NJ’s Innovate100 Leaders Celebrated for High-tech Contributions

On May 15, 2025

In what has become the state’s key celebratory event honoring its innovative leaders, more than 500 people gathered at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center Tuesday evening to network, share ideas, and recognize the professionals – from startups and corporations to universities, nonprofits and the government – who are important contributors to New Jersey’s robust high-tech economy.

The second annual Innovate100 celebration, created by Jim Barrood, founder of Innovation+, a curated global community of 10,000+ entrepreneurs and innovators, was designed to “honor the trailblazers of today who are ideating, creating and improving so many products and services,” Barrood said.

Just as New Jersey’s greatest innovator Thomas Edison had a diverse team of trailblazers who helped the Wizard of Menlo Park develop more than 1,000 inventions, the Innovate100 actually honored some 350 individuals because “innovation just doesn’t happen by one person.” Barrood said. “We also emphasize groups of people within an organization because successful innovation is due to collaboration. (For a full listing of honorees, click here.)

“I was surprised to learn of so many new people doing amazing work, and after so many years of supporting our community, I thought I knew everyone in it,” Barrood joked.

Gov. Phil Murphy, whom Barrood credited for launching many initiatives to support innovative startups in the state, appeared via a pre-recorded video.

Murphy commented, “All of you are building upon New Jersey’s legendary track record of pioneering game-changing innovations, from the light bulb to the transistor and everything in between, and as this generation of New Jerseyans are blazing a trail to tomorrow, your well-deserved recognition tonight will inspire, empower, and encourage others to join you in revolutionizing our world for the better. … I give you my word our administration will always support you in every corner of our state, every industry, and every field of endeavor.”

Among the many event sponsors were: Nokia Bell Labs, Rutgers, Valley Bank, Citrin Cooperman, Bell Works, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), and Middlesex County.

Here are the Innovate100 honorees:

Technology

• Megan Myungwon Lee, chair/CEO, Panasonic NA
• C. Vijaykumar, CEO/MD, HCLTech
• Maria Black, president/CEO, ADP
• Rome Chopra, cofounder/CEO, Ziplyne
• Larry O’Gorman, Bell Labs Fellow, Nokia Bell Labs
• Manzoor Khan, head, Autonomous Systems, Nokia Bell Labs
• Lisa Zhang, technologist, Nokia Bell Labs
• Brian Venturo, cofounder/CSO, CoreWeave
• Sudhir Singh, CEO/ED, Coforge
• Paul Gottsegen, president/CMO, ISG
• Rashaad Bajwa, cofounder/CEO, Integris
• Jonathan Dambrot, CEO, Cranium AI
• Naveen Verma, cofounder/CEO, EnCharge AI
• Kiran Dattani, HC/LS Strategy, Google
• Kapil Bansal, SVP, SHI
• Ralph Neuneier, research head, Siemens
• Nancy Hall, SVP, FiServ
• Vidya Shanjaran, field CTO, Commvault
• Brian Fitzgerald, SVP, Turtle
• Francis Zane, CTO, Kiswe Mobile
• Gauthaman Vasudevan, cofounder/CTO, Avlino
• Chris Sallemi, CTO, Diligent Pharma
• Brian Cury, founder/CEO, EarthCam
• Naga Nandigum, CEO, Dimensional Consulting
• Aliasghar Moj, founder/CEO, General Autonomy Inc.
• Chris White, president, NEC Labs America
• Swapna Somasundaran, director of AI, ETS
• Josh Hardt, senior director, Brother International
• Dave Vitali, public policy, Amazon
• Brian Quinn, government affairs, Altice USA
• Steven Heffner, managing director, IEEE
• Vikram Gupta, head, AI Practice, CGI
• Stephen Walsh, senior director/industry lead, Slalom
• Stacey Sanclimenti, CPO, HHS Technology Group
• Kurus Elavia, CEO, Gateway Group One
• Gurdeep Kaur, global sector lead, DigitalXForce
• David Stevens, head of AI, CentralReach
• Jenna Gaudio, co-president, Vydia
• Shihab Kuran, CEO, EV Edison / Power Edison
• Anjan Lahiri, CEO, Navikenz
• Dylan Papa, SVP, Zelis
• Joti Balani, CEO, Freshriver.ai

Finance/Accounting

• Adam Beatty, partner, PWC
• Lisa Banker, partner, EY
• Tom Porricelli, partner, Citrin Cooperman
• Mark Giamo, managing principal, BDO
• Karlene Bauer, managing partner, The Green Group
• Jim Colitsas, managing member, Omni 360 Advisors
• Andrew Coombs, CEO/MP, Coombs CPA
• Maryann Sciallo, COO, Avlino
• Saleem Elmasri, managing partner, Titan Advisory

Banking/Investors

• Russ Barrett, EVP/COO, Valley Bank
• Fred Castrovinci, NJ regional president, Valley Bank
• Denise Chardavoyne, head, Dep. Ops, Comm. Services, Valley Bank
• Ryan Enriquez, SVP, Citizens
• Jeffrey Martinez, head, Branch Banking, PNC
• Lilibeth Ramirez, HR leader, TD
• Chris Perry, president, Broadridge
• Mark Odendahl, co-head, RBC Research
• Paul Beresford, CIO, Barclays Bank
• Ro Mehrotra, head, WCE, First Citizens Wealth
• Michael Pages, executive director, JPMorgan Private Bank
• Arslan Mian, managing director, BlackRock
• John Kowal, CTO, Peapack Private Bank & Trust
• Siya Vansia, CBIO, ConnectOne Bank
• William Toner, SVP, CTO, OceanFirst Bank
• Frank D’Souza, Recognize
• John Clarke, Cardinal Partners
• Michael Wells, Biopharma
• Deborah Zajac, SOSV
• Lenard Marcus, Edison Partners
• Kevin Hill, Peloton Equity
• Joan Zief, Golden Seeds
• Ben Jen, 1435 Capital/Ben Jen Holdings
• Harry Sangree, Jumpstart NJ Angels

Life Sciences

• Greg Meyers, CIO, BMS
• Sujata Vaidyanathan, development head, Novartis
• Craig Kennedy, SVP, Global Supply Chain, Moderna
• David Rubin, MD, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund
• Hannah Barnett, director, Dig. Strag. Part., Sanofi
• Desiree Priestley, chief health exper. officer, Otsuka
• Spencer Crowder, primary care strategy/ops, Pfizer
• Maud Klein, VP, L’Oreal
• Mikel Cirkus, senior director, dsm-firmenich
• Matthew Klein, CEO, PTC Therapeutics
• Aaron Raudabaugh, dir., Facil./Engin., BeiGene
• Bo Liang, cofounder/CEO, iView Therapeutics
• Elise Aronson, director, State Gov. Affairs, Kenvue
• Tom Richardson, president, ILSE
• Chrissy Buteas, president/CEO, Healthcare Institute of NJ
• Donna Conroy, founder/CEO, SciMar ONE
• Rikin Mehta, cofounder/CEO, Lactiga
• Viraj Mane, cofounder/CSO, Lactiga
• Marco Taglietti, CEO, NanoNewron

Healthcare

• Renata Pasqualini, chief, Division of Cancer Biology, Rutgers Cancer Institute
• Wadih Arap, Faculty, director, Rutgers Cancer Institute
• Thomas Jang, chief, Urologic Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute
• Robert Cohen, president, Dig., Robotics, Enabling Tech, Stryker
• Carl Meyers, director, Oral Care Product Dev., Colgate-Palmolive
• Laurence Du-Thumm, global senior director, Colgate-Palmolive
• Sunil Dadlani, CIO/CDO/CCSO, Atlantic Health System
• Meraz Nasir, CTO, Atlantic Health System
• Tom Gordon, SVP/CIO, Virtua Health
• Jose Lozano, EVP/CGO, Hackensack Meridian Health
• Michael Kirchhoff, CIO, Cooper University Health Care
• Wendy Burkholder, VP, Ambul. Care, University Hospital
• Richard Marlink, Rutgers Global Health Institute
• Jeff Carson, provost, Rutgers RWJ Medical School
• Antonina Mitrofanova, assoc. dean for Research, RSHP
• Mariam Merced, director, Community Health, RWJBarnabas
• Caroline Hodges, cofounder/CEO, Dimer Health
• Kathleen Stillo, CEO, JunaCare
• Geoff Cook, CEO, Noom
• Michael Brandofino, president, Caregility
• Rahul Krish, cofounder, IBIS
• Jessy Dhanjal, CEO, Care IO
• Malak Atut, COO, CyberMed Corp
• Rizwan Chaudhry, CEO, Cenmed Enterprises
• Himanshu Bhatia, founder/CEO, Ricovr
• Max Simonovsky, founder/CEO, Soapy
• Ellyn Ito, cofounder/CEO, Innerstill

Academia

• Rutgers
  • Jeffrey Robinson, interim provost, Newark
  • Lori Dars, assoc. director, Eco. Dev. and Innovation
  • Richard Riman, faculty, cofounder, Queens Carbon; Solidia
• FDU
  • Ben Rifkin, provost
  • Jim Almeida, dean, Silberman College of Business
  • Chadwin Sandifer, chief innovation officer
• Rowan
  • Mohammad Abedin-Nasab, faculty; founder, Robossis
  • Mira Hand, CIO
  • Mei Wei, VP of research
• Princeton
  • Jen Rexford, provost
  • Arvind Narayanan, faculty, AI expert, author
  • Manish Bhardwaj, co-director, Design for Innovation
• Stevens
  • Brendan Englot, director, Stevens Institute for AI
  • Philip Odonkor, director, Design Informatics Lab
  • Antonia Zaferiou, head, Musculoskeletal Control & Dynamics Lab
• NJIT
  • Somenath Mitra, executive director, Otto York Center
  • Kevin Belfield, dean, College of Science and Liberal Arts
  • Wen Zhang, professor, Engineering
• Montclair
  • Jonathan GS Koppell, president
  • Katia Paz Goldfarb, associate provost
  • Keith Strudler, dean, Communications and Media
• Seton Hall
  • Joyce Strawser, dean, Stillman School of Business
  • Bryan Felt, director of athletics
  • Susan Scherreik-Hynes, director, Entrepreneurship Center
• Kean
  • Lamont O. Repollet, president
  • Ana Berdecia, director, Ctr for Positive Dev. of Urban Children
  • Sancha Gray, dean, College of Education
• Michael Bernstein, president, TCNJ
• Merodie Hancock, president, TESU
• Andres Acebo, interim president, NJCU
• Michael McDonough, president, Raritan Valley CC
• Mark McCormick, president, Middlesex College
• Deborah Preston, president, Mercer County CC
• David Stout, president, Brookdale CC
• Lovell Pugh-Bassett, president, Camden CC
• Anthony Iacono, president, Morris CC
• Jean-Pierre Issa, president, Coriell Institute
• Jeffrey Gant, VP, Saint Peter’s University
• Susan Gaulden, VP, Strategic Initiatives, PCCC
• Aaron Fichtner, president, NJ Council of Community Colleges
• Catherine Fruge Starghill, VP; ED, NJCCC WED
• Diane Raver, director, NJ Film Academy
• Kyle Anderson, exec. county superintendent, NJ DOE
• Randy White, Reg II president, NJ Assoc for Jazz Education
• Nandini Menon, founder, Cedar Hill Prep/Collegiate Prep Academy

Government

• Sandy Castor, dept head, Econ. Dev., Middlesex County
• Chris Rein, CTO, State of New Jersey
• Seth Wainer, program director innovation, PA of NYNJ
• Mary Maples, deputy CEO, NJEDA
• Paul Ceppi, EVP, Manufacturing Incentives, NJEDA
• Ram Akella, EVP, Innovation Impact, NJEDA

Food

• Peter Cancro, founder/CEO, Jersey Mikes
• Abby Taylor, founder/CBO, Playa Bowls
• Pauline Chandler, senior director, Mondelez
• Bryan Cozzi, executive chef, Campbell’s Company
• Lauren Rosenberg, sen. marketing director, PIM Brands
• Samil Ozavar, senior VP of innovation, Cibo Vita
• Chance Healy, managing partner, 1776 by David Burke
• Diana Levy, CEO, Undercover Snacks
• John McGuckin, CEO, Clio Snacks
• Tom Griffiths, master chef, TWG Consulting
• Julia Olayanju, cofounder/CSO, FoodNiche-ED
• Tracy Anthony, professor of Nutrition, Rutgers Univ.

Manufacturing

• Alex Cable, founder/CEO, Thorlabs
• Jennifer Cable, president, Thorlabs
• Mike Weaver, Deputy CTO, Universal Display Corp.
• Nicki Baty, COO, FreshPet
• Ralph Tillinghast, SSTM for Future Intel., Army-Picatinny
• Ji Ke, CTO, HAX; partner, SOSV
• Danielle Degerolamo, Director, Anal & Distr. Prog., STI
• Drew Stevens, VP, Global Bus. Dev/Mktg, OPEX Corp
• Jeff Kinsberg, founder/COO, JAKTOOL
• Tom Merrow, CEO, Onset Worldwide

Legal

• Rippi Karda, Assoc. general counsel, Verizon
• Wayne McNulty, general counsel, Atlantic Health
• Sharon Carmeli, general counsel, Bluevine
• David Postolski, Gearhart Law
• Joseph Baumann, Jr., McManimon, Scotland & Baumann
• Suprotik Das, Gibbons
• Katharine Coffey, Day Pitney
• Tom Meagher, Meagher Emanuel
• Rahul Shah, Fragomen
• Ella De Trizio, Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt
• Guillermo Artiles, McCarter & English
• Anthony Wilkinson, Wilkinson Law
• Lori Waldron, Sills Cummis
• Matthew Uretsky, Brown Rudnick
• Jessica Gonzalez, Rudick Law Group

Real Estate

• Shane Connell, EVP, The Connell Company
• Jamie Herring, CEO, Herring Properties
• Adenah Bayoh, founder/CEO, FOYA Development
• Jeff Babikian, vice chairman, CBRE
• Blake Goodman, senior managing director, JLL
• Bill Hanson, President, NAI James E. Hanson

Architecture/Design

• Dean Marchetto, founder, MHS Architecture
• Wendy Doele, studio director, Gensler
• Bill Gittings, founder, Gittings Associates
• Robert Van Varick, chief design officer, Michael Graves Design
• Paola Zamudio, founder/CEO, npz studio+; Creative Director, Bell Works
• Antonio Valla, founder, Uptown Development

Insurance

• Nina Edwards, VP, Emerging Tech/Innovation, Prudential
• Craig Belanger, SVP, Business Services Leader, Crum & Forster
• Denise Fiore, partner/EVP, USI Insurance Services
• Christina Villamaria Hansen, director, Global Benefits, Verisk
• Bill Williams, founder/CEO, AccessWave/WFM Mgmt
• Adam Gladsden, SVP, Cyber Risk Intelligence, Marsh

Sports

• Christie Huus, CEvO, NYNJ World Cup Committee
• Sean Saadeh, CPO/Head of Entertainment, HBSE
• Joe Stetson, CCO, Red Bulls

Marketing/PR

• James Orsini, president, Startup Operations, Vayner X
• Udayan Bose, founder/CEO, NetElixir
• Keith Landis, CMO, Xebia
• Kay Fernandez, VP, Global Marketing, Katun Corporation
• Betsy Walker, SVP Marketing, Cranium AI
• Kayla George, CMO, Jag Physical Therapy
• Abe Kasbo, CEO, Verasoni
• David Sorkin, CEO, New Frontier
• Sarah Cirelli, CMO, HBK CPAs
• Natalie Hamilton, Press Secretary, Governor’s Office
• Cristina Pinzon, president/CEO, Stateside Affairs
• Jeannine LaRue, CEO, Moxie Strategies

Nonprofits

• Helen Archontou, CEO, YWCA, NNJ
• Tricia Baker, co-director, Attitudes in Reverse
• Kurt Baker, cofounder, Attitudes in Reverse
• Tobias Fox, MD, Newark Science and Sustainability
• Christian Fuscarino, ED, Garden State Equality
• David Ireland, founder/CEO, CARE Center of NJ
• Taiisa Kelly, CEO, Monarch Housing Associates
• Jaclyn Lee, founder/MD, iHub at D-I-C-E
• Joynicole Martinez, President/CAIO, Rising Tide Capital
• Martin Miller, executive director, McCarter Theatre Center
• Drew Peloso, founder, NeuroX Network
• Rena Sherman, director, Partnerships, Choose New Jersey
• Maria Spina, manager, CSR, PSEG Foundation
• Robin Tabakin, cofounder, WCEC Women’s Business Center
• Joe Yaccarino, president/CEO, MTF Biologics
• Peg Wright, president/CEO, Center for Great Expectations

Community Leaders

• Jason Allen, managing director, Isles
• Mark Annett, Side Hustle Univ./Lean Jumpstart Accel., NJIT
• Chris Baeckstrom, South Jersey Tech Collective
• Mohamed Bakerylaw, founder/CEO, ASB Resources
• V. Balasubramanian, Rutgers University/Seton Hall Univ.
• Erica Bell, founder, Girl Talk Meetup
• Alfred Blake, AD, Undergrad Entrepreneurship Programs, Rutgers
• Nicole Darsney, founder, HH Productions
• Luis De La Hoz, chair, Statewide Hispanic Chamber
• Lexie Demirali, senior venture officer, NJEDA
• Sean Donahue, MD, colab, Bell Works
• Michael Ehrlich, dir., NJ Innovation Accel. Center, NJIT
• Mahako Etta, manager, CSIT
• Dom Farnan, founder, DotConnect
• Kevin Fricovsky, Jersey Shore Tech & Design
• Radia Funna, CEO, Build n Blaze; Chair, UN Virtual Worlds Day
• Christine Galib, Advancing Photonics Tech, Princeton Univ
• Elizabeth Gearhart, Gear Media Studios for Podcasting
• Alison Gilbert, Center for Entrepreneurship, Monmouth Univ
• Eric Hinds, cofounder/President, Hope For Children
• Sasha Pallet Koff, president, So Help Me Understand
• CJ Meenan, founder/CEO, OFBV
• Nehal Mehta, cofounder/President, Rainbow Secure
• Claudio Mir, professor, SPC, Community Outreach, Rutgers
• Justin Murray, venture lead, NJ FAST/Plug and Play
• Mukesh Patel, director, RSVP, CTEC, Innov Lab, Rutgers
• Neetu Randhawa, executive director, TiE-NJ
• Elizabeth Rich, Feliciano Center, Montclair State University
• Vicky Richards, CEO, TAB-CNJ
• Melissa Rosario, NJSBDC, William Paterson University
• Michael Rose, founder/CEO, Permevo
• Asha Saxena, founder/CEO, WLDA.TECH
• Mike Shapiro, founder/CEO, TapInto
• Breen Sullivan, founder, The Fourth Effect
• Tara Thurber, CEO, Defined Talent
• Joe Watson, MD, CRA-Admired Leadership
• Kelly Wernersbach, founder, Mattress Boutique
• Mark Yackanich, partner, Better Future Labs
• David Zimmerman, strategic partnerships officer, PPPL

Innovators to Watch

• Michael Akinwumi, Eagleton Fellow in AI Governance
• Laura Sedito Alaimo, director, SIRD, Novo Nordisk
• Geo Baker, founder, GB Go Beyond
• Ryan Berman, senior Manager, EisnerAmper
• Rose Biedron, cofounder, House Call The App
• Orli Biger, CEO, ARC US; AFSMC; Liberty Science Center
• Radia Carr, VP, Dale Carnegie Training
• Rosario Chiovaro, sports analytics manager, NY Mets
• Lauren Conigliaro, VP, Portfolio Manager, Morgan Stanley
• Emma Corrado, chief of staff, NJEDA
• Melissa Dardani, financial integrity advisor
• Andrew DePascale, founder/CEO, Payrollsetup.com
• Aruna Dontabhaktuni, founder/CEO, Regkey.ai
• Yaxin Fan, R&D Manager, Cibo Vita
• Joe Gangemi, founder, Suite Recording
• Jeff Garibaldi Jr., executive director, NAI Hanson
• Kate Giovambattista, founder/CEO, Beyond Main
• Adam Gormley, founder, Plexymer, Inc.
• Ryan Greff, founding ED, Fair Lawn Main Street Inc
• James Grinias, professor of Chemistry, Rowan University
• Jason Gulya, AI Education Leader, Berkeley College
• Ajay Kamble, cofounder/CEO, Revalgo.ai
• David Kryszczak, founder, Spartan Digital Solutions
• Shamus Madan, founder, The Dealroom Media Podcast
• Prasad Manigaradi, team lead – AI, ConnX
• Alejandro Martinez, CEO, Propelling Tech
• Jackson Miller, technology specialist, Diligent Pharma
• Kelly Monassebian, founder/CEO, FiftyTwo, Inc.
• Devon Oakley, CEO, Gymble
• Joe Oliveira, workshop manager, HAX
• Hatice Ozen, Developer Relations, Groq
• Kli Pappas, global head of AI, Colgate-Palmolive
• Frank Semo, COO, Oakwood Dental
• Ken Schneider, CSO, Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Michael Smith, director, Business Banking, First Bank
• James Van Wyck, assistant dean, Princeton University
• Stella Yan, director, R&D, Mondelez
• Frederick Young, Information Security, ZS
• Mary Zoll, VP, Employee Benefits, RWJBarnabas

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