The Boston Globe - 13.08.2019

C2 Business The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019

Bold Types

BerkshireBankhas been one of New England’s most acquisitive banks in
recent years. But toMaliaLazu, the internal culture might not have kept up
with the pace of the deal-making.
That’s one reason why Lazu joined Berkshire’s leadership team. Lazu had
been working as a diversity and inclusion consultant when Berkshire con-
tracted with her last year. That consulting gig evolved into a full-time job for
Lazu in late May, when she joined the bank as anexecutivevicepresident
andchiefexperienceandcultureofficer.
As the Boston bank’s first ex-
ecutive focusing primarily on
diversity and inclusion, one of
her chief responsibilities is
launching theBeFirstInitia-
tive. The new social impact
program will include a
“Friends&FamilyFund”
providingseedcapitalfor
minority entrepreneurs.
“We thought it was re-
ally important that we
put some stakes in the
ground publicly about
how we want to shape
banking for the 21st cen-
tury,” Lazu says.
On her to-do list:
opening “storefronts” in
urban neighborhoods
that will offer space for
coworking and com-
munity events. The
first will open inDud-
leySquarethis fall.
Lazu expects others
to open inWorces-
ter,Springfield,and
other cities within
Berkshire’s Northeast
footprint.
It’s still too early to
know how much the
bank’s trajectory might
change underRichardMarotta, its new chief executive. Marotta, then the
president, took over afterMichaelDalyabruptly resigned in late November.
Lazu says Marotta was already passionate about improving the bank’s diver-
sity efforts prior to Daly’s departure. Berkshire recently added two African-
American businessmen to its board,WilliamHughesIIIandBayeAdofo-Wil-
son.
“We wanted to make sure that folks could see we meant business,” Lazu
says. “We’re making sure we’re not only making diverse hiring, but we’re be-
ing intentional about how we develop our pipeline. A lot of times, if you stay
in the networks you know, it becomes hard to find people.” — JON CHESTO

VineyardWindbackers

facingchoppywaters
The race is on to saveVineyard
Wind. But has that race already been
lost?
The South Coast’s two representa-
tives in Congress,BillKeatingand
JoeKennedyIII, had been scram-
bling to save the Vineyard Wind
project, a wind farm to be built south
of Martha’s Vineyard. So it wasn’t
surprising that Keating and Kennedy
were among the first public officials
to slam the news that theBureauof
OceanEnergyManagementwould
further delay a crucial permit for
Vineyard Wind. Ostensibly, the fed-
eral agency wants more time to
study the cumulative impacts of oth-
er proposed wind farms off the
Northeast coastline.
The latest delay makes it tougher
for Vineyard Wind, a Boston devel-
oper controlled by two European
companies, to take advantage of an
expiring federal tax credit it needs to
hit its aggressive price goals.
Kennedy accused the Trump ad-
ministration of “trying to delay it to
death,” while Keating said the post-
ponement showcases the adminis-
tration’s “hostility toward those seek-
ing to combat climate change, as
well as its overall rejection of basic
environmental values.”
Senator Ed Markey, another Vine-
yard Wind proponent, said delaying
the nation’s first major offshore wind
project in the final stage of permit-
ting “sends a clear and chilling mes-
sage across this nascent industry.”
But some Democrats are also rais-
ing concerns about offshore wind.
While not mentioning Vineyard
Wind by name, Rhode Island’s all-
Democratic delegation wrote to the
federal agency in July asking for a
more deliberative approach in ap-
proving offshore wind projects, pri-
marily out of concern for the inter-
ests of commercial fishermen.
Vineyard Wind, for its part, hasn’t
given up. On Monday, the company
issued a statement saying its share-
holders remained committed to
building the wind farm, even though
it will be done under a delayed
schedule. — JON CHESTO

Wealthmanagerlooks

southafterexpansion
Not surprisingly,PaulLonergan,
went to California to find top re-
cruits for his company’s first office in
the Golden State.
ThepresidentofCongress
WealthManagementended up
poaching three people who work
there forBostonPrivateWealth—
his crosstown rival in Boston.
Lonergan just hiredGerald
Graves,ChrisDudley, andSarah
Pearceaway from Boston Private
Wealth. They started with Congress
Wealth last month, although the

firm is still looking for space in Or-

ange County.

Congress Wealth has already

opened offices inWestport,Conn.,

andScottsdale,Ariz., and Lonergan

says his nearly 30-person wealth

management firm will probably look

to Texas and Florida next.

Graves will lead the West Coast

team. The group will have a particu-

lar focus on individuals who have

made their money in entertainment

and sports. It probably helps to have

someone on board like Dudley, a re-

tired pro basketball player who once

ran for governor in Oregon.

“He’s got an insight into the

unique challenges of being an athlete

or an entertainer,” Lonergan says of

Dudley.

The goal is to use this Orange

County office as a springboard for

serving and landing clients in the

West Coast. “There’s just a tremen-

dous opportunity to grow there,”

Lonergan says. — JON CHESTO

AdsforBostonBeer’s

Trulysettohittheair

Feeding your plants. Washing

your car. Igniting your grill.

ComedianKeegan-MichaelKey

has plenty of uses for all the whiskey

and light beer that he doesn’t want

to drink anymore — now thatTruly

HardSeltzerhas come along.

Key and his wife and writing

partner,ElisaKey, have written five

TV spots that launch this week to

promoteBostonBeerCo.’sspiked

seltzer. Their catchphrase: “Find a

new use for your old drink.”

Boston Beer developed the spots

withNewYorkadagencyJohannes

Leonardo. The ads represent the first

major campaign launched under

BostonBeer’snewchiefmarketing

officer,LesyaLysyj. The spots will

appear across cable TV networks and

on social media and other online

channels. They coincide with a na-

tionwide rollout of Truly on draft.

Boston Beer is trying to capitalize

on the rapid growth in demand for

hard seltzer, driven in part by its low

calorie count.

In a conference call last month

with analysts,chiefexecutiveDave

BurwickandchairmanJimKoch

talked about how the company is

gaining ground onWhiteClaw,the

industry leader owned byMarkAn-

thonyGroup. Burwick said then that

he didn’t expect an explosion of re-

gional hard seltzer brands, like what

has happened with craft beer.

“I think this is a game between

PepsiCoandDrPepper,” Burwick

said, in an apparent reference to

White Claw and Truly. “There’s going

to be three big players at most in this

category.” — JON CHESTO

Can’t keep a secret? Tell us. E-mail

Bold Types at [email protected].

CHRIS MORRIS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Bank’stopdiversityexecutive

followingexpansiveto-dolist

WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — What if, wherev-

er you’re living, working, or traveling,

you could receive an alert before it’s

about to rain or snow and when the

precipitation is about to end? And it’s

pretty accurate, too?

ClimaCell, a fledgling weather

technology company in Boston, re-

leased a mobile app Monday that pro-

vides notifications for exact locations

in more than 50 countries. It promises

‘‘street-by-street, minute-by-minute

short-term forecasts.’’

ClimaCell, founded in 2015, has de-

veloped a global network of weather

data that marries traditional observa-

tions of pressure, temperature, precip-

itation, and wind with information

drawn from wireless signals, satellites,

connected cars, airplanes, street cam-

eras, drones, and other sources.

Millions of pieces of weather data

can be derived from these technolo-

gies. It’s what the company describes

as the ‘‘weather of things.’’

This mix of data is fed into Clima-

Cell’s forecast models, operated in

Boulder, Colo. The company created

the NowCast model, which gives high-

ly specific, minute-by-minute forecasts

out to six hours, and a longer-term

model, known as CBAM, that produces

forecastsouttosixdays.

These models are designed to pro-

vide forecasts to help businesses solve

problems in which ‘‘extra accuracy’’ is

needed, said Shimon Elkabetz, Clima-

Cell’s chief executive.

Many of the weather companies op-

eratingtodayjusttakemodelforecasts

from different governments, blend

them, and use statistical techniques to

try to make them better. But ClimaCell

is creating its forecasts from scratch.

Elkabetz said early results are

promising. Compared with govern-

ment forecasts, ‘‘we’ve been able to im-

prove almost every parameter in every

time frame,’’ Elkabetz said.

ClimaCell has also created a soft-

ware platform that allows its forecasts

to be optimized and tuned to custom-

ers’ needs. Elkabetz said it can gener-

ate forecast output for any weather

variable of interest, at any location and

at different degrees of specificity.

The forecasts are updated or ‘‘re-

freshed’’ constantly, which is the ‘‘best

way’’ to increase their accuracy, said

Daniel Rothenberg, ClimaCell’s chief

scientist. ‘‘In our US precipitation

NowCast, we refresh [the forecast] end

to end in under five minutes,’’ he said.

The US government model used for

short-range precipitation prediction,

known as the HRRR (high-resolution

rapid refresh model) updates hourly.

‘‘We’re blowing the pants off

HRRR,’’ said Luke Peffers, ClimaCell

senior vice president.

Shawn Milrad, a professor of mete-

orology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

University, reviewed data provided by

ClimaCell about its models. He found

the computing ‘‘cutting-edge’’ but was

skeptical about how much the ‘‘weath-

er of things’’ would help performance.

But businesses are taking notice:

ClimaCell customers include airlines,

energy companies, and the New Eng-

land Patriots. JetBlue was so im-

pressed it became an investor. Clima-

Cell has raised $80 million so far.

The structure is much larger than

what Cambridge’s modern zoning

rules would allow there today. That

prompted a group of neighbors to sue

to stop Leggat, arguing that govern-

ment immunity from zoning limits

shouldn’t carry over to private owners.

A Land Court judge sided with Leggat

in 2015.

It had the potential to be a prece-

dent-setting case, for the entire Com-

monwealth. Attorney General Maura

Healey’s office argued that blocking

the courthouse project could threaten

possible future redevelopments at up

to 200 inactive state properties, by

suddenly imposing local zoning rules

on them. The state Appeals Court

agreed. The Supreme Judicial Court

decided not to weigh in, and the case

ended there. But not the drama.

Leggat’s special permit with Cam-

bridge requires it to obtain 420 nearby

parking spaces for the 430,000 square

feet of offices that Leggat wants to

build in the tower. (The tower plans

also call for 24 units of affordable

housing and a relatively small amount

of surface-level retail; the top two sto-

ries would also come off.) The city ga-

rage across the street is by far the best

option for Leggat, which would pay

uCHESTO

Continued from Page C

the city $49 million over 30 years to

lease those parking spaces and along

with another $3 million-plus for a re-

tail area.

Now, the tower has ignited another

public policy debate — this time re-

volving around the best way to dispose

of public property.

Cambridge state Representative

Mike Connolly is helping lead the op-

position. Connolly argues that boom-

ing East Cambridge doesn’t need an-

other office tower. What it does need,

he says, is more affordable housing.

New offices continue to get built to

meet the demand from biotech and

tech tenants, but relatively little hous-

ing goes up, he says. The city, Connolly

argues, should use its considerable fi-

nancial might to work with the state

to create affordable housing there,

much like what Trinity Financial is do-

ing with an old courthouse in Worces-

ter.

Cambridge’s mayor disagrees with

the Worcester comparison, in large

part because Cambridge real estate is

far more valuable. The Baker adminis-

tration, McGovern says, has made it

clear to the city that if the Leggat plan

falls apart, state officials would simply

put the tower back out to bid to seek

the market value for the property. Leg-

gat is willing to spend $50 million-

plus to clean up the building on top of

the $33 million. McGovern says that

might be a tall order to ask of an af-

fordable-housing developer.

The imbroglio has divided the

neighborhood. Many neighbors agree

with Leggat supporter Mary Ellen

Doran: She lives across the street from

the tower, which no longer has elec-

tricity, and worries about the risks that

a giant abandoned building poses. To

them, something needs to happen,

soon. Many others side with the crit-

ics, including Michael Hawley, one of

the plaintiffs in the zoning dispute.

Government officials, he says, should

be more concerned with addressing

the public’s needs rather than maxi-

mizing revenue.

It’s not clear what Leggat will do if

it loses the council vote. Leggat has

considered leasing spaces at Cam-

bridgeside, but the landlord has its

own redevelopment plans for part of

the mall.

No matter how this convoluted sto-

ry ends, it’s a good thing the state fin-

ished the most recent fiscal year with a

big surplus. Who knows when this

long-awaited check will arrive?

Jon Chesto can be reached at

[email protected]. Follow him on

Twitter @jonchesto.

The saga of empty East Cambridge courthouse tower persists

Weather app promises precision

ClimaCell,ofBoston,

offersoft-updated

short-termforecasts

CLIMACELL

ClimaCell promises more precise weather information with its app.

By Stanley Reed

NEW YORK TIMES

The oil giant Saudi Aramco is pre-

pared for an initial public offering, its

chief financial officer said Monday, re-

viving the prospects for a long-awaited

listing that could be a major step to-

ward diversifying Saudi Arabia’s econ-

omy.

The state-owned company has been

moving toward greater financial trans-

parency as it courts international in-

vestors, and the suggestion that it was

ready for a public offering came during

its first-ever earnings call. The compa-

ny, the world’s largest oil producer,

said earlier in the day that it had gen-

erated net income of $46.9 billion in

the first half of the year.

Khalid al-Dabbagh, Saudi Aramco’s

senior vice president for finance, strat-

egy and development, said the timing

of a public offering would be up to the

“shareholder” — the Saudi govern-

ment — and offered scant insight into

when such a listing would happen.

“The company is ready for the IPO,”

al-Dabbagh told analysts on the call,

adding that Saudi officials would “an-

nounce it depending on their percep-

tion of what will be the optimum mar-

ket conditions.”

He also discussed a newly signed

memorandum of agreement with Reli-

ance Industries of India, saying that it

would enable Aramco to examine Reli-

ance’s books and that a potential deal

between the two companies was “at

the very, very early stages.”

Reliance announced earlier in the

day that Aramco was set to buy a 20

percent stake in its refining and petro-

chemical business. The stake in Reli-

ance, estimated to be worth $15 bil-

lion, would create a partnership be-

tween the Saudi kingdom and India’s

powerful Ambani family.

Al-Dabbagh’s comments about the

public offering appeared to confirm

that Saudi leaders are eager to move

ahead with it, although key decisions

remain. Earlier preparations for a

share sale were set aside last year as

the price of oil fell and the Saudis

struggled with questions of valuation

and which exchange the company

would be listed on.

But after a bond issue this year at-

tracted significant interest from inves-

tors, Mohammed bin Salman, the Sau-

di crown prince, appears to have de-

cided that officials should resume their

preparations for a public offering.

The Saudis also seem to be calculat-

ing that international outrage is fading

after the killing of the journalist Jamal

Khashoggi in Turkey last year by Saudi

operatives associated with the crown

prince.

In the financial disclosure it re-

leased Monday, Aramco said its net in-

come had fallen 12 percent, from $

billion in the same period a year earli-

er, when oil prices were higher. The

company also said it had earned $66 a

barrel for its oil, 4 percent less than a

year earlier.

The results indicated that, even

with the decline, Aramco was much

more profitable than its oil-producing

peers. Exxon Mobil, the largest US oil

company, brought in $5.5 billion in the

first half of 2019; Royal Dutch Shell,

Europe’s largest oil company, reported

net income of $9 billion for the first six

months of the year.

“Despite lower oil prices during the

first half of 2019, we continued to de-

liver solid earnings,” Aramco’s chief ex-

ecutive, Amin H. Nasser, said. Disclos-

ing the financial results, he said, was

“a significant milestone in Saudi

Aramco’s history.”

Aramcosays

it’s‘ready’

forIPO

MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/FILE 2008

A worker covers his face to protect it from the dust and the blazing sun

at the site of Saudi Aramco’s Al-Khurais central oil processing facility.