Six award alumni share advice they would give their younger selves, leadership lessons from the pandemic and what they see as Maine’s biggest economic challenge or opportunity.
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As Mainebiz prepares to celebrate the 2022 Business Leaders of the Year, we caught up with six business and nonprofit leaders honored in previous years.
2005 honoree: Mary Allen Lindemann
Co-founder (with Alan Spear) of Coffee By Design; also honored as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2019.
Mainebiz: What advice would you give your younger self when you started your career?
Mary Allen Lindemann: Be open to every opportunity presented to you.
MB: What has the pandemic taught you about business leadership?
MAL: Be honest with those around you that you don’t have all the answers and that you, too, are afraid but you keep moving forward, trusting your gut and moral compass.
MB: What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for Maine’s economy this year?
MAL: The biggest challenges present our biggest opportunities. Labor shortages and affordable housing are top of my list. Immigrants, our newest neighbors, are the solution to our workforce shortage. They possess a strong work ethic, provide much needed skills, offer new perspectives and get the job done no matter what barriers there are. With regards to housing, we must make it possible for people to live in the community where they work.
2015 honoree: Donna Dwyer
President and CEO of Westbrook-based nonprofit My Place Teen Center.
Mainebiz: What advice would you give your younger self when you started your career?
Donna Dwyer: Better listening ears! Exercise!
MB: What has the pandemic taught you about business leadership?
DD: Find a way — there’s always a way. Exercise!
MB: What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for Maine’s economy this year?
DD: Opportunity: Use the unprecedented and massive amount of American Rescue Plan Act funding to do transformative good for people and for infrastructure. Challenge: For those who greatly benefited from the pandemic, please use your expanded wealth for good.
2018 honoree: Joshua Broder
CEO of Tilson, a Portland-based network deployment and professional services firm with a national footprint.
Mainebiz: What advice would you give your younger self when you started your career?
Joshua Broder: Seek out mentors in your specific business who are way ahead of you so you can lift your eyes and think bigger, sooner.
MB: What has the pandemic taught you about business leadership?
JB: Despite it being an incredibly difficult moment for everyone, the pandemic validates two of our core values — safety and composure, which were useful guiding principles as we made decisions to keep our team safe and our mission to build America’s information infrastructure moving. Also, leadership communication directly with all employees is critical.
MB: What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for Maine’s economy this year?
JB: The knowledge workforce can now work anywhere — meaning that Maine companies can find talent anywhere in the country. Conversely, Mainers can work anywhere in the country, which means that Maine companies need to compete for national talent, including to keep their local employees.
2020 honoree: Roccy Risbara
Partner and president of Risbara Bros. Construction Co. and a partner in the Downs mixed-use development in Scarborough.
Mainebiz: What advice would you give your younger self when you started your career?
Roccy Risbara: When you’re young in your career, it is easy to get caught up the minutiae. Stay focused on your big-picture goals and drive towards reaching milestones that matter.
MB: What has the pandemic taught you about business leadership?
RR: The pandemic showed me, and all of us really, just how resilient we are.
MB: What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for Maine’s economy this year?
RR: The pandemic has put Maine on the map, and it is now our job to shape the trajectory of the statewide economic growth.
2020 honoree: Kristen Miale
Honored also as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2015; executive director of Good Shepherd Food Bank.
Mainebiz: What advice would you give your younger self when you started your career?
Kristen Miale: To not be so doubtful and question the contribution you can make. You bring a unique perspective simply by being new and young. Respect the experience of those around you, but recognize that you bring something of value, too.
MB:What has the pandemic taught you about business leadership?
KM: That when we focus on meeting the needs of the majority, we likely leave out marginalized populations who are usually the most impacted by crises. We need to make room to hear directly from those most impacted by our decisions rather than assuming that we know what’s best.
MB: What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for Maine’s economy this year?
KM: Income inequality remains the biggest drag on our economy.
2021 honoree: Edison Liu
Former president and CEO of the Jackson Laboratory; now a professor, president emeritus and honorary fellow at the Bar Harbor-based nonprofit.
Mainebiz: What advice would you give your younger self when you started your career?
Edison Liu: Don’t take setbacks so seriously — they are not failures, but opportunities to learn. Also, sleep more. You will be happier, and so will those around you.
MB: What has the pandemic taught you about business leadership?
EL: First is the importance of building a strong and cohesive leadership team supporting you. The second is to be a decisive leader: Gather information, consult, communicate, and then act.
MB: What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for Maine’s economy this year?
EL: The biggest challenge is that we will withdraw, rather than viewing this time as an opportunity to be bold. We must emphasize that people no longer have to be in Boston or New York, and help Maine attract the people and the businesses for us to grow.