Inaugural Exchange

The EastWest Exchange is a cross-regional network of business, academic, and civic leaders from the innovation ecosystems of eastern and western Massachusetts working to strengthen resiliency in the innovation processes that power the Massachusetts economy.

Global supply chain disruptions brought on by the pandemic and broader geopolitical tensions have shaped this initiative around facilitating connections among the Commonwealth's innovation assets as firms look to locally source solutions to their R&D, technology, manufacturing, and talent needs.

Welcoming Remarks

Headline speakers, iRobot CEO & Founder Colin Angle, U.S. Congressman Richard Neal, and Massachusetts Secretary of Housing & Economic Development lay the framework for the Exchange as an interactive discussion around opportunities for collaboration between innovation networks in eastern and western Massachusetts.

Colin Angle iRobot	Congressman Richard Neal U.S House of Representatives	Secretary Mike Kennealy MA Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development
Carolyn Kirk MassTech Collaborative	Rick Sullivan Economic Development Council of Western MA

Keynote Address

Harvard Business School professor, Willy Shih, discusses how the U.S. - China trade war and COVID-19 pandemic have shined a light on the structure and vulnerabilities of global supply chains and how Massachusetts companies can enhance resiliency in their operations.

Session 1 - The Complete Ecosystem

Talent & Resources to Fuel Emerging Commercial Needs

UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy sets the table around the strategic alignment of the rich talent and resources in western Mass with opportunities and challenges facing technology firms, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs throughout the Commonwealth.  Headline speakers discuss models of successful partnerships among anchor firms, higher education, research institutions, and innovation support organizations that contribute to the region’s vibrant innovation ecosystem and culture of creative problem-solving.

Kumble Subbaswamy Chancellor, UMass Amherst	Dr. Peter Reinhart Institute for Applied Life Sciences	Dr. Woody Sherman Silicon Therapeutics
Christine Pfeil MassMutual	Christian Lagier TechSpring	Jason Vincent Athenahealth
Karolina Starczak Nutrimedy	Mallory Franklin Nutrimedy	Bill Bither Machine Metrics

Session 2 - Strategic Sourcing

Tapping into Massachusetts' Manufacturing Hot Spot

The high-quality production capabilities and engineering expertise of regional manufacturers will be showcased in this session as the localization of supply chains becomes an increasingly attractive approach to reducing operational risk in light of global market disruptions.  This session showcases successful models of collaboration among OEMs and regional manufacturers through a real-time rocket pitch, partnership vignette, and a series of innovation profiles.

Adam Rodrigues Forge	Charlie Kirol iRobot	Tim Saeger iRobot
Mike Stone CoFab Design	Dave Follette UMass ADDFab	Greg Shine Shine Wire
Paul Davidson Universal Plastics	Neil Scanlon Worthington Assembly	Chris Denny Worthington Assembly
Dr. Lionel Kimerling MIT/AIM Photonics Academy	Adam Erlich Sheaumann Laser	Andrea Agliati Convergent Photonics
Kristin Carlson Peerless Precision	Carlo Zaffanella General Dynamics Mission Systems	Lisa Chamberlain The Chamberlain Group
Dave Spenciner DePuy Synthes Mitek Sports Medicine

Fireside Chat

Congressman Neal and Holyoke Community College President, Dr. Christina Royal, host a group of prominent Boston-based business leaders in a discussion around themes of shifting supply chains and deurbanization of workforces and the opportunities present in Western MA.

Congressman Richard Neal U.S. House of Representatives	Dr. Christina Royal Holyoke Community College	Colin Angle iRobot
Mohamad Ali IDG	Niraj Shah Wayfair	Rick Sullivan Economic Development Council of Western MA

Make Connections

Contact EastWest program manager, Megan Marszalek, for more information on the event and how to connect with resources across the state.

marszalek@masstech.org