WBUR, Boston’s NPR, today announced the fall lineup for The WBUR Breakfast Club, an event series featuring conversations with influential business leaders. The series returns to WBUR CitySpace on Tuesday, September 15 with Kerry Docherty, co-founder of lifestyle and clothing brand Faherty, in conversation with Tiziana Dearing, host of WBUR’s Morning Edition.

Following Docherty, WBUR will welcome Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks on Wednesday, October 21; Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering and chairman of the board of Moderna on Wednesday, November 18 and Warby Parker co-founder and CEO Neil Blumenthal on Wednesday, December 9.

“From the boardroom to the newsroom, from Boston to the world, WBUR is reimagining how consequential issues in business and society get discussed and understood, elevating the conversation to help shape what comes next,” said WBUR CEO Margaret Low. “The Breakfast Club is a chance for Boston decision makers to gather for intimate conversations with some of the country’s most fascinating business leaders. We’re grateful to the Mehrotra Institute for helping bring it to life.”

Sponsored by the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets, and Society at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, The WBUR Breakfast Club launched in January with Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert in the spotlight. The debut season also featured the leaders of Bombas, Whoop and JetBlue. The series gives Boston’s business community an opportunity to hear directly from executives who’re navigating the challenges and opportunities shaping their industries.

• Sept. 15: Kerry Docherty cofounded the lifestyle clothing brand Faherty with her husband and his identical twin. Faherty, which combines high-quality design with surf culture, launched in 2013 with a “Beach Shack on Wheels,” and has turned into a $250 million brand sold worldwide. There are more than 80 retail stores across the U.S., including seven in Massachusetts with locations ranging from Newbury Street in Boston to downtown Nantucket. Her new memoir “Selfish” was published by Harmony at Penguin Random House in April 2026.
• Oct. 21: Chris Cocks was named Hasbro’s Chief Executive Officer and Director in 2022 and has driven the company’s evolution to become a major player in digital gaming, guiding strategic licensing agreements and establishing a network of video game studios to position Hasbro as a leading AAA video game developer and publisher. He also serves on the boards of Lifespan and The Paley Center for Media.
• Nov. 18: Noubar Afeyan is co-founder and Board Chairman of Moderna, and the founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. During his career as an inventor, entrepreneur and CEO, he has cofounded and helped build over 100 life science and technology startups.
• Dec. 9: Neil Blumenthal is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, a lifestyle brand that offers designer eyewear, named the most innovative company in the world by Fast Company in 2015.

“Fashion, gaming and biotech look like three unrelated industries on the surface, but the leaders running them are wrestling with a similar question: what role should this business play in the society it operates within? This question is the center of our work at the Mehrotra Institute, and WBUR is one of the few places in Boston where it gets asked of decision makers directly. We are excited to continue our partnership with WBUR and are looking forward to bringing business leaders together to engage in this critical discourse,” said Kris May, Executive Director, Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets, and Society

The Breakfast Club’s return comes amid strong audience momentum for WBUR, which has ranked or tied for first place in Boston radio in April, May and July, according to Nielsen Audio ratings.

The Breakfast Club is an expansion into morning programming at CitySpace, WBUR’s state-of-the-art performance space at 890 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Tickets to The Breakfast Club are $75 each and can be purchased here. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for a networking breakfast followed by the featured conversation from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. To learn more about upcoming WBUR events, subscribe to the WBUR Events newsletter.