Edward Ludwig, Christopher Coughlin and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey will receive the Top 3 individual honors at the 2022 Director of the Year Awards, the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors announced Tuesday morning.
The boards of Solix and ADP will be honored the private and public Board of the Year Awards.
The third annual event, which will be held May 9 at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, honors top-notch corporate governance and its significant impact on the business community in the state.
“Best-in-class governance is critical to the long-term growth and sustainability of our corporate community,” NACD New Jersey CEO and board President Thomas Fuller said. “New Jersey has a rich history of significant contributions to our nation and the world at large, from technology to life sciences and more, and we are very excited to celebrate these leaders in governance.”
Here’s a quick capsule at the honorees:
- Lifetime Achievement in Governance: Edward Ludwig is the retired chairman and CEO of Becton Dickinson. He serves on the CVS Health Board and was formerly the lead director of Aetna (acquired by CVS Health). He also is lead director of Boston Scientific and chairman of PROCARED Diagnostics Ltd., an Israeli-based diagnostics technology manufacturer, and former member of the Xylem Inc., board.
- Leadership in Public Corporate Governance: Christopher Coughlin is the former CFO of Pharmacia and Tyco. Coughlin has served as lead director of Allergan PLC, a global pharmaceutical leader, in 2016-2020. He served on the board of Dun & Bradstreet in 2004-2017, including as chairman and lead director. In July 2019, Coughlin joined the Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc., board. In April 2020, he joined the board of Karuna Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company.
- Leadership in Non-Profit Governance Award: Risa Lavizzo-Mourey is president emerita and former CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a position she held from 2003-2017. In January 2018, she became the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation PIK Professor of Health Policy and Health Equity at the University of Pennsylvania. Lavizzo-Mourey currently serves on four public company boards: Intel, General Electric, Merck & Co. and Better Therapeutics.
- Private Company Board of the Year: Parsippany-based Solix provides world-class business process outsourcing services that help connect people to essential government and commercial services. Solix helps its clients attract, enroll and engage customers at every step of the customer engagement journey. The company administers programs and issues eligibility decisions that result in up to $5 billion in awards on an annual basis.
- Public Company Board of the Year: Roseland-based ADP is a leading global technology company providing human capital management solutions, with deep expertise in business outsourcing services, analytics and compliance. ADP employs approximately 58,000 associates and serves over 920,000 clients in 140 countries. The company has been recognized among Fortune’s Most Admired Companies for 15 years in a row and has scored a 100% on the Corporate Equality Index Rating by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for the past 12 years.
NACD New Jersey board Director and event Chair Trish Oelrich said the event will bring leaders from all over the state together.
“This third annual event will bring the New Jersey corporate and civic communities together, across all sectors, showcasing a commitment to businesses and nonprofits thriving in the state and in neighboring communities,” she said. “We’re proud to honor innovators who exemplify the leadership qualities of an excellent director and company board.”
