C-Suite Panel Sees Positives and Negatives in 2026

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Feb 2, 2026

Affordability, energy and workforce development are the biggest challenges facing New Jersey businesses, according to C-suite executives that took part in a panel discussion at NJBIA’s Public Policy Forum on Friday before a packed house of 450 people. Participants provided solutions, with some expressing the need for speed in growing the state’s economy. This is of the utmost importance as new technologies, especially the growth of artificial intelligence, present a tremendous workforce shift coupled with greater energy demand.

Liat Krawczyk, executive director of the New Jersey AI Hub in Princeton, said that the power of AI to change industries for the betterment of humanity is huge, but the challenge is how to deliver those benefits to New Jersey while hedging against risks, especially in the labor force.

“There is nothing more important than making sure talent meets the moment, because talent is at risk when it is not ready for the times,” Krawczyk said.

She said the role of the AI Hub is to reduce the friction of innovation, making sure businesses and institutions of higher education go from concept to impact as much as possible.

The AI Hub is doing this through what Krawczyk calls key pillars. Among them is advancing R&D and moving forward on commercialization and innovation, and creating a cohesive AI ecosystem where silos are brought down, empowering institutions that do not normally work together, to collaborate more effectively.

Continuing on technology and workforce development, Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., said talent availability is high, but the challenge is the continued investment in that talent because “the skills needed in the future are different than the skills one has today.”

To combat that, Van Saun said new hires must be adaptable, have good judgment and a growth mindset, and be intellectually curious and embrace learning. “They will thrive in any environment and continue to morph to meet future demands,” he said.

Dr. William F. Tate IV, president of Rutgers University, said that as a high-cost state, the only way New Jersey can compete is by having “the quality of its people be far better than [in states] it is competing against.”

“We have to keep the best people in New Jersey,” Tate continued. “The reasons why graduates leave are housing costs, and early career job densities and better ecosystems in [places like] New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.”

Tate said that can be fixed by offering student loan credits for in-state employment; housing incentives tied to New Jersey-based employers; and wage subsidies for the first two to three years of employment “for the best people in key sectors.”

On affordability, Tate said Rutgers, like all higher education institutions in the state, is facing high energy and salary costs, while trying to keep tuition affordable for students. He called the situation a vice grip, and commented that Louisiana – where he formerly headed Louisiana State University – paid for higher education capital projects to keep tuition costs low. “It was stark for me to come to New Jersey and find that is not the case. That is a huge problem,” he said.

Focusing on rising healthcare costs, Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said that increasing pharmaceutical, medical & surgical supply costs, and labor costs (due to workforce shortages) are all factors.

Perhaps a bigger issue now is the federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). “Reimbursement to the state is going down and every time a hospital or physician’s practice sees a Medicaid or Medicare patient, they will lose money on that person. The rates then get shifted to commercial payers. That is why you are seeing double-digit rate increases in health insurance,” Garrett said.

He said costs can be managed by changing the delivery of care, mentioning the “explosion” of ambulatory care centers, surgical centers, wellness centers, and urgent care centers. Garrett said there is even an increase in acute care delivered in the home. “That is how we are going to rebuild the future of healthcare,” he said.

Former New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who now serves as state chairman for Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future and Gloucester County administrator, said the state must focus on bringing back energy generation to boost its economy. However, it may take up to six years for new gas plants, for example, to be up and running. Meanwhile, electricity rates will go up 20% every year, Sweeney said, adding, “We are going to have a lot of hurt in between that time period.”

While many politicians in the state blame the operators of the multi-state PJM power grid for the increase in energy costs, Sweeney blames New Jersey’s energy policies.

While panelists presented overall challenges and opportunities, Citizens’ Van Saun saw a positive business cycle starting in 2025 and lasting into 2027 – or perhaps even 2028.

Positive factors include OBBBA stimulus benefits, banking deregulation, a pro-energy push on the federal level, Federal Reserve rate cuts, and continued AI investment, Van Saun said.

He said GDP growth will be at least 2.5% in 2026, the US unemployment rate may go down to 4.0%, and inflation will be between 3% and 2.5%. “That is a pretty good backdrop in which to operate,” he said.

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