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Archived: The Top Job Creator in Massachusetts

Posted on December 12, 2018

Lynn Tokarczyk may have helped to create more jobs and business investment in Massachusetts than anyone else.

The founder of the government incentives consulting firm, Business Development Strategies, Inc., (BDS) has assisted more than 100 Massachusetts businesses with creating 10,000 new jobs and retaining another 18,000 jobs. Those companies have saved more than $100 million in state and local taxes and invested more than $1 billion in Massachusetts cities and towns by navigating the often-mystifying maze of state and municipal business incentives with help from the BDS team.

Since its founding in 2003, BDS has built an impressive record of success assisting a “Who’s Who” of prominent companies identify, negotiate and secure tax incentives in the form of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), state tax credits and other tools under the state’s Economic Development Incentive Program.

Like any experienced dealmaker, Tokarczyk makes her work look easy. But the business behind the scenes is anything but simple.

Tokarczyk

Lynn Tokarczyk, second from left, stands with
executives of Analog Devices, a company
she worked with on a state-of-the-art facility in
Wilmington.

BDS has worked on many of the largest expansion and retention projects in the state with companies that include Samsonite, Horizon Beverage, Keurig, New England Ice Cream, MACOM, MilliporeSigma, Moderna Therapeutics, and Waters. The project list also includes

  • Technology and manufacturing giant, Analog Devices, which broke ground on a state-of-the-art facility at their current campus in Wilmington after securing a TIF with assistance from BDS. The $150 million project will boost the local economy and create an attractive hub for advanced manufacturers in the area.
  • IPG Photonics, the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance fiber lasers, has relied on BDS for assistance with tax incentives for nearly two decades. Last summer, IPG turned to BDS again for help with securing a TIF for a $70 million expansion in Oxford. The new facilities will allow IPG to retain 1,550 jobs and create 400 new jobs.

Tokarczyk started her career as the founder and owner of an upscale women’s clothing boutique, where she honed her skills in sales and business. She took those skills in a new direction when she joined the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) as a project manager, and later, an MOBD regional director. Recruited by Ernst & Young as manager for the New England Area State and Local Tax Incentives practice, Tokarczyk rose to become a senior manager before starting her own consulting firm.

Upon launching BDS, Tokarczyk quickly became known as an innovative leader whose entrepreneurial spirit, competitive nature and diplomatic skills were having a positive impact on the state’s business community.

The global pet products manufacturer and distributor, Rolf C. Hagen, first contacted BDS in 2003 when it needed to expand its Mansfield operations. Fifteen years later, the company returned to BDS for assistance with securing tax incentives for a second expansion of its USA headquarters and distribution center.

The travel site, TripAdvisor, reached out to BDS when the company was planning a multi-million dollar real estate expansion in Needham. Even though the town had never before approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package, the BDS team fast-tracked the process to completion in just three months.

A member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Board of Trustees of the Milford Regional Healthcare Foundation and several Chambers of Commerce, Tokarczyk shares her skills with a wide range of organizations. Named 2017 Business Person of the Year by the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce and included in the New England Real Estate Journal’s 2018 Women in Real Estate, she is a frequent speaker at Economic Development forums.

Drawing from lessons learned early in her career, Tokarczyk tailors her consulting services to each client’s needs. “We manage the entire tax incentive process for our clients and we work round the clock to ensure that projects have a positive outcome,” she describes.

“We strive to be the best in the business by consistently earning our reputation for excellence.”