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July 9, 2018

The Power 50: Robert Walker

ROBERT WALKER

Principal

RA Ventures, Westford

School: Nashoba Valley Technical High School

Area shoppers and diners know developer RA Ventures, even if the name of the company doesn't ring a bell. The Westford firm owns the fast-expanding eatery 110 Grill, which opened in downtown Worcester this spring as its 14th location, and Italian restaurant Evviva Cucina, which has three locations, including in Marlborough. In fact, it's in Marlborough where RA Ventures may be making a name for itself in the biggest way. Its $160-million, 475,000-square-foot Apex Center of New England opened last fall with a Hyatt Place hotel, a Fairfield Inn & Suites, an office building, Qdoba, T-Mobile, Sport Clips, Okami Hibachi, Zoots, IC Federal Credit Union, Protein House, Batteries + Bulbs and others, including one of RA Ventures' 11 Pro Clean Auto Wash locations. As for what really makes the plaza stand out? A two-story building with restaurants and bars, a Planet Fitness gym, bumper cars, a virtual reality gaming center, an escape room, bowling, laser tag, a kart track, an ax-throwing center and a rope course. Add it up, and the Apex Center has added a new feature to Marlborough, a city more traditionally known for its huge corporate campuses and hotels but has more expanded out to provide more amenities for residents and visitors.

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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