David Lanci, EMBA ’02, has made it a priority to help people thrive. As co-founder and CEO of NEXDINE Hospitality—a Massachusetts-based food services company—David has pledged a multi-year gift to establish the Michael Barretti EMBA Professional Development Fund. Through this endowed fund, EMBA students will be supported to participate in travel seminars, experiential learning activities, leadership coaching, and other forms of professional development.

David is a passionate advocate for the EMBA program, soon to celebrate its 50th anniversary, noting his “incredible slate of professors and classmates.” Before starting his degree, David had been away from academia for nearly 20 years—and the prospect of returning to school was daunting. However, given the EMBA program’s emphasis on team-building and collaboration, David found that he could stand “toe-to-toe” with his cohort of doctors, lawyers, and other top professionals.

The EMBA program was life-altering for David: “I don’t know how I would have had the courage and confidence to start my own business if I hadn’t gone through the EMBA process. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done because of the intense workload, but also the most rewarding.” After receiving his degree, for a time David taught marketing courses for the EMBA program as well as undergraduate classes at the Sawyer Business School.

David’s EMBA was a key asset as he launched NEXDINE Hospitality, which supplies food to corporations, schools, colleges and universities, and, increasingly, senior residential centers. The company now employs more than 3,000 people in 28 states, with annual revenues of approximately $160M and 20% annual growth over the last five years.

David was especially eager to launch the EMBA Professional Development Fund because of his strong connection to the late Michael Barretti, Sr., EMBA ’82, who was teaching in the program when David met him. Both of them were engaged in a travel seminar in Barcelona, Spain, where David’s cohort visited a winery and, for their capstone project, developed a business plan for exporting sparkling wine to the United States. David recalls that he and Michael “spent a lot of time together sipping Spanish wine and talking about business issues.” Michael became a devoted mentor. David vividly remembers “what Michael did for so many students in the program, helping them to get through the challenges of completing the degree.”

Before Michael’s passing in 2025, he and David kept in touch for more than two decades. And Michael stayed in touch, as well, with other members of David’s EMBA cohort. He was, as David notes, “a strong, warm-hearted personality.”

David comments that he feels “very blessed with my life and career; I’ve been fortunate that I have the resources to do many things that other people can’t.” His company’s donation to the Michael Barretti EMBA Professional Development Fund will expand opportunities for students of limited means. David notes that “several people in my cohort were paying their own way and the Barretti Fund would certainly have made a difference to them. I know what my seminar in Barcelona meant to me—and I want to make sure that such experiences are available to students who couldn’t otherwise afford them.”

Philanthropy isn’t new to David or his company, NEXDINE Hospitality, which has also supported the Suffolk CARES Pantry since 2019. The Pantry provides food and other household items to students in need at no cost. "I grew up in a home with abundant food,” David remarks, “and I can’t imagine the quandary of those who have to make decisions about eating versus buying books or paying rent. It was easy for my company to make this commitment to Suffolk CARES.”

The legacy of Michael Barretti, EMBA ’82 and the establishment of the Michael Barretti EMBA Professional Development Fund will be celebrated at the EMBA 50th Anniversary event taking place on September 27.