Global Massachusetts 2015

US-China-India Innovation Partnerships

Recovery Act

Science & Technology

Consumer Confidence

EVENTS & MEETINGS

CHINA/INDIA INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS

NEWS

SECTOR STUDIES

STEERING COMMITTEE and SECTOR LEADERSHIP

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

Global Massachusetts 2015 Brochure [pdf]

Goals & Outcomes [pdf]

World Class K-12 Math & Science Agenda [pdf]

20th Anniversary Luncheon

Opportunities in Crisis:
Global Challenges, Global Opportunities and Boston's Role in the World

To view a slideshow retrospective, please click here.

Speakers

• William Guenther, Mass Insight Corporation
• Clayton Deutsch, McKinsey & Co.
• John Hailer, Natixis Global Asset Management
• Paul Grogan, The Boston Foundation
• Joshua Boger, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

The message
Making Boston truly international is a necessity, not a choice. To do so, we must:

• Keep "borders" open. Support international growth of Massachusetts' businesses, because jobs abroad support jobs here.
• Commit to a comprehensive human capital strategy: Recruit out of state and international students, invest in English language skills for immigrants, educate the "lost" talent in urban schools.

Boston's opportunities

• To serve as a global gateway, solving global challenges at home and exporting solutions around the world. Building leading clusters of talent.

Boston's challenges

• High cost of doing business. A "talent gap" based on slow population growth. (For Guenther's slides, click here).

The goal

• Boston as global innovation leader, leading center of talent, and global business location.

Comments
Deutsch: U.S. opportunity is still significant. There is a trend in Asia towards "denationalization" of leading companies, i.e. creating senior management teams with no particular country affiliation. And a silver lining from the economic collapse: Asian companies considering purchasing U.S. assets are taking a long-term view as owners, not just buyers. Three predictions about Boston in 2015:

1. Globalization is inevitable even though the downturn will affect the pace;

2. Boston will continue to be an important talent producer because of its education assets; and

3. Boston will need to compete to retain its position as a commercial capital.

Deutsch emphasized the importance of collaborations, networks and public-private partnerships. A cluster is based on networks and value-added from the geographic proximity, not just having a lot of companies.

Hailer: The U.S. and Boston in particular are well positioned as asset management leaders for the next generation of growth. Boston is one of the three leading locations and conditions in the other two primary locations (New York and London) make Boston especially desirable now.

Boger: Vertex establishes international partnerships for quality and mutual benefit, not as an opportunity to cut costs. R+D and manufacturing next door is gone. Drugs are produced in Asia because that is where the best quality manufacturing facilities can be found.

To solve global challenges like drug development, you need the entire "global brain”—not just American or English-speaking brains.

Recruiting and keeping the best and brightest means being international. As Massachusetts-based companies grow abroad, that will help sustain their Massachusetts operations—it's not a zero-sum game.

Grogan: With the "talent gap" our Achilles heel, Grogan called for a comprehensive human capital strategy. The key elements:

1. Recruit every student coming through our universities from out of state and internationally to stay in Massachusetts. He commended the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's effort to set up recruitment plan for students, but more needs to be done.

2. Invest in local talent, and respond to our failures in the inner city and with our immigrant population. Boston is currently exporting skilled talent, and importing unskilled talent; we need to work to develop English language and other learning opportunities to help immigrants get on the ladder to success.

 

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