Former Massport CEO to mediate soccer stadium talks between Mayor Wu and Kraft Group

Tom Glynn, then CEO of Massport, speaks during a panel to discuss the Boston Globe Spotlight Team's series on race at the JFK Memorial Library in 2018.Keith Bedford

The Wu administration has turned to a familiar face to referee negotiations with the Kraft Group over the construction of a pro soccer stadium: former Massport chief executive Tom Glynn.

Glynn is stepping in because state legislation allowing the soccer stadium for the New England Revolution to go up in an industrial zone on the Everett waterfront — at the site of a shuttered power plant across the Mystic River from Charlestown — also requires the Kraft Group to reach community mitigation agreements with Everett and with Boston.

Aside from his tenure as port authority chief from 2012 to 2018, Glynn has held a number of prominent roles in Boston, including as a top executive with hospital chain Mass General Brigham (when it was still known as Partners HealthCare), CEO of the Harvard Allston Land Co., and chair of the MBTA board of directors. He’s essentially coming out of retirement, again, to mediate the soccer stadium talks.

Glynn also has pulled double duty as a mediator at times. In 2002, then-mayor Tom Menino reached out to Glynn to help bring labor peace to office janitors who were out on strike. Two years later, Glynn worked with Tom Birmingham to help Menino reach contract accords with city police and firefighter unions.

Mayor Michelle Wu is running for reelection against longtime nonprofit leader Josh Kraft, whose father Robert Kraft is lead owner of the soccer team, one of the family company’s many holdings. Wu is also trying to rebuild White Stadium in Franklin Park to accommodate a new pro women’s soccer team, Boston Legacy FC.

The state legislation rezoning the area where the Revs stadium would go requires mediation if a deal couldn’t be done by May 1, and sends the issue to arbitration if one can’t be reached by Dec. 31.

Glynn said he was first approached by the Wu administration about being a mediator in June. He was initially reluctant, but after the Kraft Group agreed to the choice, he decided to help. He asked if Rebecca Kaiser, a former Partners colleague who is now a consultant, could join him.

Glynn said he’ll be paid $10,000 a month for five months to oversee the mediation, starting on Aug. 1, while Kaiser will receive $5,000 a month; the city and the Kraft Group will split the tab. The lead negotiator for the Kraft Group is Jim Cobery, while Lisa Herrington represents the city.

The Wu administration is hoping for a stadium mitigation package worth considerably more than the $750,000 that the Kraft Group has already committed for athletic fields in Charlestown; chief planner Kairos Shen recently referenced the $68 million mitigation agreement Boston received for the construction of the Wynn Resorts casino across the street from the stadium site in Everett.

In a brief statement, a city spokesperson praised Glynn’s “deep experience” and said the mayor’s team looks forward to securing more information about the project to determine a fair mitigation package for Boston, and expressed hope that Glynn’s mediation can encourage the Kraft Group to make a “more respectful and responsive offer.”

Kraft Group spokesperson Anisha Chakrabarti said the Kraft Group initiated the mediation process in March, and is pleased that Glynn has been picked. She said the Revs ownership remains committed to a collaborative approach. “Tom brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the complexities involved in urban development and community engagement,” she said.

When asked how he overcame his initial reluctance, Glynn said that when the Boston mayor asks you to take on a task, you try to be helpful.

“Our goal is to have a win-win for soccer fans and for the people who live in Charlestown,” Glynn said. ”Maybe that sounds naïve or simplistic, but that is in fact the deal.”

This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene.