The Frontier State of Innovation in Massachusetts

In November 2023, we launched The Frontier State Conversations series, where we host trailblazers across public policy, venture capital, and disruptive technologies. We aim to unpack competing ideas of fostering innovation, as seen across the private, public, non-profit, and academic spheres.In this edition, we - in tandem with The Business & Government Professional Interest Council at Harvard Kennedy School - hosted Yvonne Hao, Secretary of Economic Development of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who discussed The Frontier State of Innovation in Massachusetts and beyond, highlighting the state's and city's focus on advancing climate tech, cultivating biotech, and developing an innovation economy. Secretary Hao was previously the COO of PillPack (acquired by Amazon), a former Operating Partner at private equity firm Bain Capital, and lastly a consultant at McKinsey & Company. The oversubscribed event hosted a select live audience of students from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among other graduate and undergraduate schools at Harvard, MIT, and more.Boston Globe, which ranked her Number 3 in their Tech Power Players 50 List, provides a succinct biography: After two decades of building, running, and financing companies, Yvonne Hao understands the challenges that businesses face. And she is now taking on some of the most difficult business conditions in years — particularly in the tech industry — as she tries to guide the Massachusetts economy as the secretary of economic development. Less than three months into the job, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, and Hao took the lead in helping startups, nonprofits, and other businesses that had money tied up with the lender. Before her appointment by Governor Maura Healey in January, Hao was a co-founder and managing director of the private equity firm Cove Hill Partners. Hao was also the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of PillPack, an online pharmacy that Amazon acquired for $753 million in 2018. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and Asian studies from Williams College and a master of philosophy in development economics from the University of Cambridge, in England.In consequent posts, we will post about our key insights from this conversation - mainly as it pertains to innovation and fostering a disruptive technology ecosystem across Biotech, Climate-Tech, and Tough Tech. Stay tuned for more such full video uploads of The Frontier State Conversations series throughout Spring 2024! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thefrontierstate.substack.com/subscribe