The 3rd Annual New Jersey Economic Policy Forum will be held Dec. 15 at the former Bell Labs facility in Holmdel from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The State Chamber, Cushman and Wakefield and our partner trade associations created the Forum to bring together key stakeholders to discuss economic challenges and opportunities facing New Jersey. The former Bell Labs facility was selected to highlight how our state and its economy are at a crossroads.

The program and discussion at the Forum centers around the results of our ambitious twice-yearly C-Suite Survey, which was first conducted in the fall of 2007 by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and is being administered every six months.

The associations involved in the Forum include the NJ Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the HealthCare Institute of NJ, Financial Executives International, the NJ Technology Council, BIO-NJ, the NJ Society of CPAs and the NJ Business and Industry Association.

At this year’s Forum, the latest C-Suite survey results will be presented and compared to previous versions. There will also be two panel discussions, one featuring our association partners and the other consisting of C-Suite level executives from participating companies.

The executive panel will conclude with a town hall, where audience members may ask questions of the participants. Brian Thompson, New Jersey Correspondent for NBC News4NY, will moderate the town hall discussion and we will conclude with a noon luncheon.

Click here to register.

Program Agenda

Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. 

Welcome 
9:00 a.m. 

• Joan Verplanck, President, NJ Chamber of Commerce
• Gil Medina, Executive Managing Director of NJ Region, Cushman and Wakefield, Inc.

C-Suite Survey Methodology & Results
9:30 a.m. 

• Marc D. Weiner, J.D., Ph.D., Faculty Fellow and Associate Director, Bloustein Center for Survey Research
• Jim Hughes, Dean, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

New Jersey Economic Data
9:45 a.m. 

• Joe Seneca, Professor, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

The Economy, the C-Suite Response to the Economy and the State of Commercial Real Estate
10:00 a.m. 

• Ken McCarthy, Managing Director of Research, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

Association Leaders Roundtable
(Panelists will compare C-Suite survey data to their own association findings)
10:15 a.m. 

• Moderator: Joan Verplanck, President, NJ Chamber of Commerce
• Hon. Bob Franks, President, HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
• Maxine Ballen, President & CEO, NJ Technology Council
• Debbie Hart, President, BioNJ
• Philip Kirschner, President, NJ Business and Industry Association
• Ralph Thomas, Executive Director, NJ Society of CPAs

C-Suite Roundtable & Town Hall Meeting on How to Improve New Jersey’s Economic Performance
(Executives will react to the C-Suite survey results and answer questions from the audience)
11:00 a.m.

• Moderator: Brian Thompson, NJ Correspondent, NBC News4NY
• Annette Catino, President & CEO, Qualcare
• Christopher M. Lepre, Senior Vice President, Market Business Units, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
• Steve Noonan, Executive Vice President & CFO, Telcordia Technologies
• Christopher J. Schaber, President & CEO, Soligenix, Inc.
• Kelly Watson, New Jersey Office Managing Partner, KPMG

Luncheon Program
12:15 p.m. 

Adjourn
1:30 p.m. 

Call Kevin Friedlander at (609) 989-7888 with questions.

Click here to register.