ERNIE HERRMAN
President & CEO
TJX Cos., Framingham
College: Boston College
TJX has done so well in today's turbulent retail environment, one could almost think that Herrman and his leadership have it easy.
But T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and the other chains making up TJX have fought off Amazon and outlived past retailers like Bradlees and Caldor because they've made taken advantage of a shopping experienc others can't match: the so-called treasure hunt. TJX's stores have long drawn customers who enter a store without knowing what they'll find, and Herrman has kept the company on a strong trajectory, with more than $35 billion in revenue through the end of 2017 and ranking 85th on the Fortune 500 list.
TJX has kept growing while other retailers have shrunk or closed. In fact, last year TJX added a new chain, HomeSense, and announced plans to expand by 1,800 stores. With more than 4,000 stores in nine countries, any TJX head is nearly guaranteed to make this list, and Herrman, who took over for Carol Meyrowitz in 2016, is no exception. He is the highest-paid public company CEO in Central Massachusetts, with $17 million in total compensation in fiscal 2017.
Read about the WBJ's 2018 Power Players:
Retail
Harry Kokkinis, Table Talk Pies
Steve Rotman, Rotman's Furniture & Vystar
Ernie Herrman, TJX Cos.
Michael Dundas, Sira Naturals
Ralph Crowley Jr., Polar Corp.
Christopher Baldwin, BJ's Wholesale Club
Amy Lynn Chase, Crompton Collective & Haberdash
Food & Culture
Robb & Madeline Ahlquist, Worcester Restaurant Group
Troy Siebels, The Hanover Theatre
Karim El-Gamal, Rail Trail Flatbread Co., New City Microcreamery, Less Than Greater Than
Eric, Sam & Jack Hendler, Jack's Abby Brewing
Lynn Cheney, Lettuce Be Local
Sandy Dunn, DCU Center
Higher Education & Nonprofits
Ann T. Lisi, Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, College of the Holy Cross
Javier Cevallos, Framingham State University
Michael F. Collins, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Jill Dagilis, Worcester Community Action Council
Dr. David A. Jordan, Seven Hills Foundation
Laurie Leshin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Corner Office
Kate Sharry, Group Benefits Strategies
Tina M. Sbrega, GFA Federal Credit Union
John C. Roche, The Hanover Insurance Group
Elaine Osgood, Atlas Travel
Michael P. Angelini, Bowdtich & Dewey
Susan Mailman, Coghlin Electrical Contractors
Edward F. Manzi Jr., Fidelity Bank
Manufacturing
Dinesh Wadhwani, ThinkLite
Ravi Vig, Allegro Microsystems
Nobuhiko Tamura, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals
Daniel McGahn, AMSC
Michael Mahoney, Boston Scientific
Jeannie Hebert, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce
Valentin Gapontsev, IPG Photonics
Chris Coghlin, Coghlin Cos.
Health care
Kevin O'Sullivan, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives
Kurt Isaacson, Spectrum Health Systems
Tarek Elsawy, Reliant Medical Group
Jeffrey M. Welch, Saint Vincent Hospital
Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial Health Care
Holly Chaffee, VNA Care
Richard P. Burke, Fallon Health
Economic Development
Ann K. Tripp, Opus Investment Management
Robert Walker, RA Ventures
Yvonne Spicer, City of Framingham
Cliff Rucker, Worcester Railers Hockey Club
Sherri Greene Pitcher, Fidelity Bank
Timothy P. Murray, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
Anthony Consigli, Consigli Construction Co.
Jennie Lee Colosi, E. T. & L. Corp.
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