In Depth: People Watch in 2006
Boston Business Journal
Monday, January 02, 2006
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As the new year dawns, we look at a few of the people poised to have a significant impact on the local business scene

Nancy Brennan, executive director, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy

It seems like such a plum assignment: help turn the scarred remnants of the Central Artery into an elegant swath of parks and museums. Easier -- much easier -- said than done. Nancy Brennan came from Plimouth Plantation to head up fund-raising efforts for the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. So far, the conservancy has raised over $6 million from companies and individuals to make it eligible for a $5 million match from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which will turn over entire operations of the greenway to the conservancy by 2012.

Given the ultimate fund-raising goal of $50 million, questions abound about government support for the greenway -- or lack thereof. And after the YMCA earlier this year backed away from its plans to build on the greenway given the costs involved, it raised questions about whether any of the other nonprofits with designs for the new park would be able to bring those designs to fruition.

In the midst of this, Brennan is set to unveil a business plan early in 2006 about how much it will cost to maintain and operate the parks.

Jay Doherty, president, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes of New England Inc.

The suburbs seem to be the happening place for Jay Doherty.

Doherty's company, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes of New England Inc., put 55 Cambridge Parkway on the block in October for as much as $420 per square foot. The building was the first Cambridge property to be marketed above the $400 mark in 2005.

In December, Doherty unveiled an ambitious, 4.5 million-square-foot development plan for a struggling industrial park in Westwood, bringing shops, condos, hotels and office space to University Avenue.

And just a few weeks ago, Needham selectmen approved his plans to build 350 apartments in the town under Chapter 40B, designed to increase the affordable-housing stock in cities and towns in which less than 10 percent of housing is considered affordable.

Now if only his good patch could double back into Boston's city limits. CC&F's 350,000-square-foot building a1 176 Lincoln St. in Allston, originally built for a New York City-based telecom that went belly up and bought out of its lease, remains a vacant landmark on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Joseph Fallon, president, The Fallon Co.

Fan Pier -- two words to make many a Bostonian wince.

Once upon a time, the 21-acre parcel was supposed to herald the renaissance of Boston's waterfront. But under the control of Chicago's billionaire Pritzker family, it has sat dormant for nearly three decades, the only action being the cars that daily jockey for spaces at the mud and gravel parking lots.

Plan after plan to turn the property into a commercial and housing center fell through, largely due to the high cost of building along the waterfront, which has been estimated at $1.2 billion.

Enter Boston developer Joseph Fallon, who along with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. signed an agreement in August to purchase the prime waterfront property for $115 million, bringing new hope for the languishing pier.

Fallon is no stranger to the neighborhood. His company, The Fallon Co., has been involved in development plans for nearby Pier 4 and a hotel next to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. He says Fan Pier's new owners plan to hire an architect within the month to design the first commercial property for the site.

Alan Leventhal, CEO, Beacon Capital Partners Inc.

So much for keeping a low profile.
In 1997, Alan Leventhal turned over the assets of Beacon Properties to Equity Office Properties in a $4.4 billion sale. Within weeks, he was assembling the team that would become Beacon Capital Partners Inc. Over the next few years the REIT was at the center of some of the highest-profile property deals in Boston -- including the $910 million purchase of the Hancock Tower in 2003.

Afterward, Leventhal operated largely under the radar screen. But he raised eyebrows in 2005 when Beacon Capital closed on a $272 million acquisition of its first suburban property: Waltham's Bay Colony Corporate Center. A few months later, Beacon outbid rivals to buy the trophy downtown office building at 200 State St. for $141 million.

The deals, some say, indicate that Beacon Capital is sharpening its focus on Boston. "If you do what Beacon does," said one observer, "You're going to be OK."

What's next for Beacon, and for Leventhal? When either makes a move, the market takes notice

Joseph Campanelli, CEO, Sovereign Bank New England

As if dealing with competition from B of A wasn't enough.

Joseph Campanelli took over as head of Sovereign Bank New England, Sovereign Bancorp's local subsidiary in January and immediately faced the prospect of having to grow his company as newcomer Bank of America Corp. geared up to establish itself in the region after its purchase of FleetBoston Financial.

That's enough for anyone to have on their plate. Now imagine dealing with that while your parent company is involved in a nasty, protracted slugfest with one of its shareholders.

Relational Investors, Sovereign Bancorp's largest shareholder, is waging a battle to replace Sovereign's board of directors in response to the bank's decision to sell a 20 percent stake to Spain-based Banco Santander Central Hispano for $2.4 billion and use the proceeds to help buy New York's Independence Community Bank.

Charles "Ed" Haldeman, CEO, Putnam Investments

We know. He's become a perennial person to watch -- ever since 2003, when he took over the reins of the scandal-ridden mutual fund company from Lawrence Lasser.

In the years since, Charles "Ed" Haldeman's been blunt about the problems weighing Putnam Investments down, from the charges of market-timing to the lackluster performance of some of its funds. The problems have taken their toll on Putnam, which went from over $400 billion in assets five years ago to under $200 billion earlier this month.

Haldeman has also been pointed about his plans to reverse Putnam's misfortune -- plans that include the hiring of a new government affairs officer to improve the company's dealings with regulators. Haldeman stresses that the company is staging a steady, if slow, reversal of its misfortune, and he's preaching patience.

The new year should be the one that brings some answers: whether Putnam's turnaround takes, and whether a change in ownership is at hand. Speculation continues to swirl around parent company Marsh & McLennan Co. Inc.'s plans for Putnam. In May, the New York firm dismissed published reports that it is shopping Putnam to prospective buyers. However, talk persists that Marsh is mulling the sale ofunderperforming business lines.

John O'Donnell, co-Counder,Patriot Community Bank

Come January, John O'Donnell will stage an event not seen in Massachusetts in quite some time: the opening of a community bank.

In an era when banks of all sizes are getting gobbled up left, right and sideways, O'Donnell, together with his group of investors and partners, is forming Patriot Community Bank in Woburn.

"I've worked in this area 18 years," O'Donnell recently told the Boston Business Journal. "Some of our investors have been here 50 years or more. We're plugged into the community. We hear, again and again, the need for a bank that offers an old-fashioned level of service."

Starting any new venture is tricky, and Patriot is no exception. If the opening goes as planned, it will be only the second state-chartered bank to open since 2000 -- the year that Brookline Bancorp Inc. formed Lighthouse Ba!!k, which soon was folded back into its parent company.

Only about 10 percent of households and small businesses change banks each year, which means Patriot will need to establish a clear, effective marketing campaign to establish itself.

William Ryan, CEO, TD Banknorth Inc.

Jeez, is his bank getting big. William Ryan's Banknorth came barrelling out of Maine to establish itself as a bank to be reckoned with via six acquisitions since 2002 -- a Down East bank heading steadily farther south.

The Portland, Maine-based company had a busy 2005: It sold a 51 percent interest in itself to Toronto based Toronto-Dominion Financial Group to become TD Banknorth Inc.; it secured the naming rights to Boston's FleetCenter, christening the arena the TD Banknorth Garden; and it strengthened its New York-area presence in July with its $1.9 billion purchase of Hudson United, based in Mahwah, N.J. -- a deal that gives TD Banknorth close to 600 total branches throughout the Northeast.

Given its wide footprint, how much bigger does TD Banknorth see itself getting?
And is the day coming when the Down East bank will fmally bite off more than it can chew?

Charles DeWitt and Terrence Finn, managing partners, Edwards Ane:ell Palmer & Dode:e LLP

An emerging legal powerhouse? The folks who orchestrated the merger between Edwards & Angell LLP and Palmer & Dodge LLP sure think so.

The midsize law firms joined forces this fall to become Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, a Boston-based firm with 520 attorneys, 280 of them in Boston.
Midsize no longer: The combination makes the firm the fifth largest in Boston in terms of lawyers, according to data from American Lawyer.

Terrence Finn has been managing partner of Edwards & Angell since 1994. Charles De Witt joined Palmer & Dodge in 1993 after stints at the Massachusetts Port Authority and the state Executive Office of Transportation and Construction.

As EAPD gets its bearings as a larger legal player, the two stand to gain stature beyond the combined law firm's nine current U.S. offices and its London outpost.

Cleve Killingsworth, CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

When William Van Faasen stepped down in July as the head of the state's largest health insurer, Cleve Killingsworth, who had served as president and COO since February 2004, took the reins -- and assumed a high-profile position as head of an insurer with 2.7 million members, one of the few health plans in Massachusetts whose membership has consistently grown in recent years.

Van Faasen had been brought in 15 years earlier to stabilize a company that had struggled with the advance of managed care, one that needed drastic overhaul in order to compete in a diverse marketplace.
Killingsworth now heads an insurer that's thriving in a market where other health plans are struggling to keep members and add new ones.

He has expressed his interest in continuing his predecessor's mandate, including using Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' resources to invest in programs that improve the health care system that will help insure more people.

Patrick Purcell, publisher, Boston Herald

The year didn't start out all that promising for Boston's No.2 daily newspaper -- a 16 percent drop in circulation over a two-year period; the specter of staff cuts aimed at saving $7 million in labor costs.

At the close off the year, the paper's future is still uncertain -- but not unpromising.

First-round bids for Herald Media Inc., which operates the daily and a slew of weekly community newspapers, were submitted in early December. Add to the mix Heritage Partners, owner of the two top dailies covering southeastern Massachusetts, The Patriot Ledger of Quincy and The Enterprise of Brockton. A scenario that's gaining credence has Heritage bundling its holdings with those of Herald Media, creating a package with strong regional penetration into the lucrative South Shore market.

Patrick Purcell's 2001 purchase of the weeklies from Fidelity Investments for $150 million earned more than a few sideways glances. But an investment deal that yokes together the Herald and Heritage properties would give Purcell a formidable weapon in his arsenal as he competes with the Boston Globe for advertising revenue.

James Tobin, CEO, Boston Scientific Corp.

Procter & Gamble stunned Boston with its announced purchase of Boston-based Gillette Co. for $57 billion. Locals bemoaned the loss of yet another local company to an out-of-state giant. And many wondered where the next best bet was for homegrown businesses.

And just maybe, a few thought, the best bet lay in life sciences -- specifically, with a local biotech that grew up and made good in Massachusetts, one that has launched a risky gambit in its ongoing battle against a rival.

James Tobin took Boston Scientific Corp. from a regional medical device player into a global power with surging stent sales. As 2005 came to a close, he submitted a $25 billion bid for Guidant Corp., a bald-faced bid to undercut rival Johnson & Johnson's bid for the same company. Not that there's any love lost between Boston Scientific and J&J. The two companies have spent much of the past seven years involved in nasty patent disputes.

Boston Scientific earlier this week pledged to continue with its planned Guidant purchase, despite Guidant's issuance of a profit warning and a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration. And for those in Boston who've lately come to view life sciences as a likely local growth industry, such a pledge can only be good news.

Hassan Ahmed, CEO,Sonus Networks

Even when things didn't seem to be much going his way, Hassan Ahmed has been upbeat about his company's prospects.
Chelmsford-baesd Sonus Networks Inc. sells gear for use in voice-over-Internet-protocol networks, a growing and competitive marketplace.

It was a promising entrant in the fight. But Sonus' battles in recent years haven't all been for market share. The company has weathered an accounting scandal that scuttled its stock, triggered internal audits, an SEC inquiry and lawsuits from disgruntled investors. And in recent years, the company has shown an increasing tendency to act on emerging technology only after its market potential has been proven.

Through it all, Ahmed has remained bullish on VOIP, and Sonus has continued to land such customers as AOL, Earthlink and T-Mobile. In 2005, Sonus added 100 more to its staff as it strives to strengthen its standing in an area that includes competitors Nortel, Lucent and Huawei Technologies.

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