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August 7, 2017 Edition
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2017 Women to Watch Honorees

Mainebiz is proud to present the 2017 Women to Watch. This year we had so many great nominees, we named five honorees instead of the traditional four. They come from a range of industries and each have an interesting story to tell. Each is a strong leader in her own way — and we think you'll agree these Women to Watch are blazing a trail in the Maine economy.

  • Mainebiz 2010 Women to Watch: What are they up to now?

    Lori Valigra

    1. Mary HowesThe president of Howie's Welding & Fabrication and managing principal of Otis Mill Ventures in Jay tells us she has sold both Otis Ventures and Mill St.

  • Focus on Safety & Security
    Focus on Safety & Security

    Cyber headaches: How to stay ahead of the hackers

    Maureen Milliken

    Businesses have always had things of value: Money and information. Bad guys, since businesses began, have tried to figure out ways to steal those things. Those basics haven't changed.

  • Grassroots effort played key role in restoring tip credit

    James McCarthy

    Last month's repeal of the section of the state's new minimum wage law dealing with tipped workers has generated lots of nationwide buzz, including a story in The Washington Post, “Maine tried to raise its minimum wage.

  • Focus on Safety & Security
    Focus on Safety & Security

    Cybercrime is here to stay. Layered security is key

    Laurie Schreiber

    A year ago, a Maine business was hit by ransomware for two days and was forced to pay up in order to get its information back.

  • Luke's Lobster continues rapid expansion

    Lori Valigra

    Luke Holden's calm demeanor belies his fast-paced life. The co-founder of Luke's Lobster, which started in 2009, opened his 24th U.S. shack in Philadelphia on July 21, and plans to open another in Manhattan in a few weeks.

  • Social media is not going away and to succeed you need to be using it

    Answered By Judi Jones, Infoharbor Llc

    Q: There are so many different social media platforms out there. How do I know which to choose?

  • Other
    Other

    Undaunted courage

    Peter Van Allen

    The qualities of leadership define this year's Mainebiz Women to Watch.

  • In Short
    In Short

    IN SHORT

    New hiresMaine Restaurant Association and Maine Innkeepers Association hired Kathleen Pierce as director of membership and communications.

Today's Poll

Is it time for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates?
Poll Description

Over the past several months, banks and other businesses have been looking for the Federal Reserve Board to cut interest rates, but the waiting game continues.

Basing its decision on new economic reports, the Fed on May 1 said it doesn’t plan to cut rates until it has “greater confidence” that inflation is slowing toward the central bank's 2% target. Three rate reductions have been projected for 2024, likely starting in June.

But for now, it appears the key borrowing rate in the U.S. will stay at a two-decade high of roughly 5.3%.

Keeping the rate so high for so long may tame inflation, but can also discourage new investment and business growth.

“The Fed is really stressing the banking industry,” said Andrew Silsby, president and CEO of Augusta-based Kennebec Savings Bank, in a Mainebiz story last month. “The economic environment is really quite difficult, but I haven’t quite figured out whether we’re through the storm or in the eye of the storm.”

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