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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
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        • ...
          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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          Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.

          Read More
          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.

          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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Speaker Series Recap: Three Aha Moments from Carbonites Mohamad Ali

June 7, 2017

Carbonite CEO and President, Mohamad Ali, spoke at yesterday’s City Awake event. As the Chamber’s newest intern, I was excited to attend my first event (at Carbonite’s awesome Star Wars-themed offices) and to have the opportunity to hear from one of Greater Boston’s leading tech CEOs. Here are three key messages I took away from this great discussion:

Immigration is crucial for innovation and a strong community

Mohamad opened the Forum by talking about how he immigrated to America from Guyana with his mother when he was 11. He reminded us that there are tremendous opportunities here in the U.S. and that, “you really still can have the American dream here.” He emphasized the importance of open and fair immigration policies by saying that America was built on waves and waves of immigrants, and these waves bring a diversity of thought. We are constantly infusing the population with new, diverse thinking, which then creates a unique culture from which we can all benefit. If we limit immigration, Ali said, then we limit the potential for this diverse flow of ideas.

The value of mentorship and picking “the right thing to do”

Mohamad told us that throughout his life, he had people who encouraged him, provided moral support, and presented him with opportunities. He referred to his eighth grade math teacher who told him about the magnet schools in New York and urged him to apply, something that he never would’ve done had it not been for her.

Mohamad also talked about knowing when not to give up. He told us a story of when he and a group of his college friends at Stanford were working to develop a search engine but gave up, shrugging it off as something that couldn’t be done. The next year, someone a year behind him at Stanford created Yahoo, and then Google was created shortly after that. Ali reminded us that there is great value in learning from your experiences, and he encouraged us to go out and try new things, because you never know what could come from it.

The talent gap is widening and we need to do our best to fill it

Greater Boston has shifted from a skills-based economy to a global, knowledge-based economy.As the baby-boomer generation retires, Mohamad stressed that we must keep working to develop our region’s talent to ensure that our state continues to grow, not shrink. To fill this gap, he recommended that leverage the students in the state, and recruit talent from the many graduates of Boston schools. He highlighted the fact that people aren’t just looking for a job anymore, they are looking for a purpose. And Ali believes in Carbonite’s purpose to protect their customers and the community. He ended by saying, “We are all members of this community, and we all want to make it better.”

Learn more about Mohamad Ali here.

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