Gloria Cordes Larson                                                                                                                         
President                                                                                                                                                        

Gloria Larson (L) with Lindsa McIntyre of the Burke
High School in Boston

Bentley University

Gloria Cordes Larson, prominent lawyer, public policy expert, and business leader, was elected to the presidency of Bentley University by the Bentley Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2007.

Larson, formerly the Co-chair of the Government Strategies Group at Foley Hoag LLP, managed a practice that covered a broad array of federal, state and local regulatory and business development issues, including real estate development, energy, insurance, environmental permitting, transportation, advertising and internet privacy matters.

She was Secretary of Economic Affairs from 1993 to 1996 and Secretary of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation from 1991 to 1993, under Massachusetts Governor William Weld. Larson served as an attorney advisor to FTC Commissioner Patricia Bailey from 1981 to 1988, and as the Deputy Director of Consumer Protection at the FTC from 1990 to 1991.

Larson is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA).  In addition she is a board or advisory council member of several prominent professional, charitable and civic organizations, including the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Roger Williams University School of Law, the Massachusetts Women’s Forum, the Massachusetts High Technology Council, the University of Massachusetts Center for Collaborative Leadership, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Rosie’s Place.  Larson was appointed by Governor Mitt Romney in January 2005 to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy Board.

Larson serves as a director of Unum Group and a director of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. She also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and President of the Massachusetts Conference for Women. She is a member of the Massachusetts and Virginia Bar Associations.

Larson received her bachelor of arts with honors from Vassar College and earned her juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Northeastern University in 2005 and from Mount Wachusett Community College in 2003. She is married to Allen Larson, an attorney.

Member Spotlight

Diane Hessan, President & CEO - Communispace
According to Advertising Age Communispace is one of the fastest growing marketing and technology companies in the country, with a Blue Chip client list that would make a Madison Avenue giant jealous. A pioneer in creating online communities to help marketers deeply engage customers, Diane helped found Communispace in 1999 and hasn't looked back.