A new headquarters can help with a big corporate transformation, by signaling the start of a new era.
That’s what chief executive Genevieve Juillard has in mind at IDC as she moves its corporate office from much bigger space in Needham to roughly 20,000 square feet on the 33rd floor of the One Beacon tower in Boston. IDC celebrated the still-in-process move with an event last week in the new space.
Juillard joined the Blackstone-owned firm, then known as International Data Group, in 2023 from Experian to take over as chief executive for Mohamad Ali, now at IBM. In March, IDG sold the media properties under its Foundry umbrella — such as Computerworld and CIO — to private equity firm Regent. Meanwhile, IDG recapitalized its debt. This freed up cash to invest in the IDC side, which provides data and analysis to tech vendors and their clients.
IDC is using AI to develop new ways to deliver research to its clients, including via partnerships with workforce software firms, such as Amazon Web Services, and technology that allows clients to access research more directly.
While the One Beacon space is smaller, Juillard said she expects a similar number of people coming into the office each day, and it’s arranged in a way that encourages more collaboration. Roughly 100 can work there at one time, out of IDC’s 200-plus local employees. (IDC maintains a flexible remote work policy.)
The Boston move brings IDC closer to clients, local customers or those visiting via Logan Airport, and to the next generation of talent. One Beacon offers views, parking, a fitness center, central location, and access to the UMass Club conference space.
“We are a company that has a fairly strong tenure of [longtime employees] but that also means we need to start building a pipeline of talent,” Juillard said. “Building that pipeline is a lot easier in downtown Boston.”
This will be the first time IDC, which employs more than 2,000 people globally, will be based in Boston since Patrick McGovern started it more than 60 years ago.
“It’s not leaving who we’ve been for the last 60 years, but it’s a different way of operating,” Juillard said. “Coming to downtown Boston is the physical manifestation of that transformation.”
Plugging into politics
Can Tom Hopcroft’s experience running a prominent tech association help him get elected to the state Senate — and help the Senate if he gets there?
Hopcroft is setting out to find the answers to both parts of that question, now that he has launched a campaign to seek the seat held by Senator Pat Jehlen of Somerville. Hopcroft, a Winchester Democrat, jumped into the race soon after Jehlen announced in December that she would not run again.
Hopcroft is known to many state officials for his prior job leading the Mass Technology Leadership Council. Hopcroft became MassTLC’s president in late 2008, and held the job for 13-plus years, until 2022 when he launched the Net Zero Institute nonprofit.
As MassTLC’s former president, Hopcroft has an extensive network from which to seek advice — and donations.
“Coming from the tech world and innovation world, I know that times of disruption and change are also times of opportunity,” Hopcroft said. “We need leaders like me who can see the big picture.”
The race is starting to get crowded. Somerville city Councilor Matt McLaughlin and state Representative Christine Barber have also announced their candidacies for the seat to represent Somerville, Winchester, Cambridge, and Medford.
Banking on outreach
The nonprofit Partnership for Financial Equity was started more than 35 years ago in response to big racial disparities for mortgage lending in Boston. The banking scene has come a long way since then, but Tom Callahan believes there’s more work to be done.
The Partnership’s executive director just released the results of its first survey of lower-income residents in Massachusetts to gauge attitudes about banks. The MassINC Polling Group conducted the Partnership-funded survey of 640-plus residents in September.
The good news: 85 percent trust banks today, reflecting a concerted effort to reach underserved neighborhoods. The bad news: Only a quarter said they “strongly” agree with the statement that banks are trustworthy.
“Eighty-five percent is a ‘B,’ right?” Callahan said. “I think a lot of our banks looked at this as not a bad number. [But] I know there are a lot of families [where] when you bring home a ‘B,’ they say ‘good job but there’s room for growth.’ ”
Some banks seem to be figuring it out. The Partnership cited Eastern Bank, which has featured Chelsea activist Gladys Vega of La Colaborativa, in its ads, and Reading Cooperative Bank, which staffed its Lawrence branch with bilingual tellers, as two examples.
Reading Cooperative chief executive Julie Thurlow addressed the challenge at the Partnership’s annual summit, held in October at the Vault in Lawrence. Bankers, she said, need to listen to customers and understand their life struggles. “Until you appreciate the immigrant story,” Thurlow told the crowd, “you will be unable to crack the code for success in this market.”
From Fidelity to Liberty
It all started with a friendly congratulatory phone call.
Nageeb Sumar, then at Fidelity Investments where he helped run Fidelity’s Invest in My Education scholarship program, had heard Melissa MacDonnell was retiring from her job as president of the Liberty Mutual Foundation. So Sumar called to congratulate MacDonnell.
That prompted MacDonnell to ask Sumar: Would you be interested in the job?
It turned out the answer was yes. Liberty Mutual last week announced Sumar is taking over as the foundation’s president and will report to Francis Hyatt, the insurer’s chief of community investments and sustainability.
Based on annual giving levels, the foundation is one of Boston’s busiest: It gives out around $50 million a year, with two-thirds going to Boston-area recipients, and it matches employee gifts, totaling an additional $15 million-plus a year.
About eight years ago, Sumar relocated to Boston from Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Gates Foundation, because his wife Fatema Sumar had landed a job with Oxfam America. (She is currently the executive director of the Harvard Center for International Development.)
For Sumar, the Liberty Mutual role offers an opportunity to put down deeper roots in Boston, by working closely with the foundation’s numerous nonprofit grantees. “To be able to contribute back to the Boston ecosystem is something I’m excited about,” Sumar said.
Taking stock at the NBA
Executives, board members, and rank-and-file employees of public companies often get equity as compensation. Why not NBA players?
That was the scenario posed by Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown during a Q&A session last week with Bloomberg bureau chief Brooke Sutherland, at a Bloomberg-sponsored event. Among her questions for Brown, a vice president in the National Basketball Players Association: Are the rising valuations of NBA teams appropriately reflected in athletes’ pay?
Brown certainly doesn’t think so.
“If you work for Apple, or if you work for Nike, if you’re a CEO or someone that’s been on a board . . . you [get] equity at some point, you are a part of it,” Brown said. “Athletes should be looked at in the same way.”
When the players’ union struck the current collective bargaining agreement with the NBA in 2023, the new contract allowed for some equity investing but with strict limits. For example, NBA athletes could own less than 1 percent of a publicly traded NBA team, and up to 4 percent of a WNBA team. When the contract comes up for renewal, Brown said he plans to push for more equity ownership.
Sutherland also asked about whether the nonprofit small business incubator Brown started, Boston XChange, will have its own physical space. Brown said he’s still hopeful: “It would be nice to have our own space. We just want to make sure it’s on the right terms.”
And she asked about why he turned down millions in sponsorship deals to launch his own shoe business, 741 Performance, in 2024. Brown responded: “Most people would probably scratch their head about decisions like that.” He said money is important, but there are several things he values more, such as community commitment, integrity, and creative input.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.