The High Tech Agenda
December 2025
A Year of Momentum—and a Clear Path to 2026
Dear Council Members and Friends,
As Boston Magazine observed decades ago, the Massachusetts High Technology Council had already become “one of the most powerful and successful” advocacy organizations in the Commonwealth—not by size, but by focus, leadership, and results. That observation still rings true today.
In 2025, the Council reaffirmed its role as a convener, catalyst, and advocate for Massachusetts’ long-term competitiveness—grounded in data, driven by member priorities, and focused on execution.
2025 Highlights: Leadership for Competitiveness
Advancing a Statewide Growth Agenda
The pressures facing Massachusetts—high costs, net outmigration, intensifying interstate competition, and rapid technological change—are no longer abstract. They are shaping workforce decisions, corporate strategy, and long-term investment across the Commonwealth.
Throughout 2025, the Council delivered a consistent message: sustaining Massachusetts’ quality of life requires a business climate that supports growth, rewards innovation, and expands opportunity. Growth—paired with accountability and execution—remains the organizing principle behind our work.
Building the Infrastructure for Action: Mass Opportunity Alliance
In parallel, the Mass Opportunity Alliance (MOA) helped build the infrastructure needed to move from analysis to impact: a credible research platform, modern communications, a growing grassroots network, and a coalition of aligned business and civic leaders.
MOA’s work on costs, taxes, talent flows, and job growth is reshaping statewide conversations and challenging outdated narratives. In just one year, MOA has established itself as a serious, data-driven voice—laying the groundwork for reforms centered on affordability, fiscal discipline, and long-term competitiveness.
This is not episodic work. It is a deliberate, multi-year strategy to rebuild trust, shift public understanding, and advance reforms that expand opportunity while resisting policies that undermine growth.
2025 Annual Meeting: Framing the Moment
The Council’s 2025 Annual Meeting brought this agenda into focus, convening senior executives, policymakers, and partners for a candid assessment of Massachusetts’ competitive position.
CNBC’s Scott Cohn—founder of the network’s Top States for Business rankings—highlighted the Commonwealth’s enduring strengths in talent, research, and innovation while underscoring the structural risks of inaction. Talent retention, cost pressures, fiscal accountability, tax policy, and the accelerating impact of AI framed a discussion grounded in urgency and data.
New Board Chair Jean-Charles Wirth, CEO of MilliporeSigma, captured the mandate succinctly: “Being part of the Mass High Tech Council is a business imperative.” Massachusetts still leads—but leadership is not guaranteed without deliberate action.
New Board Leadership
The Annual Meeting also marked a leadership transition, with Jean-Charles Wirth elected Chair and Catherine Kniker, EVP and Chief Marketing & Sustainability Officer at PTC, elected Vice Chair, alongside an expanded Executive Committee. Their leadership reflects the Council’s commitment to principled, action-oriented governance at a pivotal moment for the Commonwealth.
Engagement with Healey-Driscoll Administration
Throughout 2025, the Council and its members engaged actively with administration-led councils and task forces, emphasizing execution, measurable outcomes, and accountability.
Competitiveness Council
The Council welcomed the Governor’s new Competitiveness Council while urging that success be measured through job growth, talent retention, spending discipline, and improved business-climate rankings.
Statewide K–12 Graduation Council
Working with the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, the Council joins a broad coalition across sectors advocating for rigorous, objective high school graduation standards aligned with real-world skills and workforce readiness.
Massachusetts SHIELD Initiative
The Council will support the Governor’s Massachusetts Strategic Hub for Innovation, Exchange, and Leadership in Defense (SHIELD)—recognizing the defense sector’s critical role in innovation, national security, and economic growth. Our engagement reinforces the Council’s long-standing role as a champion of the Commonwealth’s defense ecosystem, dating back to our leadership of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) effort and the subsequent creation and leadership of the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative. SHIELD reflects a shared commitment to accelerate innovation, support advanced defense technologies, and maintain Massachusetts’ leadership in national security at a time of growing global instability.
MassVision2050 in Action
In 2025, MassVision2050 continued its evolution from long-range vision to execution platform—delivering member-driven thought leadership and practical insights across AI, cybersecurity, and workforce transformation.
Key initiatives included:
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Tariffs, Trade & Security:
A rapid-response, member-exclusive series delivering real-time intelligence on global trade and security risks.
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Cybersecurity Community:
Expanded tabletop exercises, peer discussions, and direct engagement with policymakers on cyber legislation and regulation.
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BCG Workforce Report | Strategic Impacts of AI on Massachusetts’ Workforce
Strategic Impacts of AI on Massachusetts’ Workforce: Sector Insights and Policy Implications, developed with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), examined AI-driven shifts across sectors and informed discussions among executives, academic leaders, and state officials.
Additional Leadership Highlights
Standing Against Antisemitism and Hate
In 2025, the Council engaged actively with the Legislature’s Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism, supporting its work and endorsing its recommendations—particularly those addressing the role of employers in fostering inclusive, safe workplaces. This leadership is especially salient following the recent terrorist attack targeting a Hanukkah gathering in Australia, underscoring that antisemitism and hate are global threats with real human and economic consequences.
The Commission’s employer guidance emphasizes practical steps—including integrating antisemitism education into workplace DEI/anti-discrimination training, supporting employee resource groups (including Jewish ERGs), strengthening religious accommodation practices, and recognizing Jewish American Heritage Month. Together, these steps reinforce that combating hate is both a moral responsibility and a competitiveness imperative for Massachusetts’ innovation economy.
MassVision2050: The Framework for 2026 and Beyond
Looking ahead, MassVision2050 anchors the Council’s long-term strategy to secure Massachusetts’ position as the world’s leading innovation hub. As AI, cybersecurity threats, and workforce disruption accelerate, the initiative integrates three reinforcing priorities:
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Cybersecurity & AI Leadership:
Helping organizations and policymakers navigate AI-driven shifts in cyber risk, governance, and workforce needs—while advocating for balanced, innovation-supportive regulation.
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Skills & Talent Intelligence:
Building a first-of-its-kind statewide platform—working with MITRE and a future university anchor—to provide near real-time insight into emerging skill needs and talent flows.
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A Connected Competitiveness Framework:
Aligning security, talent, and policy to ensure Massachusetts remains resilient, affordable, and globally competitive through 2050 and beyond.
Looking Ahead to 2026
A Pivotal Year
2026 will be consequential. Economic pressures are now measurable, a high-stakes election cycle is underway, and key policy decisions will shape the Commonwealth’s fiscal and competitive future.
The Council’s Multi-Year Competitiveness Strategy (2026–2030) establishes clear benchmarks:
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By 2026:
Reduce business costs, reject punitive tax structures, and restore unemployment insurance solvency.
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By 2028:
Reverse skilled-worker outmigration and achieve sustained job growth.
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By 2030:
Return Massachusetts to the Top 10 nationally in competitiveness.
Data will continue to anchor this work—guiding engagement with employers, voters, and policymakers.
MassVision2050 Cybersecurity & AI Leadership Program Announcement
In January, the Council will conduct the first in a new, member-led series focused on how AI is reshaping cybersecurity risk, governance, operating models, and workforce requirements across Massachusetts’ innovation economy.
The inaugural, in-person session—hosted by MilliporeSigma—will feature a candid executive discussion on the “Democratization of Data and AI,” with James Kugler, CEO of EMD Digital, and Subbu Iyer, Head of Analytics Center of Excellence at MilliporeSigma. Designed for senior leaders and conducted under the Chatham House Rule, the Member-only session will offer practical, company-level insight into how leading organizations are deploying AI while adapting their cybersecurity posture and operating models in real time. Members have received an invitation, and you may contact Jenny Enfield for more.
Engaged Workforce Webinar in Partnership with STEMatch
The Council will host a MassVision2050 Engaged Workforce webinar in partnership with nonprofit STEMatch on January 27, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET, spotlighting proven, scalable approaches to strengthening Massachusetts’ tech talent pipeline through community colleges and skills-based hiring. This session will feature Chris Zannetos, Founder and CEO of STEMatch, alongside Roger Alix-Gaudreau, Vice President of B2B Engineering at Tripadvisor.
Save the Date: MHTC’s 2026 Annual Meeting
June 2, 2026 | 5:30–7:30 PM
As these priorities take shape, we look forward to updating members on progress, momentum, and next steps at the 2026 Annual Meeting on June 2, 2026, from 5:30–7:30 PM.
Additional details and formal invitations will be distributed in the new year.
Onward
As we close out the year, we want to thank you for the many ways you strengthen the Council—through your leadership, your partnership, and your commitment to our shared work.
This season invites reflection and renewal. For those celebrating Christmas, we honor the hope, peace, and joy at the heart of the holiday. For those celebrating Hanukkah, we celebrate the enduring light, resilience, and faith it represents. And for everyone in our community, we’re grateful for the spirit of service and care that carries us through the year.
We wish you and your loved ones a warm and meaningful holiday season, and a healthy, hopeful New Year.
The Massachusetts High Technology Council Team:
Chris, Elizabeth, Jenny, and Sarah