BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter (NACDNE) today announced its “Director of the Year” honorees to be celebrated at a Boston gala event on April 28, 2025.
The boards of directors of Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) and King Arthur Baking Co., Inc., are being honored as the Public and Private Company Boards of the Year respectively. Cabot, headquartered in Boston, is a global specialty performance materials and chemicals company. King Arthur Baking, based in Norwich, Vt., with roots dating back to 1790, is a private “B Corporation” which provides highest-quality flours and mixes for baked goods and works to promote community-building around baking.
NACDNE is also honoring Ann Fudge as the recipient of the R. Robert Popeo Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the late longtime NACDNE chair. Ms. Fudge is the former Chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands and has served on numerous corporate boards including those of General Electric, Honeywell, Infosys, Marriott International, Northrop Grumman, Novartis, and Unilever. Fudge currently chairs the GBH Public Media board, chairs the U.S. Program Advisory Panel for the Gates Foundation, and serves as a trustee of the Brookings Institution.
Also being honored by NACDNE are:
- John R. “Jack” Egan, founding managing partner of Egan-Managed Capital, L.P. in Boston with the Leadership in Corporate Governance Award. Egan is currently Lead Independent Director of NETSCOUT and Non-Executive Chairman of Progress Software Corp. and has served on the boards of EMC Corp., Verint Systems, Inc., VMWare, and on the Board of Trustees at Boston College.
- J. Keith Motley, former Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston and now a management professor there, with the Myra H. Kraft Award for Non-Profit Leadership, named for the late New England philanthropist. Motley founded the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts, Inc., and the Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self-Development, and he serves on numerous non-profit boards including those of the Boston Foundation, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, Freedom House, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.
NACDNE Chair Beth Boland, a senior partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner, said, “Each of our honorees this year is a pioneer and a groundbreaker. We are especially pleased to honor Ann Fudge for her extraordinary record of leadership across so many leading U.S. corporations, philanthropies, and educational institutions. On behalf of our entire board, I want to congratulate and thank Cabot Corporation, King Arthur Baking, and Ann, Jack, and Keith for embodying both excellence in corporate leadership and a deep commitment to elevating the social good through their work and service.”
NACDNE is recognizing Cabot’s board for the company’s 140 years of innovation and focus on safety, health, environmental protection, and sustainability, as well as its strong financial growth in recent years. Cabot Corporation is driven by its purpose to “create materials that improve daily life and enable a more sustainable future.” Cabot’s innovative performance materials are critical components in many everyday applications, such as reinforcing carbons that improve the performance of tires, conductive additives to increase range for lithium-ion batteries, and aqueous inkjet dispersions to enable the digital printing transition.
King Arthur Baking is a 100 percent employee-owned, certified B Corp, a designation for companies committing to “standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials,’’ according to B Lab Global, which certifies the credential. King Arthur is also a “1 percent for the Planet” member and was one of the only companies in America to successfully be governed by three co-CEOs, between 2014 and 2019.
The NACDNE “Director of the Year” honorees will all be celebrated at a special gala event to be held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston on Monday, April 28, 2025.
About NACD New England (NACDNE)
The NACD New England Chapter is part of the larger National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) network, the only not-for-profit membership organization founded by and for corporate directors. NACD is the premier membership organization for board directors who want to expand their knowledge, grow their network, and maximize their potential. The NACD Directorship Certification® is the leading director credential in the United States, setting a new standard for director continuing education that positions directors to meet boardroom challenges. With an ever-expanding community of more than 23,000 members and a nationwide chapter network, our impact is both local and global. NACD members are driven by a common purpose: to be trusted catalysts of economic opportunity and positive change – in business and in the communities we serve.
