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Mark Manigan
RWJBarnabas Health

Manigan leads the state’s largest academic health care system, RWJBarnabas Health, as president and CEO. He oversees a network of 12 acute care hospitals, among various other facilities serving eight counties and 5 million people in New Jersey. RWJBarnabas is also among the state’s largest private employers, with more than 38,000 staffers and 9,000 physicians.

Under Manigan, the health care system has worked to improve outcomes for patients across the state, including in vulnerable communities. Just last month, RWJBarnabas deployed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Navigators in each of its hospitals. It is the first New Jersey health care provider to enhance access to healthy foods and nutrition education in this way, according to an announcement. It’s also the only system to offer SNAP Navigator services at each of its 14 acute care hospitals, RWJBarnabas Health said.

The rollout is part of larger efforts at RWJBarnabas Health to promote heath equity and address social determinants of health. In July, the provider announced a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey Food Security Initiative to expand the SNAP Navigator program. “We know that good health starts with access to healthy, nutritious foods, yet too many New Jerseyans struggle to feed themselves and their families. …This partnership aligns with our core mission to improve the health and well-being of our patients and the communities we serve.”

Amy Mansue
Inspira Health

Following leadership stints at RWJBarnabas Health and Children’s Specialized Hospital, Mansue took the helm at Inspira Health as president and CEO in 2020. In South Jersey, she leads a medical staff of more than 1,400 in addition to over 7,800 employees.

In recent years, the health care system has doubled down on its local impact, strengthening ties to its community to benefit both patients and the workforce. According to Inspira, it offers 150 points of (physical) access for people seeking primary, acute and advanced care. Among those are four hospitals: Inspira Medical Centers Elmer, Mannington, Mullica Hill and Vineland.

Last fall, Inspira started efforts to amplify its impact even more with a $240 million expansion project at its Mullica Hill campus. Totaling 168,000 square feet of new space, the work will add a five-story wing, expand maternity services, bring renovations to certain clinical and non-clinical spaces on the building’s first floor, and create more parking. Upon completion, Inspira says the additions will create 100 new, permanent positions for employees.

Calling the site’s initial 2019 opening “a gamechanger,” Mansue underscored the campus’s importance speaking in terms of demand.

“[W]hen we first opened, we budgeted that we would be at 110 patients on an average daily census,” she said. “Most days, we’re over 200 in the same-size facility. So that’s why you see just how important this is.”

Michael Maron
Holy Name Medical Center

Having recently appeared on the NJBIZ Power 100 list, Maron’s inclusion here should not come as a surprise. As president and CEO of Holy Name – a role he’s held for nearly 40 years – Maron guides and oversees New Jersey’s only independent Catholic health system, which celebrates its centennial in 2025.

Comprising a 361-bed acute care hospital in Teaneck, a cancer center, state-of-the-art fitness center, residential hospice, nursing school and extensive physician network, at 100 Holy Name continues to innovate for the future under Maron’s leadership.

That includes with physical changes, and last October Holy Name cut the ribbon on a new $3.5 million Level III NICU to expand care for the most vulnerable patients.

It also includes adopting new technology, both for patient care and to facilitate operations. Earlier this month, Holy Name became one of two hospitals in the state to offer a next-gen photon-counting CT scanner able to “detect heart disease before it strikes.” When he was named the 2024 Nonprofit Executive of the Year in the NJBIZ Business of the Year Awards program, Maron highlighted the importance of data-driven decision making “to stay ahead of the curve.”

Holy Name expects to welcome residents to its Graduate Medical Education program in June, which is accredited for surgery and internal medicine.

Anthony Minniti
Bell Pharmacy

A third-generation pharmacist whose family took over the historic Bell Pharmacy in Camden 28 years ago, Minniti is focused on restoring the prestige of independent community pharmacies.

Bell Pharmacy has served Camden since 1931, making it the oldest continuously operating independent pharmacy in the state. And despite waves of closures by both large retail pharmacies and smaller independently run ones, Bell Pharmacy continues to survive thanks to Minniti’s expertise in business, politics and advocacy.

Along with several industry accolades, Minniti’s innovations in pharmacy practice have been adopted as templates for programs at other pharmacies throughout the U.S. His latest idea is a first-of-its-kind model that fuses a drug store with retail cannabis. Camden Apothecary – a licensed dispensary that caters to both recreational customers and medical patients – opened in November 2023 as a sister business to Bell Pharmacy. The launch represented a full circle moment for the Haddon Avenue pharmacy, too. Prior to the federal government prohibiting the plant in 1937, Bell Pharmacy sold cannabis for medical purposes.

Camden Apothecary became the first cannabis retailer to score a partnership with a major American corporation – Xfinity Live!, a dining, entertainment and retail venue at the center of Philadelphia’s major leagues sports venues.

Thibaut Mongon
Kenvue

As CEO and director, Mongon leads a team of more than 20,000 employees and a roster of high-profile brands used by approximately 1.2 billion consumers worldwide. Tylenol, Band-Aid, Zyrtec, Aveeno and more – all belong to Kenvue, the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company by revenue, which Johnson & Johnson spun out in 2023.

A J&J vet, Mongon has run the company since day one, and helped lead efforts to establish Kenvue.

When it came to laying down roots, Mongon was clear about staying in the Garden State. “We needed a home base that allowed us to plant deep roots in a vibrant community – while offering us broader access to the global community, at large,” he explained during the ground breaking ceremony in Summit, where Kenvue is planting roots at a 290,000-square-foot site that includes a state-of-the-art, 100,000-square-foot Science and Innovation lab. The new campus will house about 3,000 employees.

Flash forward a year later to earlier this month and Kenvue’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was just around the corner.

The culmination is a landmark for the company, the city and the state.

Summit Mayor Elizabeth Fagan said it “puts Summit on the map,” a sentiment echoed by Mongon. “From this campus, you will see coming – new products and solutions that will shape the future … all born right here in Summit.”

David Moore
Novo Nordisk Inc.

In January, Moore was appointed president of Novo Nordisk Inc., and executive vice president, U.S. operations and global business development. Leading the Plainsboro-headquartered U.S. operations, Moore succeeds longtime leader Doug Langa, who stepped down at the end of last year.

In addition to taking on this role, he continues responsibility for developing business globally. He joined Novo Nordisk in 2022 – bringing broad experience in strategy, commercial, market access, business development and investing to the organization.

The company’s portfolio includes the ever-popular Wegovy and Ozempic, which has seen robust nationwide demand with Novo Nordisk undertaking substantial efforts to increase manufacturing capacity, including $6.5 billion in U.S. investments this year alone.

“We are pleased the FDA has declared that supply of the only real, FDA-approved semaglutide medicines is resolved, affirming that Novo Nordisk is meeting or exceeding current and projected nationwide demand,” said Moore last month when the FDA declared that a shortage of the GLP-1 medicines was over. “Patient safety remains our top priority, and in line with our purpose to improve lives and health – we continue to partner, educate, and advocate for expanded, affordable access to our medicines for those who need and rely on them.”

Mike Munoz
Amerihealth

Munoz has led Amerihealth in New Jersey since stepping into his current role as senior vice president and president of diversified markets, including AmeriHealth HMO Inc. and Amerihealth Insurance Co. of New Jersey, as well as AmeriHealth Administrators, in 2017. The position gives him responsibility for overall profit-and-loss management and business operations for Amerihealth and AmeriHealth Administrators.

Based in Cranbury, Amerihealth provided health insurance for more than 30 years. Today, its coverage and plans represent more than 265,000 members in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other nearby markets, underscored by a commitment to addressing health equity, engaging technology, building community and giving back.

Last summer, Amerihealth expanded its coverage options, collaborating with Evernorth Health Services’ Payer Solutions business to offer more options for in-network care to certain AmeriHealth employer groups. In 2024, the company also introduced the Be of Service campaign. Modeled on an internal initiative, the program honors a Corporate Citizen and a Volunteer of the Year.

Munoz leads a team of engaged and enthusiastic employees. Under his watch, the organization has been recognized as an NJBIZ Best Places to Work for 13 straight years—a designation determined by feedback from team members themselves.

Kevin O’Dowd and Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli
Cooper University Health Care

There are big things happening at Cooper University Health Care, which Mazzerelli and O’Dowd lead as co-CEOs, that have larger implications for the city of Camden, as well as the region.

Mazzarelli and O’Dowd oversee a team of nearly 11,000 members, comprising 1,600 nurses and more than 1,000 physicians; two hospitals (Camden and Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional); a leading cancer center; six urgent care centers; and 130-plus outpatient locations.

Anchoring the city as the meds to Rutgers University’s eds, Cooper broke ground last month on a transformative $3 billion project among much fanfare. Dubbed Project Imagine, the work will feature three new patient towers (with up to 745 private patient beds); enhanced surgical and emergency services; and a bridge connecting to MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. It’ll also establish a regional medical coordination center with surge capacity. Cooper is South Jersey’s only Level 1 trauma center. The system launched its fifth radiation oncology suite at its Moorestown campus in March. The $150 million facility completed its second phase in 2024. Cooper this year was ranked by Forbes as one of the 200 best places to work in the U.S., the only New Jersey health system on the list.

Trish O’Keefe
Morristown Medical Center

President of Morristown Medical Center, O’Keefe leads a hospital that consistently earns accolades commending its stature not just in New Jersey, but nationally, as one of the “best” — by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Healthgrades, Becker’s Healthcare and others.

Part of Atlantic Health System, for which she serves as senior vice president and chief nurse executive, the 735-bed Morristown Medical Center comprises a team of approximately 7,000 employees and 2,050 physicians.

Beyond a nearly $27 million project to increase capacity for and modernize its emergency department, Morristown Medical Center is seeking next to expand significantly overall under a proposed $1 billion plan. Amid community concerns about the scope of the concept last fall, Atlantic Health recently reevaluated its proposal. As lead hospital executive, O’Keefe plays a key role in the process. Speaking with NJ.com in February, she described trying to strike the balance between being a good neighbor and taking necessary steps to grow to meet not just future needs, but current ones. “We’re growing as a state. Our communities are growing and need the best health care. So, we feel a great deal of responsibility to make that happen,” she told the publication. O’Keefe is also a noted speaker on such topics as leading through a crisis: COVID-19, redesigning health care, empowerment and shared governance models, and more. In 2024, she was appointed to the board of the New Jersey Hospital Association.

Dr. George Pavlou
Gastroenterology Associates of New Jersey

A practicing gastroenterologist, Pavlou is founding director and president of Gastroenterology Associates of New Jersey.

Since starting with nine GIs back in 2009, the practice has grown into a North Jersey powerhouse. GANJ has 28 locations across seven counties (Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Morris, Mercer, Ocean and Hudson) with a team of 61 gastroenterologists and other providers. That growth has come by seeking out grads from esteemed programs nationwide, according to the company, as well as assimilating other practices.

The connection to education can also be gleaned from Pavlou’s past work experiences, having served as a clinical instructor at St. George’s University in Grenada, a teaching attending at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center and on the medical board of St. Josephs for more than two decades.

GANJ emphasizes personal care for its patients. And according to Pavlou, that commitment is part of how he builds his team. “My goal was and is to identify physicians willing to take on this responsibility and contribute to the success of the practice,” he said. “This is a unique arrangement in health care that benefits the physician as well as the patients they care for.”

Pavlou is dual board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology and a member of the American Gastroenterology Association and the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Andrew Pecora
Outcome Matters Innovations

A world expert in blood and marrow stem-cell transplantation, cellular medicine and immunology research, Pecora is also founder, chairman and CEO of Outcome Matters Innovations. The Jersey City-based business supports health care providers with technology that offers real-time guidance at the point of patient contact combined with a novel reimbursement model to enable value-based care programs. It aims to remove administrative burdens while also lowering the total cost of care and improving outcomes in specialty care.

In January, OMI announced a major partnership with Regional Cancer Care Associates. The collaboration with the largest provider of cancer services in New Jersey by volume will enhance and scale OMI’s tech. RCCA has 26 offices across New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., area. Its oncologists and hematologists see more than 27,000 new patients annually, according to the company, with over 260,000 established patients.

According to Pecora, the deal with RCCA is a sign of things to come. “With this important agreement in place with RCCA, OMI continues to look toward the future and plans to announce more partnerships this year that will have a valuable impact on the health care landscape,” he said when the agreement was announced.

Pecora is a renowned hematologist and oncologist and founder of the John Theurer Cancer Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center.

Dennis Pullin
Virtua Health

Pullin leads South Jersey’s Virtua Health as president and CEO. The Marlton-based system comprises five hospitals (Virtua Marlton, Mounty Holly, Our Lady of Lourdes, Voorhees and Willingboro); two satellite emergency departments; more than 40 ambulatory surgery centers and another 400 or so more locations. Altogether, Pullin oversees a network of 3,000 employed and affiliated physicals and other clinicians.

Amid a tumultuous situation in Washington, the recognized leader is thinking about ways to preserve care – while urging against rushed reactions amid the uncertainty. Offering his takes as part of a panel discussion presented by the Philadelphia Business Journal, he also said Virtua is already seeing impacts.

Concerning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, Pullin said Virtua is not looking to make changes. “Not only are they the right things to do in terms of making sure our community is represented the way it needs to be represented, but, quite frankly, there are good business reasons to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion,” Pullin said during the event. “We have a responsibility as leaders to create communities of wellness, and so that goes beyond just the absence of illness. “I don’t worry so much about do I need to stop my diversity program because what may or may be legal or illegal – I think about am I living up my commitment to being a champion of humanity?”

Christopher Rinn
VNA Health Group

With 30 years’ experience in public health and emergency services, Rinn leads VNA Health Group, New Jersey’s largest nonprofit provider of home health, hospice and community-based services. As president and CEO, he oversees 2,300 employees serving more than 125,000 patients.

VNA says it engages in over 1.5 million patient encounters annually, serving a population that includes at-risk children, the elderly, those with disabling or chronic illness and people at the end of their lives.

Before assuming his current post in 2023, Rinn redefined the organization’s government relations strategy as chief government relations and community health officer, pivoting toward engagement at the local, county, state and federal levels. Before VNA, he served as CEO at VNACJ Community Health Center. He is also a former acting health commissioner for the state, appointed by Gov. Chris Christie in 2017, and assistant New Jersey Department of Health commissioner.

Just this month, Rinn took on another kind of leadership role, serving as grand marshal for the 2025 Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

He is active in the community with various associations, including the American College of Healthcare Executives; he also serves as vice president and board member for the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County.

Vanessa Rissetto
Culina Health

A registered dietician, Rissetto is co-founder and CEO of Culina Health, but maybe you recognize her from her appearances on the “Today Show.”

Clinician-, women- and BIPOC-owned, Culina Health offers virtual nutrition care that’s covered by insurance. The company aims to make nutrition accessible as well as part of a person’s regular health care regimen. A testament to that forward thinking, last year, Ernst & Young recognized Rissetto as a 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year in the New Jersey region.

To date, Culina Health says it has served upwards of 10,000 patients, maintaining a 92 patient Net Promoter Score, and counting thousands of physicians among its nationwide referral network.

Investors have also taken note. Culina Health has raised $20 million, included nearly $8 million in Series A funding to close out 2024. At the time, the company said the infusion came amid 117% year-over-year growth.

“With a clinical-first, evidence-based approach, Culina Health is uniquely positioned to support patients and providers with the most effective and connected nutrition journey,” Rissetto said. “With the help of our investors and health plan partners, we are one step closer to our shared mission of making world-class nutrition care available to everyone and putting registered dietitians back in the driver’s seat of Food as Medicine interventions.”

Dr. Ryan Saadi
Tevogen Bio

Despite being launched five years ago, Warren-based clinical-stage specialty immunotherapy biotech company Tevogen Bio has accomplished much at a fraction of the industry cost. Led by CEO and founder Saadi, Tevogen is focused on developing affordable, safe and easy-to-administer T cell therapies for the treatment of infectious diseases, cancers and neurological disorders.

Saadi, an infectious disease expert and public health advocate, received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2023 for his efforts to address the significant unmet needs of large patient populations through Tevogen.  Recently, he said he believes the company “represents a new category of biotech, one designed to challenge the rising costs of drug development with a highly efficient and scalable business model.”

Tevogen has also secured three U.S. patents, has nine additional patents pending and was recognized as the highest-value biotech unicorn of 2022 with an independent valuation of $4.2 billion.

A major milestone in Tevogen’s quest to make therapies more accessible was the recent launch of Tevogen.AI, along with its partnership with Microsoft.

Brent Saunders
Bausch + Lomb

After rejoining Bausch + Lomb as CEO and chairman in 2023, Saunders has completely overhauled research and development at the 170-year-old eye health products company. Based at the organization’s U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, Saunders oversees a team of 13,500 employees worldwide and a portfolio that includes contact lenses, dry eye relief and surgical products.

A leader with more than 25 years of experience across the health care industry, Saunders has spearheaded mergers and acquisitions totaling over $300 billion in medical aesthetics, biomedical and related sectors. He’s also held numerous executive roles at global pharmaceutical and health care companies, like Schering-Plough Corp., Forest Laboratories Inc., Actavis plc, Allergan plc and The Beauty Health Co.

Saunders previously led Bausch + Lomb from 2010 to 2013, when he orchestrated the company’s $8.7 billion sale to Canada-based Bausch Health Cos. Inc. Since his return, Bausch + Lomb has focused on expanding market share via through continuous product introductions and optimizing manufacturing processes, including AI deployment.

The dry eye portfolio is nearing $1 billion in annual revenue thanks to the success of products like Miebo and Xiidra. Innovations in the company’s pipeline include a biomimetic contact lens, a myopia control solution for children and revamped pharmaceutical products targeting unmet eye health needs.

Linda Schwimmer
New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute

In addition to serving as president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, the state’s only independent, non-partisan, multi-stakeholder advocate for health care quality, Schwimmer was named in September 2024 as chair of the Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers focused on care safety and quality.

In taking on the new role, Schwimmer – who has been involved with Leapfrog in various capacities, including as regional leader for New Jersey and New York – said, “There is no organization that has made more of an impact on patient safety at the national level than The Leapfrog Group, so it is an honor and a true challenge to take on this role. We have made progress, but so much work is ahead of us to enhance the safety and quality of health care across the nation. I look forward to collaborating with our dedicated Board Members and Leapfrog leadership to drive meaningful change.”

At the helm of the Quality Institute for the past decade, Schwimmer leads the organization’s mission of improving health care quality and safety, expanding access to good care and controlling costs for employers and consumers. The Quality Institute’s more than 100 unique member groups include trade associations, health networks, educational institutions, foundations, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical companies.

Steve Setteducati
New Concepts for Living

Since becoming CEO of New Concepts for Living in 2016, Setteducati has overseen expansion of the not-for-provider provider of community residences, day programs and therapeutic services for adults living with individual and developmental disabilities.

Founded in 1981 by a group of parents whose developmentally disabled children were transitioning into adulthood, NCFL has flourished under Setteducati to become New Jersey’s premier provider of services through its high-quality programs.

The Paramus-based nonprofit just celebrated the opening of its 18th group home in New Jersey – a medically supportive home in Hillsdale – and plans to add more community residences this year, including one in Mahwah.

NCFL also marked the June 2024 opening of an 81,423 square-foot achievement center in Paramus that offers day programs; prevocational and life skills; recreational spaces; sensory rooms; health & wellness screenings; and physical, occupational, behavioral and speech therapy. A state-of-the art facility, the location houses three distinct programs for those with low support needs, high support needs and significant medical needs and increases NCFL’s ability to serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by 400%.

Before becoming CEO, Setteducati served on NCFL’s board of trustees.

Dr. Gary Small
Hackensack Meridian Health

Since 2020, Small has been physician-in-chief for behavioral health at Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most integrated health care system.

Through his role, Small is responsible for all professional and administrative activities within HMH’s behavioral health care transformation services. That includes overseeing and expanding educational programs and training; developing and maintaining quality initiatives and leading recruiting efforts for physicians within the behavioral health field.

Also chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center, Small is known for his innovative research on brain health and ways to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. He has studied and developed lifestyle and memory training programs for improving cognition and healthy aging, which have been made available throughout the U.S. and abroad in senior centers, hospitals and other community sites.

Small has written more than 500 scientific works and received numerous awards and honors, including the American Psychiatric Association’s Weinberg Award for Excellence in Geriatric Psychiatry. Scientific American magazine named him one of the world’s top 50 innovators in science and technology and he is the author of 12 popular books, including The New York Times bestseller “The Memory Bible.”

Gary St. Hilaire
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Since 2020, St. Hilaire has led the state’s oldest and largest insurer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, as president and CEO.

St. Hilaire brings more than 30 years of experience as a health care executive, entrepreneur and financial leader to the Newark-headquartered not-for-profit health services organization. An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Horizon BCBSNJ provides a wide array of medical, dental, vision, behavioral health and prescription insurance products and solutions and serves 3.7 million New Jerseyans.

Under his leadership, Horizon BCBSNJ is playing a key role in the transformation of New Jersey’s health care industry – with a focus on collaboration with physicians, hospitals and systems to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that improve quality and lower costs.

One of its latest partnerships involves collaborating with virtual care clinic Leafwell and Bennabis, a Cranford-based company focused on making medical cannabis more affordable and accessible. Billed as a first-of-its-kind group health plan, the offering enables public employees in a handful of New Jersey towns to receive access to medicinal cannabis products as an alternative treatment option alongside traditional health care services.

Brian Strom
Rutgers University

As the inaugural chancellor of Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences and executive vice president for health affairs at Rutgers University, Strom has brought significant growth to the program.

At Rutgers, his achievements include uniting the university’s clinical care programs as a single entity and establishing a new affiliation with RWJBarnabas Health in 2018. With eight schools and seven major centers/institutes, as well as academic, patient care and research facilities, it is the state’s largest and most comprehensive academic health system.

Recent milestones include the December 2024 celebration of Rutgers Center for State Health Policy’s 25th anniversary. Considered a trusted partner in the formulation and evaluation of health policy in New Jersey, the center has established and led numerous research initiatives focused on population health, health care access and coverage in partnership with state departments and agencies. Reflecting on the anniversary, Strom said, “At Rutgers Health, we are deeply proud of the center’s enduring impact on New Jersey’s public health landscape. The center exemplifies the type of work that makes Rutgers a renowned research institution – where research isn’t just an academic pursuit but a powerful driver of policies and practices that change people’s lives for the better.” Then, in September 2024, the topping off ceremony was held on the first of three buildings in the New Jersey Health + Life Science Exchange, or HELIX.

Sarah Trent
Valley Wellness

As the founder and CEO of Raritan-based Valley Wellness, Trent runs one of the top medical and recreational dispensaries in the state. After opening in December 2022 as the first independently owned medical dispensary in New Jersey, the store has gone on to receive state approval to offer adult-use cannabis sales.

She’s also the force behind NJ Cannabis Certified, a 15-hour educational certificate program taught virtually in conjunction with community colleges across the state that is geared toward those interested in working in the industry or wanting to learn more about cannabis.

A well-known advocate for the industry, Trent regularly offers support and advice to many new dispensary owners in part through membership in the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association and the New Jersey Cannabis Equity Association.

The attorney and former public defender with the Legal Aid Society also holds many leadership positions in the industry, including co-chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Cannabis and Psychedelics Law Committee, member of the board of directors for the Somerset County Business Partnership and member of the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association Operations Committee.

Deborah Visconi
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center

As president and CEO of Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, Visconi leads the largest hospital in New Jersey and fourth largest publicly owned hospital in the U.S.

Since taking on the roles in 2017, Visconi has transitioned the facility from the former for-profit management model to a new, nonprofit community asset. By strengthening core services in the areas of acute care, behavioral health, addiction treatment and long-term care, Bergen New Bridge is now an award-winning medical center.

Recent honors include: being named as a Top Hospital and Top Teaching Hospital nationally by The Leapfrog Group for a fourth consecutive year. And for the third year in a row, the Long-Term Care Division at Bergen New Bridge was recognized on Newsweek’s Best Nursing Homes (2025) list.

Under Visconi’s guidance, the Rutgers clinical affiliate has also embarked on creative initiatives to boost both the health care and general workforce in Bergen County.

And as part of an effort to reinforce Bergen New Bridges’s critical role in the region’s health care delivery, Visconi has done a great deal to expand reach beyond the walls of the hospital. As a Latinx hospital leader, Visconi has also prioritized the unique issues and needs of underserved and minority communities in ongoing outreach efforts.

Carolyn Welsh
NJ Sharing Network

After joining NJ Sharing Network in 1999 as a hospital services manager, Welsh advanced to take on broader responsibilities and took the helm two years ago as CEO of the state’s federally designated nonprofit responsible for the recovery of donated organs and tissue.

During her more than two decades with the New Providence-based organization, Welsh has worked with NJ Sharing Network staff, local hospitals and community partners and hundreds of volunteers to achieve record growth in lives saved and enhanced through donations and transplantations.

In 2024, NJ Sharing Network recorded another record high number of organ donations (297) and transplants (743). Compared to the previous year, that represents respective increases of 14% and 4%, respectively.

Tissue donations also grew in 2024. NJ Sharing Network said last year’s 663 tissue donors marked a 20% uptick over 2023. These donations include corneas, heart valves, skin grafts, bone grafts, saphenous veins and tendons.

Of NJ Sharing Network’s network of 54 partner hospitals, Cooper University Hospital in Camden had the most organ donors (29) and organs recovered for transplant (89).

Debra Wentz
New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies

Through her role as president and CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Wentz acts as a voice for providers caring for some of the most sensitive and vulnerable patients in the state.

Headquartered in Hamilton Township, the nonprofit trade association represents 164 hospital-based and free-standing community mental health and substance use disorder treatment centers. It also serves half a million children and adults statewide.

After taking the helm in 1995, Wentz has transformed NJAMHAA into a high-impact organization focused on changing public perception of mental illness and sparking policy change. Over the years, she’s received numerous accolades for her work – including being honored as one of NJBIZ Best 50 Women in Business in 2023. Most recently, she was selected for the CarePlus Foundation’s Courage Award and Social Innovation Journal’s New Jersey Social Innovation Award for Legislative Impact.

Tatsuyuki Yasuno
Eisai Inc.

Recently named as one of Time magazine’s most influential companies and one of Newsweek’s most trustworthy companies in the world, Japanese pharmaceutical giant Eisai has long had a presence in New Jersey.

As chairman and CEO of Eisai Inc. and president of the Americas Region for the company, Yasuno is based in Eisai’s three-year-old U.S. headquarters on the ON3 Campus in Nutley. Through these positions, Yasuno oversees strategic direction in North America – the company’s largest commercial region worldwide.

A leader in Alzheimer’s research for decades, Eisai is among one of the few pharmaceutical companies with a drug to treat the root causes of a condition that affects more than 55 million people worldwide. As a research-based firm dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, Eisai’s business is split into two groups – oncology and neurology.

Yasuno, who has held numerous executive roles in Japan, Europe and the U.S. during his 34-year tenure with Eisai, was tapped in 2023 to take over for outgoing CEO Ivan Chueng. Now, the pharma is gearing up for a growth surge for its Biogen-partnered Alzheimer’s disease medication, Leqembi.

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