Marc E. Berson Named Corporate Board Chair, Effective Immediately
West Orange, NJ, June 25, 2019 – RWJBarnabas Health announced today the appointment of a new Chair, Vice Chair, and Founding Chair, as well as three new Trustees to the health system’s Corporate Board, all effective immediately. The new members will serve three-year terms, with opportunity for two additional terms. This is the second Corporate Board since RWJBarnabas Health became a unified health system in 2016, forming the largest, most comprehensive academic system in the state of New Jersey.
Marc E. Berson, Chair, has served as Vice Chair of the Board since 2016. His affiliation with the hospital system is longstanding as he has been Chairman of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey, both RWJBarnabas Health facilities, for more than 15 years, and was Chair of Barnabas Health from 2014 to 2016, when RWJBarnabas Health was formed. Based in Millburn, NJ, Mr. Berson is an established entrepreneur, lawyer, and philanthropist with a focus in real estate development and operating manufacturing and service businesses. He is Chairman of the Fidelco Group and of the Fidelco Realty Group, an owner-developer of residential, commercial, retail, and industrial properties in the New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Ohio markets, which he founded in 1981.
Capitalizing on Fidelco’s success developing distinct destinations in overlooked inner-city neighborhoods, Mr. Berson has invested in a wide range of properties in urban areas throughout the country. He is dedicated to serving the community through his involvement in numerous nonprofit and community organizations. He has played an integral role in supporting some of Newark’s key institutions, reflecting his long-time belief in and support of Newark’s resurgence. Mr. Berson received his Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers College in New Brunswick and his JD from Rutgers School of Law in Newark.
“I look forward to building upon our Corporate Board’s strategic vision for the health system and helping execute on initiatives that are in progress,” Mr. Berson said. “The chairmanship enables me to further my commitment to improving the delivery of health care services and ensuring that quality and affordable health care is a priority.”
Lester Owens, Vice Chair, has served on the Corporate Board since its inception in 2016 and is a long-time Trustee of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick. He is a Senior Executive Vice President and head of operations for BNY Mellon. Mr. Owens is a member of the company’s Executive Committee and is responsible for leading the company’s global operations organization. Previously, Mr. Owens worked for 10 years at JPMorgan and prior, for Deutsche Bank, Citibank and Banker’s Trust. He earned a B.A. from Long Island University and Executive MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University and completed the Harvard Executive Management Program.
Jack Morris, Founding Chair, is the outgoing Chair of the Corporate Board. He retains chairmanship of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and serves as a Board member of the RWJ University Hospital Foundation. Mr. Morris is committed to improving the delivery of health care services as well as the lives of those less fortunate, and is dedicated to ensuring that quality and affordable health care is a priority. He is an ardent supporter of many charitable organizations. Mr. Morris, and his wife and partner, Sheryl Weingarten Morris, lead Edgewood Properties, a real estate development and property management company.
Wilfredo “Fred” Caraballo, JD, new Corporate Board Trustee, is a recently retired tenured member of the law faculty at Seton Hall University School of Law where he serves as the law school’s associate dean. He practices law with the firm of Gaccione Pomaco in Belleville. Mr. Caraballo was elected President of the Hispanic National Bar Association. He is a long-time public servant, including being the first Latino to serve on the Board of Trustees of Clara Maass Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. He has served on both the South Orange-Maplewood and Newark School Boards. He has served in state appointed positions and was elected six times to the NJ General Assembly, rising to the position of Speaker Pro Tempore. He was appointed to numerous special committees on issues involving health care, pensions and the structure of the state university system. He was also a New Jersey representative to the Electoral College. He is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Seminary and College with a BA and received his JD from New York University School of Law.
Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP, new Corporate Board Trustee (Ex-Officio), is Dean of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Interim Dean at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He chairs the New Jersey Governor’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, the Newark Ryan White Planning Council, and the Board of Deacons at Union Baptist Church in Orange, NJ. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Vice Chair of the Community Prevention Task Force of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has previously been the President of the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners, the Chair of the US Department of Health and Human Services Council on Graduate Medical Education, and a member of numerous councils in his field. Dr. Johnson received his BA from Alfred University and his MD from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New jersey.
Celeste Warren, new Corporate Board Trustee, has been at Merck & Co, Inc. for more than 20 years and is currently Vice President of Human Resources, Global Diversity, and the Inclusion Center of Excellence. Ms. Warren has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within its Human Resources organization. Most recently, she was Vice President, Human Resources of Merck’s Global Legal Compliance, Communications, Population Health, Patient Health and Global Public Policy Organizations. Prior to joining Merck, she worked for nine years in Human Resources at Kraft Foods, Inc. and General Foods. Ms. Warren attended the University of Kentucky, where she earned her B.S. degree She received her Master’s Degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
Leaving the Corporate Board with the gratitude of the organization for their service: Albert R. Gamper, Jr., Brian P. Leddy, Gary Lotano, and Brenton L. Saunders.
Albert R. Gamper, Jr., joined the Board of Saint Barnabas Medical Center in 1989, and served during his tenure with the organization as Board Chair of the Medical Center and of Barnabas Health, the Corporate Board, until 2014. Mr. Gamper served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CIT Group, Inc., a commercial finance company for 17 years. Mr. Gamper will now serve as Trustee Emeritus on the Corporate Board.
Brian P. Leddy, joined the RWJBarnabas Health Board in 2016 when Barnabas Health and RWJ Health System united. He joined the RWJ Rahway Board of Governors in 2001, and served as Chairman from 2009 to 2012. He will remain on the Rahway Board. He has been in the commercial insurance business for many years, close to 30 with the Meeker Sharkey Financial Group and its successor agencies, retiring in 2001. He serves as an insurance consultant to the KRA Insurance Agency, Inc. in Springfield.
Gary Lotano served as a trustee of Barnabas Health prior to its merger with RWJ Health System in 2016, when he became a member of the new Corporate Board. He will remain a trustee of Community Medical Center, where he is a former Chairman. Mr. Lotano is President of Lotano Development Inc, and has been a builder/developer for over 40 years especially in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Brenton L. Saunders served as a Trustee of the RWJBarnabas Health Corporate Board. He is Chief Executive officer and President of Allergan plc. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Forest Laboratories. Prior to Forest, he was Chief Executive Officer of Bausch + Lomb, a global eye health company.
ABOUT RWJBARNABAS HEALTH
RWJBarnabas Health is the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, with a service area covering nine counties with five million people. The system includes eleven acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, RWJUH in New Brunswick, RWJUH Somerset in Somerville, RWJUH Hamilton, RWJUH Rahway and Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston; three acute care children’s hospitals and a leading pediatric rehabilitation hospital with a network of outpatient centers, a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, two trauma centers, a satellite emergency department, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, a medical group, multi-site imaging centers and an accountable care organization.
RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s largest private employer – with more than 33,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents and interns – and routinely captures national awards for outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health recently announced a partnership with Rutgers University to create New Jersey’s largest academic health care system. The collaboration aligns RWJBarnabas Health with Rutgers’ education, research and clinical activities, including those at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care.
Contact: Ellen Greene
973-322-4018