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.
Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey
Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey is pleased to announce that Bill McGrath (President, South Jersey Elevator LLC) and Ben Scaturro (VP, Alpine Painting, Sandblasting and Industrial Flooring) will serve as chairman and vice chairman of the board, respectively. Chairman McGrath and Vice Chairman Scaturro will serve in their positions for a minimum of one year.
“I am honored and excited to chair the ABC-NJ board of directors in 2021,” said McGrath. “As a New Jersey merit-shop contractor, I understand the challenges our industry faces and I am anxious to work with staff and my fellow board members to help bring tangible improvements to our state. Putting the interests of the membership first will always be my top priority and I look forward to making our voices heard in Trenton and beyond.”
“It is an incredible opportunity and honor to serve as vice chairman of the ABC-NJ board of directors during 2021,” said Scaturro. “Improving opportunities for merit shop contractors will be at the forefront of my efforts, and I am excited to get started. I look forward to a productive year in moving our free enterprise and open competition agenda forward.”
Afshan Ajmiri Giner, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor
Afshan Ajmiri Giner, a partner in the Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor New Providence office, has been named co-chair of the firm’s Education Law Group.
Lester Taylor, chairman of the firm’s Education Law Group, said: “Afshan has proven to be an invaluable member of our Education Law team. As our group continues to grow into one of New Jersey’s largest and most diverse school law practices, we need to build the infrastructure to service our expanding client base. Therefore, I will rely on Afshan for leadership on school board governance, statutory/regulatory compliance with state and federal laws, and labor and employment issues. With Christine Soto, our team’s other co-chair, who focuses on special education law, we are poised to meet our clients’ needs.”
The firm’s managing partner, Brian Tipton, added: “Afshan is one of our many impressive young partners. Her work ethic, client focus and legal skills made the decision to promote her to co-chair of our Education Law Group an easy one.”
Isabelle Guis, Commvault
Commvault, a recognized global enterprise software leader in the management of data across cloud and on-premises environments, announced the appointment of Isabelle Guis as chief marketing officer. Guis will use her deep experience in marketing industry-leading cloud and Software-as-a-Service-based solutions to take the reins of Commvault’s global marketing efforts.
“With Commvault’s strong momentum and leading product portfolio, it’s the perfect time for Isabelle to join,” said Sanjay Mirchandani, CEO, Commvault. “Based in the Bay Area, her experience is well aligned to our business and I’m confident her leadership will help drive our next phase of company growth.”
Guis brings two decades of experience in B2B technology marketing and has knowledge of multiple go-to-market motions, including SaaS, direct and through channel partners. She also brings expertise in product marketing and management across the IT industry. Most recently, she was vice president of sales cloud product marketing at Salesforce, where she oversaw product messaging, launches and innovation for the Sales Cloud portfolio.
Ola Hixon, PGIM Real Estate
Ola Hixon has joined PGIM Real Estate as an executive director and assistant portfolio manager for its U.S. value-add team. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the $1.4 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc.
In this newly created role, Hixon will contribute to asset management oversight, transactions and fund strategy for PGIM Real Estate’s U.S. Impact Value Partners fund, one of the first institutionally managed, woman-led impact investing funds in the industry. IVP targets investments in affordable housing and mixed-use transformative developments and has a dual mandate of achieving market-rate financial returns while creating healthy, safe and affordable communities for people with moderate and low incomes. The fund is focused on investments in underpriced locations across major U.S. markets with anticipated population and economic growth.
“Ola’s multifaceted background and depth of experience across portfolio management, asset management and transactions will complement the strengths of our team,” said Lisa Davis, executive director and portfolio manager for IVP. “In addition to her long history managing multifamily assets with regulated and workforce housing units, Ola has played an integral role in the development and execution of ESG-oriented strategies at the asset and portfolio levels.”
Len LaPorta, The DAK Group
The DAK Group, a boutique investment bank specializing in serving the needs of middle market companies, announced that Len LaPorta has joined the firm as managing director.
LaPorta brings a rare combination of strategic skills developed as a former hands-on business owner turned investment banker. He truly understands the ins and outs of business ownership, which serves as a strong foundation enabling him to appreciate the needs of his clients, both buyers and sellers.
“Len’s success with middle market companies in diverse industries dovetails perfectly with our focus,” said Alan Scharfstein, president of the DAK Group. “His record and reputation for excellence in M&A are exactly what we were looking for when we decided to add another senior investment banker to further expand our platform in the middle market.”
SobelCo
SobelCo, a leading provider of tax, accounting and advisory services, has named Tara Del Gavio and Chris Martin as members of the firm.
Del Gavio joined SobelCo in 2018 as a senior manager in the Nonprofit and Social Services Practice. For over two decades, she has been actively engaged with various types of nonprofit organizations, ranging from social services to higher education, to foundations and trade associations. This diverse client base has enabled Del Gavio to leverage her experiences to offer the critical benefits of a consultative approach.
Throughout his career, Martin has enjoyed working with midsized, privately held businesses, many in the food and beverage sector, where he adds value by assisting clients with their financial reporting needs, providing strategic planning for their corporate and individual income taxes, and taking an active role in consulting on major financial decisions. Since joining SobelCo in 2015, as a manager in the Audit Practice, Martin has consulted with clients to help them gain an accurate understanding of their financial situation.
Emilio Valdo, Larken Associates
Larken Associates, a regional leader in commercial and residential real estate building, development and management, announces the hiring of Emilio Valdo as senior estimator. Valdo joins Core Enterprises, Larken Associates’ in-house, full-service construction team, and will assist with the company’s rapidly growing development pipeline and third-party construction projects.
Bringing nearly 25 years of construction estimating experience to his role with Larken Associates, Valdo will work closely with Larken Associates and Core Enterprises’ senior leadership team to ensure cost-effective planning and delivery of projects. Valdo will deliver a full range of estimating services, including resource and asset management, P&L and budget analysis, bidding, quotes and proposal assistance, procurement and cost reductions, and risk assessments. Throughout his career, Valdo’s organizational and communications skills have been trusted by notable construction firms such as Noble Construction Group, DPR Construction, Phelps Construction Group, Merritt Construction Services and Turner Construction Co.
Core Enterprises was established in 2010 to bolster Larken Associates’ development capabilities with a full suite of in-house, end-to-end construction services. The division also executes third-party construction jobs across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Valdo will further enhance Core Enterprises’ staff of highly experienced and detail-oriented project managers, project supervisors, carpenters, interior designers, estimators and other construction professionals who can expertly execute even the most complex construction projects.
Patrick Bakey, iCIMS
iCIMS, the talent cloud company, announced the appointment of Patrick Bakey as chief revenue officer. The experienced enterprise technology executive is poised to accelerate the company’s global growth trajectory as it enables organizations across all industries to build their winning workforce.
With more than two decades of global leadership experience, Bakey will lead iCIMS’ global sales organization and all revenue-generating programs. Bakey joins iCIMS following a 17-year tenure with SAP, where he was responsible for building many of the company’s most innovative and fastest-growing businesses. He most recently served as president and chief revenue officer for SAP Leonardo and Analytics. Bakey also previously held senior leadership positions with Siebel/Oracle and Xerox.
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Fran Hackett, BrainsWay
BrainsWay Ltd., a global leader in the advanced noninvasive treatment of brain disorders, announced the addition of Fran Hackett as vice president of North American sales.
“As a veteran sales leader with a robust background across varied medical markets, Fran’s addition will be critical to this phase of the company’s growth,” said Hadar Levy, senior vice president and general manager of BrainsWay. “He has been instrumental in building industry-leading teams, and I am excited to have him take over our commercial efforts in North America.”
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OncoSec
OncoSec Medical Inc. announced the addition of two new executives to the company’s management team.
Industry veteran Brian Leuthner has been appointed as OncoSec’s chief operating officer and Joe Smith has joined as vice president of business development.
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