Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) has named Karen Wallace, its chief marketing executive since 2020, to the newly created position of Executive Vice President of Economic Inclusion. 

Ms. Wallace has been a driving force in AIM’s commitment to promoting supplier diversity among the association’s 3,400 member companies. She developed AIM Business Connect, an initiative that matches minority, women, LGBTQ+, veteran, and disabled-owned businesses with fellow AIM members looking to diversify their supply chains. 

“Karen Wallace has a unique passion for ensuring that every Massachusetts business shares in the economic prosperity of the Commonwealth. This new role will allow her to concentrate her immense talents on ensuring that AIM remains a leader in economic inclusion,” said Brooke Thomson, President and CEO of AIM. 

Ms. Wallace will oversee multiple elements of AIM’s diversity-related activities, including AIM Business Connect, a new Digital Inclusion Initiative funded by Verizon to help historically disadvantaged small and medium-sized businesses succeed in a digital world; AIM’s partnership with the Boston Impact Initiative; and the Pink Slip initiative to assist caregivers return to the workforce. 

“I couldn’t be prouder to lead the economic inclusion efforts of the largest business association in Massachusetts. AIM has committed itself to a vibrant and inclusive vision of economic growth in which every business in the commonwealth has access to the resources it needs to compete,” Ms. Wallace said. 

Prior to joining AIM, Ms. Wallace built a two-decade career supporting business growth with strategic planning, problem-solving, and executive oversight of large-scale projects. She spent a dozen years as a senior marketing executive at Fidelity Investments.    

She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Boston Children’s Chorus, and Compass Working Capital.  She is also a member of the National Black MBA Association and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  

Ms. Wallace is a Springfield native who holds both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Simmons College.