CEOs of Boston’s Fastest Growing Private Companies Discuss What it Takes to Find Balance While Driving a Successful Business

On April 17 the Boston Business Journal hosted the 2009 Pacesetters event, recognizing the region’s fastest growing private companies. Paresh Shah, President of Mindleaf Technologies, Kip Hollister, Founder and CEO of Hollister, Inc., and Joe Albanese, Founder of CEO of Commodore Builders, all spoke at the event about how they balance personal lives and careers.

Shah, President of Mindleaf Technologies, has forced himself to not let work take over his personal life, saying “You’ve just got to discipline yourself. You’ve got to take some time for you and your family…We know there’s a lot of work and we have to do it, but if you find some time for yourself you are happy, your family is happy, and you are much more productive at work.”

Hollister founded her Boston-based staffing firm in 1988, and only one year later, gave birth to her first daughter, Phoebe. “I made a decision when I opened Hollister that I was not going to let this company run my life,” she said. In order to be able to spend time with her new baby, as well as manage her new business, Hollister simply brought Phoebe to events and to the office with her.

“I still manage to balance it [career and family] because I think it is really important,” said Hollister. “I want to be as good of a mom as I do a CEO, and I take great pride in that, and I want to show my kids that you can do both really well.”

Joe Albanese, Founder and CEO of Commodore Builders, served in the Navy for 28 years before returning to his hometown of Newton, MA to establish his general contractor and construction management firm in 2002. For Albanese, finding the balance between work and home is all about surrounding yourself with people who will support you through the difficulties that arise as a business owner.

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