CEOs You Should Know - Boston

As the CEO and Co- Founder of Chelsea’s House and Power of Recovery, Matthew Powers has been committed to supporting those in recovery for the past 13+ years.

Chelsea’s House started a decade ago as a 6-bed sober home; it now offers 12 houses throughout the Greater Boston area and supports over 200 men and women weekly in their sobriety journey.

Power of Recovery was founded in 2021 in response to the immediate need for those in recovery and their loved ones for an outpatient support program that helps continue the work done in more intensive detox and in-patient programs. Both brands are founded with integrity, quality, and a true passion to serve those in our community suffering from Substance Use Disorders. When Matthew is not working in his business, he is enjoying quality time with his family.

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A principal of The Hoffman Companies, Mr. Hoffman has been intimately involved in all of the firm’s businesses, as either President or Principal Owner. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, Mr. Hoffman is a member and former Director of the Boston chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a global community of over 14,000 business founders and owners. Four years ago, he was the Sponsorship Co-Chair of the 2016 EO NERVE conference held in Boston for over 600 regional members.

Mr. Hoffman is also the President and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Genesis Foundation for Children, a 41-year-old nonprofit that provides funding for the diagnosis, treatment, coordinated care, and therapy for children born with physical, intellectual, and genetic disorders. He is also an Overseer-for-Life of Newton-Wellesley Hospital and a sponsor of the Chelsea Boys and Girls Club Breakfast Meeting series. A former Parent Council member of Macalester College, Mr. Hoffman is the alumni magazine correspondent for his Wharton class and President of Dartmouth's Digital Content Managers Association. Mr. Hoffman has also served as the President, Alumni Council representative, and Digital Content Manger for his college class.

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A native of Chelsea, MA, Bobby has been a life-long resident in the Greater Boston Area. After graduating from trade school, he worked in the collision repair industry for eight years as a painter. Today’s Collision Repair Center was founded in 1989, in Chelsea, MA. Bobby would go on to lead the Company’s expansion into 3 additional locations in the Greater Boston Area: Malden, MA in 2003, Stoneham, MA in 2017, and Danvers, MA in 2020.

With over 42 years of experience in the auto repair industry, Cobb continues to remain involved in all aspects of the Company, dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and spearheading the Company’s technological advancement efforts, including becoming one of the first Certified Tesla Collision Centers in Massachusetts in 2017, and certifying Today’s Collision with numerous additional OEMs including Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover, Acura, Honda and Subaru.

An avid Boston sports fan, Bobby can be found supporting our teams, hanging memorabilia around the offices, and working with current and former Boston athletes to support local philanthropic foundations.

Cobb contributes the success of Today’s Collision to his dedicated employees, the generations of customers who continue to support the business and the unwavering encouragement from his wife, Diane and two children: Robbie and Jenna.

About Today's Collision

With four locations in Malden, Chelsea, Stoneham & Danvers, Massachusetts, Today’s Collision has been repairing all makes and models of import and domestic vehicles, bringing them back to show-room condition since 1989. We pride ourselves on delivering superior customer service, setting us apart from the competition with outstanding customer reviews and recommendations. Our state-of-the-art facilities hold multiple OEM certifications and feature the advanced technology, cutting-edge equipment and skilled technicians needed to ensure high-end vehicles leave in flawless condition.

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Steve joined National Grid on 1 October 2021, bringing over 30 years of experience in the energy industry. As President of National Grid in New England, he leads over 6,000 employees and is responsible for gas and electric operations in Massachusetts, as well as LNG, HVDC, and Transmission in New England. Steve is committed to developing the most innovative, reliable, affordable solutions to bring clean energy to our more than 2.2 million New England electric and gas customers He firmly believes the time is now to focus on enabling a future where all our energy needs are met without fossil fuels and believes National Grid is positioned to lead the way by decarbonizing our gas and electric systems while ensuring a transition that is equitable for all.

Before National Grid, Steve served as President & Chief Operating Officer for Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), over which time the company recorded its highest performance in safety, service, reliability and customer satisfaction. While at BGE, Steve held numerous executive, leadership and technical roles, with responsibilities for distribution and transmission engineering, customer service, operations, emergency preparedness and construction management. Steve co-led the integration of Constellation and BGE into Exelon. Steve also led business transformation efforts of BGE’s holding company, where he also served as a senior executive with responsibility for supply chain and other shared services.

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Shaheer Mustafa, LICSW, CCDP joined HopeWell in 2016 as the organization was re-envisioning itself for the 21st century. Bringing a mix of private nonprofit and public service experience to his role, Shaheer is guiding the organization’s renewed energy, program growth, and emphasis on creating positive, measurable outcomes. He oversees HopeWell’s programs and partnerships, manages its resources, and nurtures a positive, inclusive, and transparent organizational culture.

Prior to joining HopeWell Shaheer served as Director of Areas for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families Arlington and Coastal Area Offices. While managing child protective services across 31 cities and towns he developed a strong reputation for leadership in improved permanency for children, reducing disproportionality in the foster care system, and leading creative efforts to respond to the opiate crisis.

Shaheer previously served as Director of the Knight’s Children’s Center, a residential school and treatment program of the Home for Little Wanderers, was a faculty member at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work, Urban Leadership program and is currently a Core Instructor for the Institute for Nonprofit Practice in affiliation with the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Shaheer’s work has been highlighted in numerous publications and he is widely recognized as a leader in the sector.

Shaheer began his career as a therapist assisting children and families to overcome the impact of complex stress using empowerment and strengths-based models of practice. He received a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and a Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Boston College and is certified as a Diversity Practitioner from Cornell’s School of Industrial Labor Relations. Shaheer also holds a certificate in nonprofit management and leadership from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice.

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Two life-long passions of our President and CEO? Banking and baseball. Wayne received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut, where he also played baseball for four years. After graduating, he began his career in Connecticut serving the financial needs of customers at Glastonbury Bank & Trust, Fleet Financial Group and American Savings Bank and in Massachusetts, at Berkshire Bank before joining Cambridge Savings Bank. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

In 2007, Wayne joined Cambridge Savings Bank as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer. Five years later, he was appointed to his current position of President & Chief Executive Officer.

This Glastonbury, Connecticut native now resides in Charlestown, MA with his wife and two children. In his free time, Wayne is an avid sports fan who is passionate about giving back. He is a board member of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce as well as a former board member of the Concord Carlisle Community Chest, an independent organization that raises funds and provides donations to vital human services organizations that assist Concord and Carlisle residents. He is also a past President of the Concord Carlisle Youth Travel Basketball Program. For his dedicated support and partnership, Wayne was awarded the Avon Children's Friend Award by Bridges Homeward, formerly Cambridge Family & Children’s Service. Additionally, he has chaired or co-chaired several community impact projects, more recently with Just-a-Start’s Capital Campaign for their new Economic Mobility Hub. Wayne is a member of the board nominating committee of Massachusetts Bankers Association and a member of the CSB Pan Mass Challenge Team.

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A mission-first leader in the voluntary health space, Steve has over three decades of experience devoted to making life better for patients with life-altering diseases.

Since joining the Arthritis Foundation in 2021, Steve has established the organization’s multi-year strategic mission plan, which outlines the Foundation’s clear pathways to finding a cure and improving quality of life for the nearly 60 million Americans diagnosed with arthritis.

Steve is passionate about aligning the Arthritis Foundation’s advocacy agenda and science strategy with the organization’s priorities, which are shaped by patient voices. Steve’s leadership is guided by the Foundation’s strong community of patients and volunteers — who are critical in driving the organization’s progress in boldly attacking arthritis and its effects.

Prior to being named president and CEO in 2022, Steve served as the Arthritis Foundation’s executive vice president for mission and strategic initiatives for the prior year. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the Sjögren’s Foundation for 18 years, from 2003 to 2021. While there, Steve worked to make Sjögren’s a household name, increasing awareness among the general public and health care professionals. He also notably led the development of the first-ever Clinical Practices Guidelines for Sjögren’s, a resource to help physicians treat, manage and monitor their patients.

Since childhood, Steve has been devoted to worthy causes, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s telethon and the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope Heart program. He has also served in staff leadership positions at the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society and, in 2012 and again in 2019, served as volunteer chair of the National Health Council board of directors.

Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boston University and an executive MBA from Auburn University. He is the proud father of three sons.

“It is my greatest honor and joy to work alongside our volunteers and patients, who serve as my biggest inspiration,” says Steve. “That’s what is so powerful about being part of a mission like ours. Their stories are what fuel us as we champion the fight against arthritis together.”

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Rick McConnell has been a successful technology executive for 30 years, establishing a reputation for scaling multibillion-dollar companies in competitive growth markets. He joined Dynatrace as Chief Executive Officer in December 2021. Prior to Dynatrace, he was President at Akamai Technologies and General Manager of Akamai’s Security Technology Group, where he was responsible for growing the company’s security business from a few million dollars of revenue in 2011 to becoming a $1.3+ billion business. Prior to Akamai, he was part of the early leadership team that built Cisco’s multibillion-dollar Communications and Collaboration business and served in several senior executive positions at Cisco Systems. He joined Cisco in 2004 when the company acquired Latitude Communications, a provider of fully integrated voice and Web conferencing solutions, where he had served as President and Chief Executive Officer.

Rick is married and the father of three children. He lives in Mountain View, CA, and is a passionate runner and cyclist. He holds a BA degree in Quantitative Economics and an MBA degree, both from Stanford University.

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Justin is a born entrepreneur who spent most of his life gaining valuable experience and connections at Reebok International. His wife Lindsay and him started Shooting Touch, a non-profit basketball organization which positively changes lives all using basketball as the key vehicle. In 2013, Justin combined his passion for footwear, sports and innovation by founding, ISlide, the first company to offer premium, customized, athletic slides. ISlide has been partnering with top major leagues (NBA, MLB, NCAA), cultural influencers, and athletes youth all the way to professional for the past 10 years. Justin believes that everyone deserves to Stand in what you stand for from head to toe, expressing their passion and beliefs through customized footwear.

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Ryan Barrett is CEO of ORAM Cybersecurity Advisors and has been with the company for over 15 years. As a longtime cybersecurity specialist with deep knowledge of financial compliance, Barrett has seen technologies evolve into one of the most critical components to ensure a reliable and scalable operation. He has worked in many different facets of IT – from financial institutions, to legal and medical, to name a few. With his years of expertise in project development, network design, domain migration and upgrades, email, security, and storage area networks, he has a vast understanding of complex business procedures and corporate infrastructure to meet the needs of ORAM’s customers. For the last three years, ORAM Cybersecurity Advisors was named one of the “Best Cybersecurity Companies” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

ORAM primarily works with businesses in the financial, medical, legal, nonprofit, and more recently, education industries. He and his team provide strategic consulting for each business.

Before his work with ORAM Cybersecurity Advisors, Barrett was Vice President of Network Services with Essex Investment Management Co, LLC. While there, he designed and implemented a co-location in Chicago and an integrated business continuance datacenter. In addition to those experiences, Barrett was a Consultant at Everynetwork Incorporated and the Chief Information Technology Officer at Jackson Construction.

An emerging thought leader in both technology and cybersecurity, he has been included in many respected media outlets including Forbes, TechTarget, Information Week, and Business News Daily.

Barrett holds a B.S. in computer engineering from the Wentworth Institute of Technology and resides in the Metro West region of Boston with his wife and kids.

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