by Paul Mailhot, NHHTC Chairman
It is hard to believe as I write this that my term as Chairman of the Board of the NH High Tech Council is winding down as we head towards our annual membership meeting date on May 26. It has truly been a pleasure serving in this role, and I can honestly say that the experience has also deepened my own professional development. Working with a board of highly successful and entrepreneurial people has been enlightening and rewarding, and it’s been an honor to work with those individuals as together we steered the course of the Council over the last three years.
I feel very good about the level of growth, momentum and maturity the organization has achieved in the last few years. We have spread our wings, both figuratively and literally. The past few years has found us building more engaging programs that supported our member companies’ employees. We also became more engaged in the Seacoast. The Council’s political clout grew as we got heavily involved in business issues, both on the state and federal level. We found the most innovate ways to connect and celebrate the female technologists in our state through our TechWomen|Tech Girls initiatives, which we did to great success. We deepened and fostered our relationships with important Council partners such as Alpha Loft and the Governor’s Live Free and Start initiative, and whether working together to infuse capital into the start-up community or to shine light onto the high tech sector as a whole, we did it with passion and a commitment to make the state a better place to work in.
When one takes on the commitment to be a Chair of any organization, all one can hope for is that when their term is complete, it feels like advancements were made and good solid work was done. That is how I feel about my Chairmanship with the Council.
As I move into the immediate Past Chair role, it feels good to know I am leaving it in the hands of a highly capable and accomplished new Chairperson, Toral Cowieson. Toral’s global perspective through her work with The Internet Society, will bring in a worldly approach coupled with her down to earth style. We all look forward to having her at the helm and to see what is to come next for this dynamic organization that is the backbone to our NH tech community.