Diverse Panel Will Weigh 40 Under Forty Nominations

Meet the Judges

By the time you read this, the deadline for nominating an individual for the 40 Under Forty class of 2018 will be drawing to a close.

So if you were thinking of nominating someone and didn’t, well, aside from beating yourself up a little, you can take solace in the fact that there’s always next year — if the individual is currently under 39, that is.

If you did nominate someone, good for you. And know that you’re in good company — and a lot of company. Indeed, as this issue went to press a few days before the deadline, nominations were coming in at a pace destined to break the record.

With that, it’s time to meet the individuals who will be scoring all those nominations. As always, BusinessWest strives to put together a group with diverse backgrounds, individuals who can bring many different perspectives to the task of weighing nominations. And we always like to invite a few people who have a 40 Under Forty plaque on their desk to be part of this as well; they are, after all, rising stars.

This year’s panel of judges reflects all that, and we added an additional twist as well. All of them have been in the news (as in BusinessWest) recently, and in some cases only a few months ago. In fact, most of them graced the cover of the magazine.

Here are this year’s judges:

Ken Carter

Carter is a member of the UMass Amherst Polymer Science and Engineering Department. His research involves the synthesis and characterization of polymeric materials with specially designed properties. Carter’s research focuses on the development of organic and hybrid materials for future use in advanced electronics and storage technologies.

Carter is a principal with the startup FogKicker, which has developed a product that removes fog from glass surfaces. He and partners Marc Gammel and Yinyong Li were featured on the cover of the Nov. 13 issue of BusinessWest.

He also has projects studying advanced nanocellulose materials and applications that utilize it. He has numerous publications, more than 30 patents, and a successful startup, Treaty LLC.

Mark Fulco

Fulco returned to Springfield in 2017 to serve as president of Mercy Medical Center, following a two-year assignment in leadership at Trinity Health’s corporate office in Livonia, Mich. His appointment made him the cover story in the Oct. 2 issue of BusinessWest.

Fulco first joined the Mercy team in 2005 as senior vice president of Strategy and Marketing and a member of the senior leadership team. In 2015, he was named chief transformation officer to reflect his growing responsibilities around population-health management and value-based contracting.

Fulco is also a graduate of Clark University and the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business and Public Administration.

Jim Hickson

Hickson is senior vice president and commercial regional president for the Pioneer Valley and Connecticut for Berkshire Bank. In that capacity, he leads both the Commercial Lending and Business Banking business units in those respective markets. He was featured in a cover story on the bank in the Feb. 6, 2017 issue.

Hickson has more than 28 years of financial experience, including commercial, asset lending, and management consulting. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College and an MBA from Boston University, and is heavily involved in the community. He serves as board chair and president of the board of directors for Common Capital Inc., a board member and governance committee member of Wayfinders Inc., a board member and loan committee member for the New England Certified Development Corp., (NE CDC), and a board member of Wilbraham Friends of Recreation.

Angela Lussier

Lussier is CEO and founder of the Speaker Sisterhood, a network of speaking clubs that help women discover, awaken, and create their voice through the art of public speaking. Her work was captured in a cover story in the May 1 issue.

Lussier, a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2014, is an award-winning speaker, four-time author, two-time TEDx presenter, and the host of “Claim the Stage,” a public-speaking podcast for women rated #1 on Forbes’ inspiring-podcasts list in 2017. She is a contributor to Huffington Post, and her work has been featured on ABC, NBC, Forbes, Virgin, and Entrepreneur. Her motto: “Stop waiting. Start creating.”

Kristi Reale

A partner at Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. (her ascension to partner was reported in BusinessWest roughly a year ago), Reale has close to 24 years of public-accounting experience. She specializes in closely held businesses and has extensive experience in providing compilation and review services as well as business valuations, management-advisory services, and business and tax planning.

Reale is a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2009 and serves as treasurer of the Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts and Unify Against Bullying. u