Connector
Convener
Catalyst
Driving Change
I've spent my career translating what I believe is the right thing to do into a program, policy, or business case that drives change. I'm a connector, convenor, and catalyst.
I come away from every meeting with a new puzzle piece or two that later coalesces with others revealing what needs to be built or the change that needs to be made.
Climate
While the transition to a carbon-free economy is an existential issue for humanity, I've found that it's the fiscal case rather than the environmental one that drives change. As founder and CEO of the Net Zero Institute, I convene corporate sustainability leaders on the business case for decarbonization, through the Sustainability 2.0 Summit and research on topics including energy, AI, and the role of data centers.
As the former chair of Winchester's School Committee, I championed the town's first all-electric, net-zero school, and later helped drive our community's largest expansion of solar across town, with annual net savings projected at over a third of a million dollars. It's the same translation I make everywhere, turn the right thing to do into a business case, and the choice becomes obvious.
Innovation
For nearly two decades, I led the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, building the programs, policies, and partnerships that helped the state's innovation economy add tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic value.
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In 2022, I founded the Net Zero Institute to accelerate the corporate transition to a carbon-neutral economy, and in 2026, while running for State Senate, I created the Commonwealth Innovation Promise, a nonpartisan initiative for Massachusetts legislative candidates to go on record across six policy areas that were central to my future-focused campaign and vision for Massachusetts.Â
Biomedical/Healthcare
Medical breakthroughs move too slowly for the families waiting on them. I believe that, with developments in AI drug discovery, mRNA therapeutics, and quantum computing, we're on the verge of an unprecedented acceleration in drug discovery and therapeutics. One in ten has a rare disease and many more will face cancer, Alzheimers, or other disease. We must convert urgency into the policy and funding decisions that actually move research and cures forward faster.
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Driven by Purpose
Tom Hopcroft is the founder and CEO of the Net Zero Institute, where he accelerates the corporate transition to a carbon-neutral world through strategic collaboration and ecosystem-building. He sees innovation as a mechanism for improving the lives of people and is hopefu for the future of biomedical discovery. His journey is deeply rooted in his family's lived experience, a legacy of civic engagement, and a career accelerating innovation, growth and the development of an inclusive tech economy in Massachusetts.Â