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No. 1: John Kennedy
As the CEO of the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Kennedy is the face of the industry in New Jersey. And its most prominent voice. He has been a tireless advocate for policies that would promote manufacturing in the state -- a task that has become even more critical after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed dangerous weaknesses in supply chains.
No. 2: Alex Gorsky
Most of 2020 has been rough and Johnson & Johnson was not spared. The New Brunswick-based pharmaceutical giant spent much of the year in court fighting allegations that its talcum powder was responsible for cases of ovarian cancer because of asbestos in the product.
No. 3: Kenneth Frazier
In the race to develop a vaccine against the COVID-19 at a record pace -- or as the Trump administration has called it, warp speed -- Merck has trailed Pfizer and Moderna, which are in the process of getting emergency federal approval for their vaccines.
No. 4: Thomas Kendris
Kendris fills several roles at pharmaceutical giant Novartis. He’s the president of East Hanover-based Novartis Corp. and as such is the U.S. country head. Kendris also chairs the company’s country leadership team, which consists of all the country and business heads. And he is the global head of litigation, a role he retained after past stints as general counsel of several Novartis units, inc[...]
No. 5: Tom Polen
Franklin Lakes-based BD, one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world, works to advance the quality of health care by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the safe delivery of care. Led by President and CEO Tom Polen, BD is now one of the many New Jersey companies leading the global efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic
No. 6: Michele Siekerka
As President and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, Siekerka has her finger on the pulse on what exactly business owners need in order to succeed in New Jersey. She and Tom Bracken, head of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, are two of the key voices for the needs of businesses across the state.
No. 7: Bob Unanue and Peter Unanue
Goya sales surged this year amid the pandemic as people traded taco Tuesday at their local bar for a similar festivity in isolation. In March alone, sales for Goya products quadrupled, and Goya distributed over 23 million cans of beans to retailers. The company was in the news time and time again for donating products and cash, including 18,000 meals in March, 20,000 masks in April, 180,000 pounds[...]
No. 8: Debbie Hart
Hart worked with the state’s biotechnology industry leaders to establish BioNJ in 1994 and has been dedicated to building the state’s life sciences ecosystem ever since. Those efforts have been even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, with New Jersey situated squarely in the middle of both the outbreak and the fight to end it.
No. 9: Dean Paranicas
Along with BioNJ, the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey is an important voice on behalf of the state pharmaceutical industry. And both voices will be sought even more as the effort to eradicate COVID-19 heads into the final, most critical phase. Paranicas oversees HINJ, which represents research-based biopharmaceutical and medical technology industry. That membership includes many of the world’[...]
No. 10: Mitch Cahn
Manufacturing still happens in Newark and a lot of it goes on at Unionwear, a 170-employee company run by Cahn. Unionwear makes uniforms, hats and other promotional clothing. And during the pandemic, the company was one of many that pivoted to providing personal protective equipment when its regular suppliers and customers were disrupted. Cahn described the process during a Manufacturing Day progr[...]
Manufacturing Power 50 A-L
The list that unfolds over the following pages is the last such feature we’ll publish this year. Like the others – and like most of business and life in New Jersey – the Manufacturing Power 50 is shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manufacturing Power 50 M-Z
Patricia Moran Moran is director of apprenticeship programs at the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program. In 2019, the nonprofit organization began hosting classes consisting of four sets of courses that […]
