Now that he and his company have officially moved to Boston, Jeff Immelt (right) is starting to get around town.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation said Wednesday that the GE CEO will chair its annual fund-raising dinner in May, one of the institution’s biggest events of the year and the venue where it presents its Profile in Courage Award.

In 2017, the event will also serve as a cornerstone of the foundation’s celebration of what would have been Kennedy’s 100th birthday.

“It is a tremendous honor to serve as chair of the Kennedy Library Foundation’s Centennial May Dinner,’’ Immelt said in a statement. “John F. Kennedy symbolized hope and courage, and his leadership qualities resonate to this day.’’

Past chairmen of the gala include a who’s-who of big names in Boston business, including Putnam CEO Robert Reynolds, former Fidelity executive Peter Lynch, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to take the reins of the May Dinner than Jeff Immelt,’’ said Kenneth Feinberg, the foundation’s chairman. “Jeff is a globally recognized leader and a welcome addition to the Boston business community.’’ — TIM LOGAN

Chiofaro looks to the past for compromise on Harbor Garage

On the downtown waterfront these days, everything old is new again. That’s the tune Don Chiofaro Jr. is singing, anyway, in the wake of last week’s release by the New England Aquarium of a new master plan that could pave the way to compromise on the long-stalled tower Chiofaro and his father want to build on the site of the neighboring Harbor Garage.

In an unsolicited e-mail to Globe editors and reporters this week, Chiofaro unearthed a six-year-old image conceived by the Chiofaro Company. The rendering featured a sweeping public plaza at the base of a tower that opened up access between the aquarium and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

The key was that the aquarium’s IMax theater was nowhere in sight, leaving a dramatic expanse.

There were echoes of that idea in a plan that the aquarium released last week where it proposed moving the IMax theater to create a “Blueway’’ along the harbor.

“Sometimes the moment just isn’t right,’’ Chiofaro wrote.

He was quick to point out the whole plan wouldn’t necessarily work within the space constraints city officials have since put on what he might build there.

But, he said, maybe the various sides in this endless debate aren’t as far apart as they’ve been perceived.

“There is a ton of common ground on the vision,’’ Chiofaro wrote. “The historical moment may now just be right for something truly amazing to happen at the Garage.’’ — TIM LOGAN

Jump-starting corporate philanthropy

Tim Smith wants all Boston companies to have a philanthropic mind-set, starting on day one.

That’s why, as the Boston Foundation’s new “director of innovation partnerships,’’ he recently helped launch Pledge 1% Boston, part of a national movement to promote corporate philanthropy.

Here’s how it works: Participating companies, or their founders, promise to donate 1 percent of their equity to charity if they’re bought or go public.

Donations can be in the form of nonprofit grants, matching employee gifts, volunteer time, or free or discounted products and services.

The goal is “encouraging companies of every size to incorporate giving back to the community in their DNA,’’ said Smith, who was previously executive director of Full Circle Fund, a San Francisco nonprofit.

Boston-area companies that have signed on so far include Gravyty, Ovuline, Nanogenecs, FundLatinos, Pepper Lane, CoachUp, Freebird, and Cuseum.

In addition, the venture capital firm Accomplice — founded by Jeff Fagnan, a former partner at Atlas Venture — says it will pledge 1 percent of its equity to two Boston nonprofits, Resilient Coders and Inner City Weightlifting.

The effort is similar to a partnership inked earlier this year between MassChallenge and the UK-based Founders Pledge. It encourages entrepreneurs at the Boston startup incubator to donate at least 2 percent of their proceeds if they go public or are acquired. — SACHA PFEIFFER

‘Recovery shoes’ get their moment in lights

A careful viewer of the HBO show “Hard Knocks’’ might have noticed that several recent episodes featuring the LA Rams showed players wearing a Massachusetts-based brand of shoes in their hours off the gridiron.

The “recovery shoes’’ worn by players were made by Oofos, a 13-person start-up based in Cohasset.

Turns out Oofos company president Deb Gendeau-Flynn personally delivered 100 pairs of shoes, which claim to absorb 37 percent more impact than foam used in traditional athletic footwear.

“Their trainer reached out to us, it was fantastic,’’ Gendeau-Flynn said. Apparently, Tyler Williams, a Rams assistant trainer, saw mention of the shoes on Twitter.

It’s been a good couple of months for the company, which was also one of 10 companies the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce selected for its Small Business of the Year awards. Oofos, founded in 2011, currently sells its shoes in more than 1,400 retail shops, including Marathon Sports, for $45 to $65 a pair.

Some LA Rams players didn’t get the shoes because the company only made them to men’s size 14. It’s now working on a size 15 and 16 for the pros. — MEGAN WOOLHOUSE

Can’t keep a secret? Tell us. E-mail Bold Types at boldtypes@globe.com.