The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

9:30am EDT

The Future of Innovation in Massachusetts

Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT

CFA Concert Hall (855 Commonwealth Ave) @ 855B Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

What’s ahead for the world’s most dynamic biotech, pharmaceutical and life science companies.

Speakers

Avak Kahvejian

General Partner, Flagship Pioneering

Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D. is a life sciences inventor, entrepreneur, and CEO whose work has led to the creation of multiple high-value public and private companies. Since 2011, he has been a partner at Flagship Pioneering, where he leads a team to invent and launch new therapeutic platforms... Read More →

Katie Rae

CEO & Managing Partner, Engine Ventures

Katie Rae is the CEO & Managing Partner of Engine Ventures, a venture capital fund with over $1B AUM that invests in leading breakthrough technology companies. She serves as a Board Member for Engine Ventures’ portfolio companies Boston Metal, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, EVOLOH... Read More →

Julie Kim

President, U.S. Business Unit & U.S. Country Head, Takeda

Julie Kim, president of Takeda’s U.S. Business Unit and U.S. country head, oversees a portfolio of gastroenterology, neuroscience, plasma-derived therapies and rare diseases. With 30 years in healthcare, she’s held leadership roles across therapeutic areas, market access, general... Read More →

Scott Kirsner

Columnist, MassLive & Contributor, WBUR

Scott Kirsner has spent more than 25 years working as a business journalist and contributing editor at the Boston Globe, Wired Magazine, Fast Company, Variety, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Boston magazine, and other publications. He has covered many Massachusetts companies on... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
CFA Concert Hall (855 Commonwealth Ave)

Business

11:00am EDT

The Color of Capital

Friday May 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT

Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave) @ 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Meet the changemakers working to ensure that BIPOC entrepreneurs in Massachusetts have the resources to build thriving businesses and lasting legacies.

Speakers

Glynn Lloyd

Executive Director, Nectar Community Investments

Glynn Lloyd has been an innovator in transformative urban economic development for more than 30 years. As Nectar’s Executive Director, he leads our efforts to invest in small businesses and create innovative residential programs that advance environmental justice and stable housing... Read More →

Darryl C. Murphy

Host, The Common, WBUR

Darryl C. Murphy is the host of WBUR's daily news and culture podcast, The Common.Before moving to the host’s chair, he was a reporter in the newsroom covering business and transportation. Darryl comes to WBUR from Philadelphia where he covered transportation and mobility for... Read More →

Betty Francisco

CEO, BII

Betty Francisco is a business executive, impact investor and community leader with more than 24 years of experience. She is known as a powerful convener and changemaker. In 2022, Boston Magazine named Betty as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Boston and the Boston Business... Read More →

Nicole Obi

President & CEO, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts

Nicole Obi is the President & CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA)whose mission is to drive economic equity and prosperity for Massachusetts to achieve inclusive growth through advocacy, programming, and strategic partnerships that enable Black-owned businesses... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave)

Business

11:30am EDT

Is Business Broken?

Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

WBUR CitySpace (890 Commonwealth Ave) @ 890 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

LIVE PODCAST TAPING

AI promises to boost productivity—but at what cost to innovation? Who’s winning in this new economy, and who’s being left behind? Can we regulate AI without choking progress? Or are we already too late? A live recording of the podcast Is Business Broken?, uncovers what’s really at stake.

The Is Business Broken? podcast, produced by the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets & Society at BU Questrom School of Business, features conversations about the role of business in society with perspectives from academia, industry and the public sector.

This is a special session produced by our sponsor, The Mehrotra Institute.

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Divya Sridhar

Vice President, Global Privacy Division & Privacy Operations, BBB National Programs

Dr. Divya Sridhar is the Vice President, Global Privacy Initiatives & Operations at BBB National Programs. Her portfolio encompasses the design, development, and launch of multiple, global industry self-regulation programs. Sridhar is a seasoned leader focused on data privacy and... Read More →

Asu Ozdaglar

Department Head, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Deputy Dean, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Asu Ozdaglar is the Mathworks Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the department head of EECS and deputy dean of academics of the Schwarzman College of Computing at MIT. Her research expertise... Read More →

Andrei Hagiu

Associate Professor of Information Systems, Boston University Questrom School of Business

Andrei Hagiu is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. Previously, he was an Associate Professor in the Strategy group at Harvard Business School and in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management... Read More →

Sen. Barry Finegold

State Senator, Essex and Middlesex Counties, MA

Barry R. Finegold currently serves as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate representing the Second Essex and Middlesex district since 2019. He previously served from January 2011 to January 2015. He is a former state representative of the 17th Essex district in Massac... Read More →

Curt Nickisch

Senior Editor, The Harvard Business Review

Curt Nickisch is the host of Is Business Broken? and former host of HBR IdeaCast. He’s a senior editor at Harvard Business Review and previously reported on business and technology for WBUR. He lives in Cambridge.

Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
WBUR CitySpace (890 Commonwealth Ave)

Business, Business

1:00pm EDT

Harvard Business Review in Conversation

Friday May 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave) @ 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

The former head of Lincoln Center, now Brunswick Group CEO, in conversation with HBR’s Editor at Large on today’s business climate and how to communicate about what matters.

Speakers

Henry Timms

CEO, Brunswick Group

Henry Timms is Chief Executive Officer of Brunswick Group, the world’s leading critical issues advisory firm.Henry has a proven track-record leading and transforming major organizations, as well as advising CEOs and Boards on the complex issues emerging today. He is a bestselling... Read More →

Adi Ignatius

Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Business Review

Adi Ignatius is editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review.

Friday May 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave)

Business

3:30pm EDT

Higher Ed Today

Friday May 30, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT

CFA Concert Hall (855 Commonwealth Ave) @ 855B Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Two college presidents discuss how they’re navigating this turbulent moment in higher ed.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Evan Smith

Senior Advisor, Emerson Collective

Evan Smith is a senior advisor at Emerson Collective, working closely with journalists and funders around the country to support the local news ecosystem. He’s also a Professor of Practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches... Read More →

Danielle Holley

President, Mount Holyoke College

Danielle R. Holley is the twentieth president of Mount Holyoke College. A noted legal scholar and educator, Holley served as Dean of the School of Law at Howard University (2014 - 2023) prior to joining Mount Holyoke. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law... Read More →

Dr. Melissa Gilliam

President, Boston University

Dr. Melissa Gilliam is Boston University’s eleventh president. She is a physician and interdisciplinary researcher focused on adolescent health and well-being. She joined Boston University from The Ohio State University, where she served as executive vice president and provost... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall (855 Commonwealth Ave)

Business

5:00pm EDT

What Smart Businesses Know About A.I.

Friday May 30, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT

Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave) @ 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Join this interactive session with a leading Harvard Business School authority on Artificial Intelligence to understand how business is evolving as A.I. brings expertise to our fingertips.
Attendees will receive complimentary access to “Future Proof with AI” learning modules from the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard.

Speakers

Scott Tong

CO-Host, Here & Now, WBUR

Scott Tong joined Here & Now as a co-host in July 2021.Before that, he spent 16 years at Marketplace as Shanghai bureau chief and senior correspondent. Scott has reported from more than a dozen countries, including Venezuela, Ethiopia, Burma and Japan.During COVID-19, he reported... Read More →

Karim Lakhani

Professor, Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He specializes in technology management, innovation, digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI). His innovation-related research is centered around his... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave)

Business

12:00pm EDT

Mind Your Money: A Conversation with Katie Gatti Tassin

Saturday May 31, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT

Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave) @ 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

The personal finance expert and host of “Money with Katie” shares her best advice on how to earn, save, and invest.

The first 200 attendees will receive a copy of Gatti Tassin's book "Rich Girl Nation."

Speakers

Deborah Becker

Host/Reporter, WBUR

Deborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education.Deb is also a substitute host on several WBUR programs and helps produce and report for various WBUR special projects. Deb also worked on the launch of... Read More →

Katie Gatti Tassin

Founder, Money with Katie

Katie Gatti Tassin is the host of the Money with Katie podcast and author of the newsletter of the same name. Her fresh personal finance advice tackles the subject at hand with a unique outlook, and her casual approach and deep, self-taught knowledge speaks directly to followers who... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT
Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave)

Business