One of the great privileges of leading AIM is the opportunity to deliver the annual State of Massachusetts Business address at the beginning of each year.

The address articulates the priorities of the Massachusetts business community as we work with the public officials to strengthen the economy and create opportunity for the citizens of the commonwealth.

This year’s State of Massachusetts Business address (linked below) emphasizes the importance of higher education to the state’s economic future. Despite persistent uncertainties surrounding federal research funding, tariffs and other issues, a globally respected higher education system is among the assets that ensure the commonwealth will maintain the economy of the future.

WATCH THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESS ADDRESS

I was particularly proud to record the speech this year at my Alma Mater, Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, where I came as an 18-year-old from the Midwest to earn my bachelor’s degree and begin what has been an incredible odyssey here in Massachusetts.

My story at Mt. Holyoke is in many ways a metaphor for the unique role that colleges and universities play in creating economic prosperity. A world-class education system is more than simply books and final exams. It is a magnet for people from throughout the world – even from Kansas City in my case – to learn, to achieve and then to remain in the commonwealth to contribute to the common good.

The 2026 State of Massachusetts Address also contains a twist – an interview with the founders of florrent, an incredible six-year-old startup company designing and building high-performance supercapacitors using biomass waste. That waste is sourced in the US, diverted from landfills, and put through a patented process to create a material that unlocks better performance at a lower cost when applied into these supercapacitor systems.

It’s one thing to talk about the exciting future of Massachusetts, quite another to see it up close.

I hope you enjoy the 2026 State of Massachusetts Business Address and my conversation with Joe Hastry and Alex Nichols from florrent.

Please let us know what you think.