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.
Maureen Cornicelli, Provident Bank
Provident Bank, a leading New Jersey-based financial institution, has announced the opening of its newest branch, at 345 Franklin Ave., Wyckoff. The modern, full-service banking facility offers customers a welcoming environment with convenient features that include a drive-through, ATM, night depository and Saturday hours.
“We’re pleased to extend our commitment to businesses and consumers of Wyckoff and the surrounding communities. Provident Bank has a long history of delivering innovative financial solutions and giving back to the communities it serves,” said Vito Giannola, executive vice president and chief retail banking officer. “We look forward to continuing this tradition at this new location.”
Maureen Cornicelli of Park Ridge was named assistant vice president, banking center manager of the new Wyckoff branch. Cornicelli is responsible for driving deposit and small business loan growth for the branch, developing sales strategies, ensuring superior customer service, as well as overseeing the staff and operational integrity of the branch.
Mariana Diosa-Gomez, Parker McCay
New Jersey law firm Parker McCay announces that Mariana Diosa-Gomez joined the firm. Diosa-Gomez has joined Parker McCay as an associate in its public finance and corporate departments.
In her most recent past position at a “Big Four” accounting firm, she assisted clients with various aspects of mergers and acquisitions such as restructuring, due diligence and divestiture. Prior to that, Diosa-Gomez worked as a translator at Philadelphia VIP to assist volunteer attorneys with translating during client meetings.
Diosa-Gomez will practice out of the firm’s Camden office. She received her law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2018 and her L.L.M. in taxation and estate planning certificate in 2019. She received her Bachelor of Arts in business from Stockton University in 2013.
Steven Kellner, PGIM Fixed Income
PGIM Fixed Income, a global asset manager offering active solutions across all fixed income markets, announced that Steven Kellner, head of Corporates, will retire in April 2022. Kellner will be succeeded by Terence Wheat and David Del Vecchio, who have been named as co-heads to lead the U.S. Investment Grade Corporate team. Ed Farley will continue to lead the European Corporate team and the Global Corporate strategy.
“Steve has built a deep and experienced team which has delivered both consistent, long-term performance and investment leadership for our clients. Under Steve’s leadership corporate bond assets have grown from $44 billion in 1999 to $357 billion,” said Mike Lillard, head of PGIM Fixed Income.
Kellner joined the firm in 1986 and has managed corporate bonds since 1989. In 1992, he was named managing director and head of the firm’s proprietary corporate bond portfolios. In 1999, he became head of Corporate Bond Strategies, with oversight of all of the firm’s corporate bond assets.
Vanessa M. Kelly, Clark Hill
Clark Hill, an international AmLaw 200 ranked law firm, announced the promotion of eight attorneys to membership in the firm. The new members come from six of the firm’s 25 offices, including Princeton, and represent six of Clark Hill’s practice groups.
In Princeton, Vanessa M. Kelly is a member of the Labor & Employment practice group, promoted from senior counsel.
She represents employers in providing risk assessment and risk avoidance in employee terminations, accommodating disabilities, addressing workplace misconduct, protecting key personnel and proprietary information, performing reductions in force, and implementation of workplace policies designed to avoid disputes and comply with state and federal law.
Brandon Zurawlow, CS Analytical Laboratory
CS Analytical Laboratory, the world’s only cGMP, FDA-registered and inspected contract laboratory exclusively designed and dedicated to container testing for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, is pleased to announce the appointment of Brandon Zurawlow to the position of chief scientific officer.
In this role, Zurawlow will assume responsibility for all aspects of client services and laboratory operations. He will be instrumental in aligning testing capabilities across platforms and standards including as USP, EP, ASTM and custom testing procedures to deliver comprehensive solutions that exceed client expectations. In addition, he will specifically manage USP〈1207〉container closure integrity functions from consultative strategy development, method development, validation and implementation for all CCI Testing programs. Concurrently, through collaboration with industry partners, he will oversee allocation of resources for research in this specialized field, ensuring CS Analytical remains at the forefront of innovative and customized solutions for package development and qualification.
“Brandon is one of the very few people in this world that has dedicated his life’s work to the field of container testing and qualification. With experience that spans hands-on and leadership roles in the contract laboratory setting, independent consulting on key regulatory issues, hosting training on USP 〈1207〉 and publishing relevant scientific documents on these topics, we are excited to have him on our team. He brings a level, depth, and breadth of knowledge to our company that is always delivered in a professional and passionate manner,” said Brian Mulhall, CS Analytical CEO.
Dr. Sameh Abdelaal, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset
RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group welcomes Dr. Sameh Abdelaal as medical director of the Babs Siperstein PROUD Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. The center, located at 128 Rehill Ave., Suite 1100, Somerville, which is open five days a week, also includes an advanced practice nurse and patient navigator.
Abdelaal is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious disease. He received his medical degree from Alexandra University in Alexandra, Egypt, and completed his residency at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He went on to complete his fellowship at Columbia University-Harlem Hospital Center, New York.
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Brian Allen, Clear Thinking Group
Clear Thinking Group LLC is pleased to announce the promotion of Brian Allen to partner.
Allen has over 25 years of experience serving in senior finance positions with both public and private companies. As a consultant for the past 13 years, Allen has been engaged by numerous companies in the consumer product, retail and manufacturing industries to improve financial operations and performance through strategic and financial alternatives. As part of these engagements he has served as interim chief financial officer, chief accounting officer and controller. During his career, he has had direct responsibility for the accounting, finance, treasury, information technology, real estate and investor relations functions. Allen is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
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ConnectiveRx
ConnectiveRx, a leading provider of technology-enabled patient support and access solutions for specialty and branded medications, announced the company is strengthening its leadership to support rapid growth with the appointment of Dr. David Wheadon as member of the company’s board of managers and Jim Corrigan as president.
“David and Jim have exceptional track records for leadership and strategic innovation in the pharmaceutical and greater healthcare sectors,” said ConnectiveRx CEO Harry Totonis. “Their addition to our organization enhances our ability to meet the evolving needs of our pharmaceutical manufacturer partners.”
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Brian Gladden, Zelis
Zelis, the health care industry’s leading payments optimization platform with superior technology and solutions to price, pay and explain claims, announced that Brian Gladden has joined the company as chief financial officer.
A private equity and Fortune 50 executive, Gladden brings more than 30 years of experience in setting strategic vision, driving business growth and transformation and building world-class finance organizations. Gladden will succeed Thomas Kloster, who joined Zelis in 2017 and has helped drive its growth and success.
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Dr. Christian Hinrichs, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has named Dr. Christian Hinrichs as chief of the section of Cancer Immunotherapy and co-director of the Cancer Immunology and Metabolism Center of Excellence, along with Eileen White, deputy director and chief scientific officer at Rutgers Cancer Institute. Hinrichs, whose expertise is immunotherapy exploration, was recruited from the National Cancer Institute, where he most recently served as a tenured senior investigator in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch.
His research focuses on tumor response and resistance with notable accomplishment in the development of cellular therapy for common cancers that begin in epithelial cells — cells in the tissue that lines the body’s organs. Hinrichs also has discovered and is developing new treatments for human papillomavirus-associated cancers and other types of cancer. This work includes the discovery of genes for T-cell receptors that target HPV. He holds several patents associated with his research and has invented technologies licensed to industry that are being developed as new cancer treatments under his leadership.
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James Komsa, 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 immediate appointment of James Komsa as vice president – U.S. sales and marketing.
Over a distinguished 18-year career at Medtronic, Komsa was most recently vice president of the Restorative Therapy Group and the U.S. Pain Organization, with annual sales of $400 million and $1.1 billion, respectively, at the time. There, he was responsible for 16 business units, including Medtronic Spine, Neurology, ENT, Pain and others.
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