious is that Boston 's civic leadership, like other areas of city life, is in the process of re-inventing itself. It once was run by a group of white businessmen known collectively as "The Vault". Now the Vault is gone and the economic base of the city has diversified, and most seem agreed that civic leadership needs to do the same. Some are worried that this might mean it's difficult to work towards a common goal. But Boston 's Mayor Menino is clearly bullish on Boston : "All this doom and gloom...it's not happening in Boston ... we have civic leadership... they might not meet for three martini lunches... but when you need them, they're there for you."
Talking about Boston
Part 5 of WBUR's Boston at the Crossroads series concludes with Bob Oakes discussing the city's civic leadership and the choices the city is making at this critical time, with: Paul Grogan, President of the Boston Foundation, and Micho Spring former chief of staff for Boston 's Mayor Kevin White, and now with Weber Shandwick Worldwide.
|
