Press Release: 9/17/2025
MassBio CEO named to DRIVE Acceleration Team by Governor Healey to advance research and discovery in Massachusetts
SEP 17, 2025
Governor Healey announces the DRIVE Initiative at the State House in July 2025. (Photo: Governor’s Office)
On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, Governor Maura Healey announced members of her new DRIVE Acceleration Team to advance research and discovery in Massachusetts, including MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell. Governor Healey signed an Executive Order on August 1 creating this team as part of her Discovery, Research, Innovation for a Vibrant Economy, DRIVE Initiative, which aims to grow Massachusetts’s world-renowned research and innovation economy and create thousands of new jobs.
The Acceleration Team is charged with exploring new methods and strategies to strengthen Massachusetts’ research and innovation ecosystem, which employs tens of thousands of people in education, health care, life sciences and advanced manufacturing, while also sustaining jobs in construction, food services, retail, transportation and more. The group will evaluate opportunities to bolster the sector, including proposing funding structures to finance research projects and developing public-private partnerships across industries to improve its resilience.
“People around the world rely on the cures and scientific advancements that come from Massachusetts researchers,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Not only is our work critical to global health, but it is the economic lifeblood of our economy. The work of this group and my recently filed DRIVE legislation will allow Massachusetts to preserve jobs, strengthen our economy and continue to be a global leader in innovation.”