No. 10: Dennis Hart

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As executive director of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, Hart leads a trade and advocacy organization that represents the interests of more than five manufacturers and 45 firms “in the business of chemistry.”

Members include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Church & Dwight, Eli Lilly & Co., J&J, Procter & Gamble, and 3M among many others. With businesses and policymakers seeking to shore up domestic supply chains — exposed as vulnerable during the pandemic — Hart and his members will play prominent roles.

That means building up the supply of available personal protective equipment – masks, gloves and face shields, for example – he said during a 2020 NJBIZ webinar. Doing so means “[n]ot exacerbating the problem,” he added. “But saying ‘hey, here’s some policies that maybe can allow companies to stockpile some inventory or allow manufacturing to return in New Jersey, or what’s really keeping people from hiring more people.”

Most recently, the organization has begun to focus on the issue of hiring, which Hart has said is a long-standing problem. “Our industry pays very well for employees in manufacturing” — nearly $100,000 a year — “especially for workers with a high school or trade school education, but we are still having problems attracting workers, particularly workers needing special skills,” he told NJBIZ.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]