Five awarded 2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneurs of the Year

Diane Portnoy, ILC Founder and CEO, stands with 2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year speakers and winners. From left are Dr. J. Keith Motley, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Boston; Denzil Mohammed, Director, The ILC Public Education Institute; Life Science winner Laxman Desai; Diane Portnoy; High-Tech winner Dries Buytaert; Business Growth winners Thomas and Helene Stohr; Neighborhood Business winner Damaris Pimentel; and Jay Ash, MA Secretary of Housing and Economic Development.

 

Five winners were honored with 2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in front of 250 guests at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA, on May 7, 2015.

Governor Charlie Baker opened the cocktail reception expressing his admiration for all the nominees, who decided to look for opportunity in a different country. “That sort of ingenuity, that energy, that faith in tomorrow, that sense of purpose to build a better life for yourself your families and the people you are looking to serve, it’s what makes the world go round,” he said.

Special guest Gov. Charlie Baker addressing the audience during the cocktail reception.
Gov. Charlie Baker addresses guests.

This fourth edition of the event brought together members of the state government, economic and community development, banking, media and business sectors to honor and celebrate the valuable contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs to the commonwealth. Master of ceremonies was Dr. J. Keith Motley, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Diane Portnoy, ILC founder and CEO, praised the nominees’ accomplishments and thanked them for bringing their hands, skills, mind and spirit to the U.S.

Keynote speaker Jay Ash, MA secretary of Housing and Economic Development, highlighted the importance of immigrants as entrepreneurs, workers and taxpayers to local economic development. “Immigrants are making a difference in our budgets by contributing more than $1.8 billion annually in income tax and sales tax here in Massachusetts and contributing nearly $1.4 billion annually in local property taxes,” he said. According to Denzil Mohammed, director of The ILC Public Education Institute, this year’s 33 nominees have started more than 50 businesses, employ nearly 2,000 people and generated income and investment totaling more than one billion dollars.

All nominees received citations from their state and U.S. legislators before the winners were announced:

Business Growth:
Helene and Thomas Stohr
from Switzerland, owners of swissbäkers in Allston and Reading

Neighborhood Business:
Damaris Pimentel from Dominican Republic, owner of Ultra Beauty Salon in Jamaica Plain

High-Tech Business:
Dries Buytaert from Belgium, co-founder and CTO of Acquia in Boston

Life Science Business:
Laxman Desai from India, founder and CEO of Toxikon Corp. in Bedford

Find out more about the winners below.

Do you know outstanding immigrant entrepreneurs in Massachusetts worthy of recognition? Tell us about them.

 

Click above to watch a video interview with Helene and Thomas Stohr.
Click above to watch a video interview with Helene and Thomas Stohr.

2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year, Business Growth
Helene and Thomas Stohr from Switzerland, owners of swissbäkers in Reading and Alston

Helene and Thomas Stohr founded swissbäkers to bring authentic Swiss fare to New England. Their dedication to simple and locally sourced was a hit with the Swiss community as well as native New Englanders. In nine years, swissbäkers has grown from a home kitchen to a 14,000-square-foot café and commercial bakery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click above to watch a video interview with Damaris Pimentel.
Click above to watch a video interview with Damaris Pimentel.

2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year, Neighborhood Business
Damaris Pimentel from the Dominican Republic, owner of Ultra Beauty Salon in Jamaica Plain

Damaris Pimentel opened Ultra Beauty Salon in Jamaica Plain in 1982 and has worked on improving her neighborhood for more then 30 years. She mentors other entrepreneurs, provides free haircuts to people in need and sits on the boards of both the Hyde Square Task Force and the Mount Pleasant Home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click above to watch a video interview with Dries Buytaert.
Click above to watch a video interview with Dries Buytaert.

2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year, High-Tech Business
Dries Buytaert from Belgium, co-founder and CTO of Acquia in Burlington

Dries Buytaert began building Drupal, a free, open-source, website-building platform, at age 19. In 2007, he relocated to Massachusetts to found Acquia, which provides enterprise software like Drupal to create engaging digital experiences. By 2015, it powered one in 40 of the world’s websites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click above to watch a video interview with Laxman Desai.
Click above to watch a video interview with Laxman Desai.

2015 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year, Life Science Business
Laxman Desai from India, founder and CEO of Toxikon Corp. in Bedford

In 1977, Dr. Laxman Desai launched Toxikon Corporation, a pre-clinical contract research firm that provides testing for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. In 40 years, he’s built a 25-acre research and training facility in Bedford, expanded his business into four countries and trained more than 15,000 scientists.

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