This year’s overview and panelist discussion is more timely than ever, as it is set against the backdrop of the deep impact of the pandemic on the state, national, and global economies.
Sean O’Brien joined BSC Group in 2017 as the firm’s chief executive officer, bringing a 25-year track record of industry leadership in the transportation, private sector, federal and state client markets. Since taking the helm, Sean has focused on driving BSC’s growth as a regional leader in the transportation, energy, public and private markets. Propelled by a dedication to technical excellence and client service, he fosters a firm-wide culture of innovation and responsiveness. Under his leadership, BSC Group has advanced successful programs to strengthen client relationships, provide opportunities for employees’ growth and career development, and enhance the firm’s culture through the creation of a formal Diversity & Inclusion program. These achievements have been recognized with awards from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and WTS-Boston. Sean holds an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, as well as an MS in civil-environmental engineering from Tufts University and a BS in environmental engineering and technology from Norwich University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Vermont.
Overview Presentation:
Mark Melnik, Director, Economic & Public Policy Research, UMass Donahue Institute
Dr. Mark Melnik specializes in demographic, socio-economic, and labor market issues and leads a 15-person team working on a variety of economic and public policy research projects informing clients in government, private industry, and the non-profit sectors. In his time at the Institute, Dr. Melnik has served as the principal-in-charge on projects with such clients as the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, the City of Cambridge, MassDOT, the New England Foundation for the Arts, MassEcon, MassDevelopment, the Boston Private Industry Council, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and the MetroSouth Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Dr. Melnik serves as the Senior Managing Editor of MassBenchmarks, the journal of the Massachusetts economy published by the Institute in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Before joining the Institute, Dr. Melnik worked as Deputy Director for Research at the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) where he led research teams on demographic and economic research studies as well as analyses used for public policy advisement and decision making with the BRA and the City of Boston. Before joining the BRA, Dr. Melnik worked as a research associate at the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. As a leading expert in demographic and socioeconomic issues in the Commonwealth, Dr. Melnik is quoted extensively in the media and was appointed to Governor Charlie Baker’s Future of Transportation Commission and the Massachusetts Economic Development Council Board of Directors. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Northeastern University. His dissertation explored skill and credential mismatches in the greater Boston labor market. He received his master of arts from Northeastern University and his bachelor of arts from Youngstown State University, both in sociology.
Panel Perspectives and Discussion including:
Suzanne Duca, Director of Research, New England, CBRE
As Director of Research, Suzanne oversees all aspects of New England research with a focus on providing thought leadership for the region. Suzanne spearheads the development of market analysis, industry-specific white papers, available space surveys, and analysis of economic and demographic data. She is also responsible for coordinating the company’s quarterly market reports as well as overall maintenance of CBRE’s proprietary research database. Additionally, Suzanne and her team deliver market information and in-depth insights to CBRE’s Advisory & Transaction Services professionals to help drive informed real estate decisions for their clients. Prior to joining CBRE in 2011, Suzanne served as Vice President in the Marketing & Research Group at Colliers International. Suzanne currently sits on the boards of MassEcon’s Location and Analytics Committee, Southborough’s Economic Development Committee and the Southborough Extended Day Program, a nonprofit which seeks to help families with after-school childcare. Throughout her almost 20-year career in commercial real estate, Suzanne has earned many awards and accolades, including being named to the Boston Business Journal’s ‘40 Under 40’ in 2018 and most recently, Boston Real Estate Times’ ‘10 Outstanding Women of 2021’ in commercial real estate.
Adam Sell, Managing Director, Syndicated Finance, JPMorgan Chase
Adam is a senior member of the Syndicated Finance Group, and leads the New York team which covers JPMorgan Chase’s Northeast and Southeast Middle Market Banking Segments. Adam has over 25 years of banking and corporate finance experience with JPMorgan Securities and its predecessor organization, Chase Securities. He also spent three years at Loughlin Meghji + Co. as a founding member of its Corporate Finance practice. Adam originally joined Chase Securities in 1995 as an analyst in the Investment Bank’s Chemical Industries Group. Upon promotion to Associate he transitioned to a focus on financing private equity-related transactions, first with the Financial Sponsor Group and later with the Leveraged Finance Group. After 13 years in JPMorgan’s Investment Bank, Adam joined Loughlin Meghji + Co. in 2008 to build that firm’s new Corporate Finance practice. He was recruited back to JPMorgan in 2011, this time in the Commercial Bank, for his current role leading the New York team of the newly formed Syndicated Finance Group. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lehigh University and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University.
Eddie Beaver, Research & Analytics Team Lead, Aerotek
Eddie Beaver is Aerotek’s Research & Analytics Team Lead. Since 2015, he’s provided labor market analysis products, industry research, and consultative services for Aerotek and its many clients in the U.S. & Canada. This includes benchmarking competitive compensation, creation of analytics dashboards that empower Aerotek’s understanding of market conditions and research talent advisory efforts for markets, industries, and skills. Aerotek is America’s largest Clinical-Scientific, Engineering & Office-Clerical Staffing provider, a 5-time consecutive Best of Staffing Award for both clients and talent, and places more than a quarter of a million contractors annually across America.
Like so many across the globe, due to Covid-19, MassEcon is not working from the office for the foreseeable future, but we’re still up and running. With much consideration, we will not be holding in-person meetings until at least mid-July, but will be holding committee meetings via conference call, strategizing on how to bring you programming and business opportunities, and building our membership. Feel free to reach out to any of our staff with questions, concerns, or ideas on how we can continue to work together through this time. We wish you the best during this difficult time.
