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          Premier Event
          2025 Annual Meeting

          Join us for our highly anticipated Annual Meeting, Greater Boston's top business convening of the year.

          05/20/2025

          4:30pm - 8:00pm

          Omni Boston Hotel

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Pacesetters
          Doing Business with Columbia Construction

          This virtual event gives small business owners the chance to hear directly from procurement officers about opportunities to work with them.

          05/29/2025

          12:00pm - 1:00pm

          Virtual

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          City Awake
          Art of Connection: An Evening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

          Join us for an exclusive networking event at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy self-guided tours of John Wilson and Van Gogh, showcasing the deep bond of family, friendship, and community.

          06/05/2025

          5:30pm - 8:30pm

          Museum of Fine Arts

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Learning & Development
        • Learning & Development

          • Overview
          • Call for Nominations
          • Insights
        • Transformational DEI Certificate

          This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.

          Read More
          Boston’s Future Leaders

          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

          Read More
          Authentic Professionalism for Early Career Professionals

          Join us on June 12 for a highly interactive virtual workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney.

          Read More
  • Economic Inclusion
        • Economic Inclusion

          • Overview
          • Pacesetters
          • Resources
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
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          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          Read More
          BIMA

          BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.

          Read More
          Women’s Network

          For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.

          Read More
          Massachusetts Apprentice Network

          The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          Read More
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Pacesetters Increase MBE Spend 5.2% in MA & 9.7% Nationally

Press Release

Media Contact: Casey Baines [email protected]

Chamber Foundation Announces Pacesetters Data & Pacesetters Awards

Pacesetters Increase MBE Spend 5.2% in Massachusetts & 9.7% Nationally

 

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Pacesetters supplier diversity initiative, a collective effort to use equitable procurement to create a more inclusive regional economy, is pleased to announce that Pacesetters increased their spend with businesses of color in 2023 by 5.2% in Massachusetts and 9.7% nationally.

In 2022, Pacesetters buyers spent more than $322 million with Massachusetts MBEs and $5 billion with national MBEs. In 2023, Pacesetters buyers increased their spend with MBEs, spending more than $339 million with Massachusetts MBEs and more than $5.5 billion with MBEs nationally.

“When we founded the Pacesetters initiative in 2018, the Chamber Foundation led Greater Boston’s business community in the first large-scale activation of the buyers in supplier diversity. Every year, we see the Pacesetters buyers commit and act to advance equitable procurement practices that create more partnerships with businesses of color and greater success. As demonstrated by the strong Pacesetters data, our CEOs, procurement officers, and broader teams are leading the future of commerce that is inclusive and empowering,” said James E. Rooney, President of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Successful supplier diversity requires commitment, action, and urgency, and we are proud of the Pacesetters business leaders and companies who are moving the needle.

The 2024 Pacesetters Awards honorees are:

2024 Pacesetters Awards

Company of the Year: RTX

Champion of the Year: David Cho, Chief Procurement Officer, University of Massachusetts

Partnership of The Year (Massachusetts): State Street & System Custom Consulting

Partnership of The Year (National): State Street & Orange Lab Media

 

Together, Pacesetters are leading the business community forward with best practices that elevate greater economic opportunity for all. As part of the Pacesetters initiative, the Chamber Foundation created two successful event series to advance transparency in supplier diversity: the “Doing Business” series and “Behind the Scenes of an MBE” series. The free Doing Business series features the procurement systems of a Pacesetter buyer, increasing the transparency of the how to successfully do business with a large buyer. The free Behind the Scenes series helps buyers and businesses of color see behind the scenes, spotlighting the important business journeys of MBEs. Both series are successful because of the commitment and innovation of our Pacesetters supplier diversity ecosystem.

 

Pacesetters

Berkshire Bank

Beth Israel Lahey Health

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Boston Children’s Hospital

Boston Planning & Development Agency

Citizens

Comcast

Consigli

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Eastern Bank

Emerson College

Encore Boston Harbor

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Fidelity

Gilbane

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

Greylock Federal Credit Union

John Hancock

Liberty Mutual Insurance

Massachusetts Gaming Commission

Mass General Brigham

McKinsey & Company

National Grid

Nitsch Engineering

Northeastern University

Nutter

P&G Gillette

Point32 Health

RTX

Red Sox

Sanofi

State Street

Suffolk University

University of Massachusetts

Vertex

Business Association Partners

Massachusetts Business Roundtable

MassBio

Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP)

NAIOP Massachusetts

The Alliance for Business Leadership

Western Mass Economic Development Council

Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

 

About the Chamber’s Pacesetters Initiative

Founded in 2018, the Pacesetters supplier diversity initiative, a cornerstone of the Chamber Foundation’s Economic Inclusion portfolio, is leading commerce forward, creating an inclusive, diverse economy that champions businesses of color. Pacesetters are large and mid-sized companies and anchor institutions that use equitable procurement practices to intentionally increase spend with businesses of color. Learn more about Pacesetters.

About the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation  

Founded in 1984, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation (the “Chamber Foundation”) transforms the lives of current and future residents by leveraging the Commonwealth’s untapped talent, championing small businesses, and creating tomorrow’s leaders in support of a 21st century economy. More information about the Chamber Foundation is available here.

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