Executive Moves is an occasional feature on ROI-NJ.com describing some of the important personnel changes in the New Jersey business community. Reports are based on news releases, edited for content, clarity and style.
Brian Giovinazzi, Blue Foundry Bank
Blue Foundry Bank has bolstered its Finance Department with a new hire, Brian Giovinazzi. Taking on the role as vice president/director of financial planning and analysis, Giovinazzi will carry out a myriad of responsibilities that will include overseeing Blue Foundry Bank’s financial modeling, budgeting, strategic planning, profitability analysis and other transactional analysis to help the bank meet its strategic objectives.
“Blue Foundry is a customer- and community-focused institution that is both progressive and innovative,” said Giovinazzi. “The organization is well positioned for the future and I am excited to collaborate with the talented staff and senior leaders to help advance Blue Foundry Bank’s ambition to revolutionize banking.”
Giovinazzi is no stranger to the world of finance, with over 10 years of combined experience at Northfield Bank and Citibank. He spent five years in his role as securities and financial analyst at Northfield Bank before landing the position of assistant vice president of financial planning and analysis at Citibank, where he ultimately became the senior vice president of his team.
Jennifer R. Nelson, New Jersey State Library
Thomas Edison State University announced that Jennifer R. Nelson has been chosen to serve as the new state librarian for the New Jersey State Library, an affiliate of TESU.
After an exhaustive nationwide search, with nearly 40 highly qualified candidates, Nelson’s more than 30 years of diverse and relevant experience stood out among the candidates. She will replace Mary L. Chute, who retired in February.
“We had an outstanding candidate pool, but ultimately believe that, combined with her other qualifications, Jen’s state-level experience provides a strong advantage that will allow her to dive right into the library construction bond cycle and join in New Jersey libraries’ ongoing pandemic-related operations. She has experience working with federal programs and supporting innovative statewide programming,” said Merodie A. Hancock, TESU president. “Jen has built a reputation as an active state and national leader in digital inclusion, equity and diversity programming, and technology and data innovation.”
Alexandra Venier, Splendor Design Group Inc.
Splendor Design Group Inc., a leading branding, web and marketing firm, announced Alexandra Venier has been promoted to the position of vice president. Venier, who has been with the firm for three years, is stepping up from her previous role as project manager and director of social marketing.
Splendor’s owner and CEO, Adam Taylor, said: “Alex has shown tremendous leadership, drive and dedication to our company — all in a relatively short period of time. This promotion to vice president will position her to continue her superb management duties on projects both internal and external, but also take on new responsibilities that will be integral for our growth.”
Venier joined Splendor in 2017 as a dedicated project manager, but, as Taylor recalls: “We also had a need to bolster the company and put systems in place. Splendor has experienced steady growth year over year since its 1999 beginnings, but we were fast approaching a breakthrough opportunity. We’ve grown over 110% over the past four years, and our goals for the next four will more than quadruple that.”
Wayne I. Danson, EOM Pharmaceuticals
EOM Pharmaceuticals, a privately held, clinical-stage company, announced the appointment of business veteran Wayne I. Danson as chief financial officer and Treasurer. Danson, a CPA, will be responsible for leading the company’s financial operations, including financial planning and analysis, capital markets, investor relations, accounting, tax and treasury.
Danson has over 35 years of experience in financial leadership and management. He was most recently CEO and president of Danson Partners LLC, a financial advisory and business consulting firm, specializing in finance, mergers and acquisitions, business strategy, interim CEO/CFO and turnaround consulting as well as tax services, which he founded in 1999.
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Alfred C. Liang, Tris Pharma Inc.
Tris Pharma Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company with a robust portfolio of approved products and a late-stage pipeline of innovative product candidates for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and related disorders, announced that Alfred C. Liang has joined the company as vice president, research & development.
“With our continued growth and evolution to a larger, more complex operation, one of our priorities has been to bring a seasoned pharmaceutical development leader in to join Tris’ senior leadership team. We are thrilled that Alfred has agreed to join Tris as our vice president, research & development.” said Ketan Mehta, Tris’ founder and CEO. “Alfred’s extensive experience and technical acumen in pharmaceutical sciences, as well as innovative and goal-oriented leadership style, are a natural fit for Tris’ culture and strategic plan.”
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Jason Liberatore, NYNJA
NYNJA, the security-first, all-in-one communications platform for mission-critical telecommunications needs, announced that Jason Liberatore has been named director of business development. In this new role, Liberatore will support NYNJA’s growth by pursuing and cultivating strategic partnerships and business relationships with new and existing clients. Liberatore will report directly to the co-founder and CEO of NYNJA, J.R. Guerrieri, and work with the company’s senior leadership to ensure client needs are met.
Liberatore has worked in sales and customer service for nearly a decade, specializing in building strong relationships to drive productivity while growing and maintaining impactful results. His experience has been with various companies including Vidyo, sbe Lifestyle Hospitality, and Heat Marketing, among others.
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David McIntyre, Tessa Therapeutics
Tessa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing next-generation cancer treatments, announced the appointment of David McIntyre as its chief financial officer.
McIntyre brings over 25 years of global financial, operational and legal experience, including over 10 years as chief financial officer of various publicly listed and privately held entities. He joins Tessa from AVITA Medical Inc., where he served as the CFO.
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Noteworth
Noteworth, the first comprehensive virtual care delivery platform, announced the addition of Donna Morrow and Gytis Barzdukas to its executive leadership team.
In her new role as vice president of clinical operations, Morrow will be tasked with overseeing the workflows with clinicians and administrative development efforts. In addition to Morrow, Noteworth is also adding Barzdukas as vice president of product to the leadership team.
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Dr. Christian Steiner, CytoSorbents
CytoSorbents Corp., a critical care immunotherapy leader commercializing its CytoSorb® blood purification technology to treat deadly inflammation in critically ill and cardiac surgery patients around the world, announces the promotion of Dr. Christian Steiner to executive vice president – sales and marketing of CytoSorbents, effective immediately. Steiner will continue as co-managing director of CytoSorbents Europe GmbH, and its subsidiaries.
Dr. Phillip Chan, CEO of CytoSorbents, stated: “I am pleased to have this opportunity to publicly recognize Christian’s great contributions to CytoSorbents over the more than nine years we have been working together. Christian has been instrumental in building the CytoSorb business from the very beginning, establishing an initially unknown therapy to now a market leader in our field that has generated more than $100 million in cumulative sales.”
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Amy Torres, N.J. Alliance for Immigrant Justice
The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice announced Amy Torres as the new director of the statewide coalition. The alliance works to achieve local and state policies that welcome immigrants to become rooted in New Jersey. As the incoming director, Torres will lead a coalition of over 42 member organizations and three alliance staff members to coordinate the policy and organizational priorities.
Torres brings seven years of immigrants’ rights policy advocacy and leadership experience, most recently as the policy and advocacy director at the Chinese-American Planning Council in New York City. They also bring strong experience in coalition-building and advocacy in low-income, immigrant, and Asian and Pacific American communities, and in grassroots organizing in Hudson County. Torres’s work ethos is informed by their experience as a second-generation Filipinx immigrant, tracing their roots from the Philippines to New Jersey.
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