West Orange, NJ, October 1, 2025 – Mark E. Manigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJBarnabas Health, the largest, most comprehensive academic health system in New Jersey, has been named to New Jersey Business Magazine’s 2025 Awards for Excellence list, powered by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association(NJBIA). The list honors outstanding executives and organizations who are driving growth in the state. Mr. Manigan was selected as a winner in the Executive of the Year category.
Serving over three million patients annually across 700 facilities, Mr. Manigan is leading the system-wide noble mission of building and sustaining a healthier New Jersey, and creating a national model for clinical and business success.
Under his leadership, the system delivers state-leading medical care, including the top-ranked cancer program, New Jersey’s only heart and lung transplant centers, and the state’s most advanced burn treatment facility. Committed to building and sustaining healthier communities, the system is the state’s largest provider of care for uninsured and Medicaid patients, investing in programs that improve the social determinants to health including housing, food insecurity, transportation and education. Mr. Manigan has also strengthened the system’s ambulatory care network and implemented a service line integration model, improving efficiency.
This year, RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute unveiled New Jersey’s first and only freestanding, fully comprehensive cancer hospital. The Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in New Brunswick is one of only 13 freestanding cancer hospitals in the United States, and is the cornerstone of the transformative investment in and expansion of cancer services by RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute. Also under construction are the Melchiorre Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, which will open this fall and serve as the northern hub for RWJBarnabas Health’s and Rutgers Cancer Institute’s statewide oncology services, and the Specialty and Cancer Care Center at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls, scheduled to open next year.
In addition to this honor, this year he has been named to Becker’s Great Leaders in Healthcare list, NJBIZ’s “Healthcare Power 100” and ROI-NJ’s Influencers Power List 2025: Super 75.
The achievement will be proudly recognized in the October issue of New Jersey Business Magazine; featured in NJBIA’s daily e-newsletter, New Jersey Business Today; highlighted on its TV show, Minding Your Business; and celebrated across all of NJBIA and New Jersey Business Magazine’s social media platforms. Honorees will also be recognized at NJBIA’s Annual Member Celebration on December 10in Red Bank.
About RWJBarnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive academic health system, caring for more than five million people annually. Nationally renowned for quality and safety, the system includes 14 hospitals and 9,000 affiliated physicians integrated to provide care at more than 700 patient care locations.
RWJBarnabas Health partners with its communities to build and sustain a healthier New Jersey. It provides patient-centered care in a compassionate manner and is the state’s largest safety-net provider and leader in addressing the social determinants of health. RWJBarnabas Health provides food to the hungry, housing for the homeless and economic opportunities to those most vulnerable.
RWJBarnabas Health’s commitment to enhancing access to care includes a transformative partnership with Rutgers University, including the Rutgers Cancer Institute — the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
RWJBarnabas Health is among New Jersey’s largest private employers, with more than 44,000 employees, contributing more than $7 billion to the state economy every year. For more information, visit www.RWJBH.org
Contact: Carrie Cristello
Carrie.Cristello@rwjbh.org