Hilina Ajakaiye is leaving Meet Boston for big role with national convention trade group
Staying in Boston also allows her to maintain
her roles at local nonprofits, including as board
chair of the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and a board member of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts.
Ajakaiye joined Meet Boston, the region's tourism marketing bureau, in 2020 as its executive vice president. It was a pivotal moment when COVID-19 decimated the travel industry, and as the world re-opened, she helped CEO Martha Sheridan reposition Meet Boston to better support the industry's recovery.
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Ajakaiye — a first-generation Ethiopian immigrant who understands how travel can provide economic opportunity — strengthened Meet Boston's connection to communities of color and helped spearhead the
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That's a key reason why the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals wanted to bring Ajakaiye on board – to build the pipeline of Black travel professionals and bring awareness to the size of the Black travel market
in the US,
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'There's a huge opportunity,' said Ajakaiye, who also wants to attract more Black tourists here from abroad. 'It's really a win and win for everyone. But a lot of folks don't know how to galvanize the community and how to make people feel welcome so that'll be my focus.'
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene.
Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at
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Whether it's the high cost of rent or a mortgage, or surging prices for groceries and vehicles, Macklem said the past few years have been eye-opening to Canadians who weren't around the last time inflation hit double digits in the 1980s. "Unfortunately, a whole new generation of Canadians now know what inflation feels like, and they didn't like it one bit," he said. Monetary policy itself can't make homes more affordable, he noted — in a nutshell, high interest rates make mortgages more expensive while low rates can push up the price of housing itself because they stoke demand. But Macklem said one of the things he's reflecting on is that inflation can get worse when the economy isn't operating at its potential or when it's facing great disruption. "There is a role for monetary policy to smooth out some of that adjustment — support the economy while ensuring that inflation is well-controlled." 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Craig Lord, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
