A No-Brainer For MIT

by | Aug 30, 2015

When it trades in its lab goggles for a developer’s hardhat, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is no different from any other investor looking for the highest return. In Cambridge’s Kendall Square, home to Greater Boston’s highest commercial rents and scarcest vacancies, MIT sees better uses for 8 acres of prime real estate it owns than the current jumble of parking lots and aging classroom buildings, labs and graduate housing.

‘No Quick Fixes’

by | Aug 30, 2015

When he finished business school in 1982, Wayne Patenaude initially wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with himself, but community banking soon proved to be a natural fit. After all, he did come from a family of bankers, and he still keeps his father’s nameplate on his desk today. The Connecticut native wound his way up into Berkshire County before he landed at Cambridge Savings Bank in 2007as its CFO. When he’s not leading the $2.9 billion institution, he’s spending time with his family or working on what he calls his “second career:” coaching youth basketball.

Construction On Campus Is His Major

by | Aug 30, 2015

Les Hiscoe took over July 1 as president of Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction. Hiscoe succeeds Tom Goemaat, who announced his pending retirement in December. The $860-million construction management firm has carved out a niche doing work for academic institutions, with more than 40 current projects on college campuses, including Boston University’s Myles Standish Hall and Myles Annex on Beacon Street. Once it gets its foot in the door, Shawmut seeks to develop long-term relationships with institutions, Hiscoe said. That helps it weather ups and downs in the construction cycle, with a repeat client ratio of 80 percent and a 26 percent increase in annual revenues.

As Deductibles Climb, So Does Demand For HSAs

by | Aug 30, 2015

The move toward high-deductible health plans has fueled growing interest in companion health savings accounts (HSAs). Yet as more and more Americans take a hands-on approach to their health care and more insurance companies move towards higher deductibles,