CM Names Pozen Distinguished Executive

The College of Management named Robert Pozen, chief of commerce and labor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its Distinguished Executive for the year. Pozen works with Governor Mitt Romney to close the state's large budget gap and reorganize its economic-related functions. He also supervises the banking, insurance, and utilities commissions. Pozen was formerly vice chairman of Fidelity Investments and president of Fidelity Management and Research Company, the investment advisor to the Fidelity mutual funds.

CM Dean Philip Quaglieri warmly welcomed back Pozen, who is both a former faculty member and a generous friend of the College. At UMass Boston, he developed the graduate course "Managing Mutual Funds," based on his book The Mutual Fund Business.

Pozen tackled the tough topic of "Managing the State's Budget Crisis" before an audience particularly attuned to the subject of the $3 billion deficit. Pozen acknowledged that there is some waste and inefficiency in government, but the basic problem is that the state got used to revenue growth and couldn"t keep up when the economy turned sour.

He cited a few examples of what he sees to be the major challenges. Health care costs, accounting for almost 40 percent of the budget, are a major issue. There are also bureaucratic inefficiencies in the state and strict limits on privatization. Pozen asserted that the $3 billion state budget deficit could be closed without an increase in sales tax or income tax. He indicated that debt refinancing would probably be seriously considered and that gambling is a possibility. About $300--400 million in tax revenues is lost annually from Massachusetts residents who gamble in Rhode Island or Connecticut.

Pozen had a number of suggestions on closing the gap, which include: pass a new tough budget law; stop borrowing against future tobacco settlement payments; check bonds to see if they can be advance refinanced; and get more federal funds.

Pozen was not the only special guest hosted recently by the College of Management. In a joint sponsorship with the Center for Collaborative Leadership, under the direction of Professor of Leadership Sherry Penney, the CM Senior Executive Forum featured Richard Syron, the executive chairman of Thermo Electron Corporation, who addressed CCL Fellows and MBA students on "Up the Down Escalator--Building Credibility in the Age of Corporate Infamy." Alumnus Mark Atkins '71, the president of Invention Machine and the former chairman, CEO, and president of Vality Technology, returned to campus to share his expertise on entrepreneurship and business plans with undergraduate and graduate students.

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