Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise
Prior to founding Roseland Property Company in 1994, Mr. Goldberg spent his entire real estate career with Bertram Associates, a prominent regional homebuilder. He joined Bertram in 1979 as a Project Manager for the development of single-family homes as well as Hastings Square, the first planned unit development in Morris County, New Jersey.
Since the inception of Roseland, Mr. Goldberg has been responsible for securing the entitlements for the development of company communities throughout the northeast with a special emphasis on urban waterfront development. He has directed the Roseland production of over 1,500 residential units annually including the oversight of their flagship endeavor, Port Imperial. Mr. Goldberg is currently the Managing Partner of Roseland Property Company.
Mr. Goldberg has been an active member of The Association of Homebuilder’s since 1984. He is a past president of the Community Builders’ Association. Additionally, Mr. Goldberg serves as a chairman for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. He is currently focused, on behalf of the authority, on the potential redevelopment of their meadowlands site.
Educated at John Hopkins University, he received a B.A. in environmental sciences. He is married with two daughters and resides in Randolph, New Jersey.
Bill Griffeth
Anchor, CNBC's "Power Lunch"
With more than 20 years experience in business television, Bill Griffeth is one of the most respected financial journalists in the country. Best known for his quick wit and his ability to think on his feet.
He currently anchors the very popular “Power Lunch” on CNBC. Bill has also written two books to date: Bill Griffeth’s Ten Steps to Financial Prosperity (Warner Books), which was published in 1994, and The Mutual Fund Masters (McGraw-Hill), published in 1995. Both books were Fortune Book Club main selections.
He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in 1980 from California State University, Northridge. In 2000, CSUN honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
"Bergen County boasts one of the most highly skilled and educated workforces in New Jersey. Our local business and industrial communities contribute millions of dollars in tax revenue to state and local government every year. It is imperative that the county maintain proactive, positive relationships with our business communities. This symposium is a vehicle for the business community to teach us, the policy makers, about doing business in Northern New Jersey.”
Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney
Bob Loderstedt is the President and CEO of the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP, Inc.). Mr. Loderstedt oversees a staff of 15, and manages relationships with over 40 New Jersey-based organizations that are NJMEP's partners in service delivery. He is also responsible for managing relations with the Board of Trustees, and determining the strategic direction and policies for the organization.
Before joining NJMEP, Bob Loderstedt was President and CEO of Raymond Handling Technologies, a sales and service forklift dealership in the New York / New Jersey metro area. While working at Raymond Corporation, he and their senior management team achieved CLASS 'A' MRP II status at their main manufacturing facility in upstate New York. At that time they were one of less than 200 manufacturers worldwide to achieve that status. Prior to his work with Raymond, Mr. Loderstedt served as the Director of Strategic Planning for Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems.
An accomplished writer and speaker, Mr. Loderstedt's works have appeared in many well-known industry publications including Modern Materials Handling, Transportation and Distribution, Material Handling Product News, and Distribution Center Management. He has spoken before for such noteworthy organizations as the Conference Board, Warehouse Education and Research Council, Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA), Hoechst-Roussel Corporation and private industry sales seminars.
Mr. Loderstedt earned a BS Degree in Economics from Rutgers University and a Masters Degree in Business Management from Pace University.
Valerie Vainieri Huttle, a resident of Englewood, New Jersey, was sworn into her first term as State Assemblywoman from the 37th legislative district on January 10, 2006. She is completing her second full term in office as a Bergen County Freeholder, first elected in 2000, and has served as Chairwoman of the Freeholder Board in 2003 and 2004.
The legislator was selected by Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts to serve on the Assembly Appropriations and Human Services committees where she has worked to carefully prioritize state spending in a time of fiscal challenge and oversee the restructuring and reform of the state’s child welfare agency. The Speaker also selected the Assemblywoman for a seat on the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
For five years, Valerie Huttle chaired the Freeholder committee for Health and Human Services. She has also served as a member of the committee for Cultural and Historic Affairs and as a trustee of the Bergen County Economic Development Corporation. In Englewood, she helped spearhead the establishment of the Bergen Performing Arts Center, a cultural icon in Bergen County. As a member of the Board of Shelter Our Sisters (SOS), an agency devoted to caring for and counseling victims of domestic violence, and a member of the Adler Aphasia Center Board of Directors, Ms. Vainieri Huttle is a strong advocate for the work of social service and cultural arts non-profit agencies.
In 2004, the Governor appointed Ms. Huttle to the Highlands Task Force where she helped prepare the plan that created the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. As a state legislator, she pledges to continue working in Trenton as an advocate for families, addressing the needs of seniors and children while protecting the quality of life for all New Jersey residents.
A businesswoman, Ms. Huttle is a licensed funeral director and has served as President and Director of the Vainieri Funeral Home in North Bergen since 1981. Understanding the need to bring economic vitality to New Jersey by encouraging business growth, the Assemblywoman did not vote for legislation to increase the surcharge on the Corporation Business Tax in the 2007 state budget. The district 37 legislator believes that a healthy business climate attracts smart investment, bringing increased revenue and employment.
She is married to Frank Huttle III, Esq. and has two daughters. In 1980, she graduated Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a B.A. in English and received a state certification for teaching. She also attended Rider University.
Dr. Peter Philip
Mercer became Ramapo College's fourth president on July 1, 2005. He
previously served both as dean of the law school and vice president
(administration) and general counsel at the University of Western Ontario,
where he was a professor of law. He also has served as acting vice president
for external affairs at Western Ontario and acting director of development.
A former visiting research scholar at the University of Michigan, he has
also been a faculty member at the University of Calgary, the University of
Detroit and the University of Windsor. This past year, Rotary International
appointed Dr. Mercer a Paul Harris Fellow. He has received Teacher of the
Year awards at the University of Calgary and the University of Western
Ontario and a Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Association of
University Business Officers.
He is the editor of Products Liability in Canada (Oceana, 1988) and
co-author of An Introduction to Business Associations in Canada (Carswell,
1984). In addition, he has authored numerous articles, book chapters and
reviews. His recent publications have focused on the legal profession and
professional ethics.
Dr. Mercer has conducted research studies commissioned and published by the
Canadian and Ontario governments. Among the agencies were the Addiction
Research Foundation of Ontario, the Law Reform Commission of Canada and The
Ontario Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan. He was the principal investigator
heading an interdisciplinary team on a multi-year Legal Ethics Theoretical
and Empirical Study funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada.
He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, an L.L.M. at the
University of Cambridge and an L.L.B. at the University of Western Ontario,
where he was awarded honors in English and Philosophy. Recently, he was on a
partial study leave serving as principal consultant to the Ontario Ministry
of Finance on integrated supply chain management in the Ontario public
sector. For eight years, he also has served as principal instructor in the
Senior University Administrators Course held at the Banff Center, Banff,
Alberta.
His service to the community includes serving as a board member of the
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a member of the board of directors
of Victoria Hospital and of the London Health Sciences Center, and as a
member of the board of directors of the Western Ontario Conservatory of
Music. He also has held a number of leadership positions with the Children's
Hospital of Western Ontario Foundation including two terms as chair. Dr.
Mercer is married to Jacqueline Ehlert; the couple live in Mahwah.
James Kirkos serves the Chamber as its President and CEO after a long entrepreneurial career in the food service business. During those years, Jim was an active member of the Chamber and served as a committee chair of numerous committees and was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors. After selling his company in 2001, Jim joined the executive team for which he now leads.
As a previous member who realized all the benefits of membership, Jim has embarked on a path to make Membership Services his top priority. " It is our job each day, to help our members large and small, by providing the networking, information and advocacy resources that is vital to be competitive and prosperous in this region."
Mr. McNabola is a graduate of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey and is a Certified Public Accountant in both New York and New Jersey. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. Tom is an active member of the New Jersey Society having served on the Personal Financial Planning Committee, the Management of an Accounting Practice Committee, the Human Resources Committee as Chairman and is presently Chair of the Cooperation with Bankers Committee.
In the business community, Tom serves as a Director, Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee for the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, an organization that strives to be the leader in free enterprise advocacy to make New Jersey a better state in which to live, work and conduct business. Tom is also a member of the Sovereign Bank North Jersey Advisory Board, a selected group of business leaders working with the bank.
Mr. McNabola works with closely held companies operating in a broad range of industries, providing tax, accounting and management advice. He also advises business owners and high net worth individuals in the areas of personal tax, insurance, financial and estate planning.
Tom is President of Hunter Financial Services, Inc., an affiliated company of Hunter Group, which provides personal financial planning, insurance and investment management services to individuals, and retirement plans for businesses. Tom is licensed to provide advice regarding securities and life and health insurance issues.
Tom is also a leading partner of CPAmerica International, a national assocation of peer-reviewed CPA firms, where he has served as a contributing editor for several associationl-produced member newsletters, including their tax letter Federal Tax Watch and their financial planning letter Wealth Advisor. Tom has written several articles on tax issues for Commerce Magazine and an article on professional skills for the New Jersey Society of CPAs. His comments on financial matters have appeared in NJBIZ and NJ Business magazine.