General business
October 31, 2022
The New Jersey CEO Council (CEO Council) has been integrated into Choose New Jersey, creating a partnership that will strengthen the latter organization’s mission to develop the state’s economy.
The CEO Council was announced in October 2020 as part of Governor Phil Murphy’s COVID-19 Restart and Recovery Commission. At its inception, the CEO Council’s mission was to leverage the resources of some of the state’s largest companies to help those communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly minority communities.
The Choose New Jersey Board of Directors officially approved the integration of the CEO Board into the organization on October 27th. Current members of the Board of CEOs: Becton Dickinson (BD), Campbell Soup Company, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co. and Bristol Myers Squibb has joined Choose New Jersey at the ambassador level.
Other CEO Board members of Verizon, PSEG, Prudential Financial, RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health and American Water, through its New Jersey subsidiary American Water, are Choose New Jersey board members, some of whom are founding members.
“Integrating the New Jersey CEO Council into Choose New Jersey will further the organization’s efforts to grow the New Jersey economy while leveraging the resources of additional major players in the New Jersey corporate community,” Murphy said. “The CEO Council is a shining example of the public and private sectors working together to address structural inequality in the state. Her efforts to provide employment opportunities for underserved communities and to support women and minority-owned businesses reflect New Jersey’s values of fairness and equality.”
“Since its inception, Choose New Jersey has been committed to attracting business to New Jersey and growing its economy,” said Ralph Larosa, Choose New Jersey Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of PSEG. “By adding a CEO Council and four new board members, Choose New Jersey gains the valuable experience and influence of some of the state’s leading corporate citizens. I am excited to continue the work that PSEG has done with the CEO Board and see how the mission of Choose New Jersey can be enhanced by the addition of these globally recognized brands.”
“For more than a decade, Choose New Jersey has shown businesses nationally and internationally why New Jersey is the best state in the country to grow and expand,” said Wesley Matthews, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey. “I am pleased to welcome the New Jersey CEO Council to our organization. Adding these world-renowned business leaders to our already distinguished board will greatly enhance our ability to market the state and recruit business to New Jersey.”
Philip Loureiro, Business Development Specialist at Choose New Jersey, will lead the day-to-day management of the CEO Board.
Highlights of the work of the CEO Council over the past two years include:
- Committed to increasing diversity in hiring and procurement practices within their organizations, pledging to hire or train 30,000 New Jersey residents by 2030 and spend an additional $250 million on procurement with a variety of public companies by 2025.
- In partnership with the State of New Jersey, the CEO Council established and financially contributed to Pay It Forward, the nation’s first publicly funded career bond program.
- The CEO Council funded the Center of Excellence for Diverse Procurement program in partnership with the Rutgers Center for Supply Chain Management. The purpose of this program is to assist CEO Council member companies in their various procurement objectives.
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