President’s Bulletin
May 2025
From the Office of the President
Turning Strategy into Impact: Leading the Charge for a More Competitive Massachusetts
Massachusetts stands at a critical crossroads. Amid rising economic pressures, the business community must lead with clarity, unity, and resolve. The Massachusetts High Technology Council has done exactly that: advancing a bold, actionable strategy through MassVision2050 and launching the Mass Opportunity Alliance (MOA) to reassert our state’s competitiveness.
MOA is more than a policy proposal. It’s a first-in-the-Commonwealth movement—uniting residents and private sector employers by bringing together data, public engagement, and real-time response to shape the debates that matter. In this month’s President’s Bulletin, I am honored to share how we’re translating strategy into results by highlighting our recent wins and previewing the Council’s next steps. Your continued leadership is the catalyst behind our growing momentum.
Committed to Action
Over the past year, the Council has worked to execute a focused, actionable framework for inclusive growth through MassVision2050. At the heart of this effort is MOA, our strategic vehicle first advanced by the Council’s Board of Directors in late 2023 with an ambitious goal: unify the business community to restore Massachusetts’ economic competitiveness.
While some business chambers and associations are avoiding frank conversations with policy makers about anti-competitive policies, the Council is executing a bold plan—building a trusted brand, mobilizing a grassroots army, and leveraging both to enact transformative policy change.
MOA Framework: Aligning for Impact
MOA was developed to answer a central challenge: How can Massachusetts protect and grow its innovation economy while making opportunity more broadly accessible?
Our answer: Build a durable, cross-sector coalition focused on high-impact interventions to improve the state’s business climate and promote long-term opportunity for all residents. To counter the well-funded and coordinated narrative of the “loud left,” MOA had to be more than just a policy platform.
And it is: since MOA’s public launch in September 2024, it has become a fast-growing, statewide grassroots movement of over 35,000 engaged citizens, including employers, workers, and entrepreneurs, unified by their concern for the state’s economic future.
Momentum-Building Achievements
In recent months, MOA has delivered early, high-impact wins across public discourse, grassroots mobilization, and data-driven advocacy:
Countering Misinformation with Facts
When surtax proponents pushed a misleading study to downplay the state’s outmigration crisis, MOA was the only organization to deliver a rapid, fact-based rebuttal. Our response shaped media coverage and reframed the debate, proving our ability to lead with clarity when others stay silent.
Mobilizing a Statewide Grassroots Network
We activated our growing grassroots community to spotlight the rising costs of the state’s unemployment system. In a matter of weeks, over 1,300 residents sent more than 13,000 letters to lawmakers—amplifying constituent voices and driving pressure for change.
Delivering Data that Drives Policy
Our original infographics—such as tracking state budget growth against cost-of-living and wage trends—equip voters and policymakers with clear, accessible evidence. These visuals are shaping understanding of the true economic pressures facing Massachusetts families and businesses.
Source: Mass Opportunity Alliance
Looking Ahead: Strategic Action in 2025-2032
As we prepare for the Council’s 50th anniversary in 2027, our agenda will rely heavily on the unique research and communications capabilities of MOA, that will focus on pro-growth policy solutions prioritizing:
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Massachusetts' outlier status on competitiveness
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Key challenges for residents and businesses such as costs, regulations, taxation, and workforce development
In January, Council Vice President Elizabeth Mahoney led the initial two-month phase reviewing and discussing key policies with Council and non-Council leaders to form the framework of our Massachusetts Competitiveness Policy Initiative (2026–2032): A long-range policy platform addressing tax reform, regulatory modernization, workforce challenges, and cost of living. Over the next three months, Council working sessions will refine draft plans, set FY25 operating goals, identify co-investment opportunities, and prepare for coordinated public policy advocacy.
We’ll be discussing the fruits of this process at our June 11 board meeting and seek endorsement on a recommended plan for advancing a sequence of policy proposals.
If you are interested in contributing to or leading within a specific MOA area, I invite you to reach out directly. Your involvement will shape not just the Council’s work—but the future of our state.
Why This Work Matters Now
Massachusetts continues to face mounting economic pressures: rising costs, workforce constraints, and widening opportunity gaps. The important work of our MassVision2050 initiatives, anchored by MOA, provides us with a proactive, data-driven, and collaborative path forward.
Your sustained leadership and partnership are vital. Together, we can ensure that Massachusetts remains a premier destination for innovation, investment, and job growth.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the Council and the Commonwealth.