Malia Lazu, Founder and CEO of The Lazu Group. Malia, an award winning, tenured strategist in diversity & inclusion has sparked deep economic development and investment in urban entrepreneurship for over twenty years. In her previous role as EVP and Regional President at Berkshire Bank, Malia worked to generate wealth for communities by expanding access to capital and spurring economic growth—especially in communities of color that have traditionally been left behind. 

A serial entrepreneur in her own right, Malia has created and led a number of socially responsible business accelerators across Boston. She worked with the city to create Accelerate Boston and was also the Founder and President of the Future Boston Alliance, now known as Epicenter. As a fellow at MIT’s Community Innovator’s Lab, she launched The Urban Labs, a multicultural agency helping brands see returns on diversity. The Urban Labs has expanded into The Lazu Group today. Malia has continued ties with MIT and is currently a Lecturer at Sloan, where she co-created a series called The Inclusive Innovation Economy. She is currently a Lecturer in the TIES Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Malia currently Chairs the Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI) Board, and also sits on the boards of GBH, Emerson College, Trillfit, Boston Harbor Now, Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Revolutionary Spaces and the Nation Magazine Editorial Board. She was named one of Essence Magazine’s 50 Founders To Watch in 2017, Boston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business in 2019 and Boston Magazine’s The 100 Most Influential Bostonians in 2021.