Every year, NJBIZ rolls out its widely followed People to Watch and Power List features, a running series designed to spotlight the professionals quietly driving major results inside New Jersey’s biggest industries well before they earn broader statewide name recognition. Rather than focusing purely on established executives already sitting atop the state’s largest companies, these lists deliberately look toward emerging leaders and behind-the-scenes innovators, the people making genuinely significant contributions to their organizations right now, often years before the wider business community starts paying close attention. Because NJBIZ publishes multiple versions of these lists throughout the year, each tied to a specific industry sector, the honorees change constantly, offering an ongoing, real-time snapshot of exactly where New Jersey’s business talent is concentrated at any given moment.
Healthcare has produced some of the more compelling recent additions to this recognition. Dr. Monifa Brooks has earned recognition as Senior Medical Officer at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Lyndhurst, a role that places her directly at the center of one of New Jersey’s most respected rehabilitation medicine institutions, guiding clinical strategy for a facility that plays an outsized role in the state’s broader healthcare landscape. Alongside her, Kristy Alfano has stepped into recognition as Interim CEO and President of Hunterdon Health in Flemington, taking on the considerable responsibility of leading a regional health system through a leadership transition, exactly the kind of high-stakes, high-visibility role NJBIZ’s healthcare-focused list was built to highlight.
The publication’s finance-focused recognitions tell their own story about where New Jersey’s financial sector leadership is heading. John Allen IV has earned a spot on the list as President and CEO of Ascendia Bank in Glen Rock, leading an institution that continues carving out its own niche within New Jersey’s competitive regional banking landscape. Michael Keevey earned his own recognition in a considerably different corner of the finance world, serving as Senior Vice President of State and Federal Programs at RWJBarnabas Health, a role that sits at the genuinely complex intersection of healthcare policy, government funding, and large-scale institutional finance, reflecting just how broadly NJBIZ defines financial leadership beyond traditional banking roles alone.
NJBIZ’s broader Looking Ahead feature takes a wider lens still, spotlighting C-suite executives and directors the publication considers central to driving the region’s biggest business growth heading into the coming year. Sam Brill earned recognition in this category as CEO of Ascend Wellness Holdings, leading a company operating within one of the more closely watched and rapidly evolving sectors in the entire state’s economy. Debbie Hart was recognized in her role as CEO of BioNJ, the state’s leading life sciences trade organization, a position that gives her direct influence over how New Jersey continues positioning itself within the broader biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry nationally. Rounding out this year’s Looking Ahead honorees, Adam Kleinman earned recognition as New Jersey Commercial Market Executive at Wells Fargo, a role that places him at the center of how one of the country’s largest financial institutions approaches commercial lending and business growth specifically within the New Jersey market.
Taken together, these honorees across healthcare, finance, and broader business leadership offer a genuinely useful cross-section of where New Jersey’s professional talent is concentrated right now, spanning rehabilitation medicine, regional health systems, community banking, healthcare policy finance, cannabis industry leadership, life sciences advocacy, and large-scale commercial banking all at once. NJBIZ continues expanding this recognition framework well beyond these specific sectors too, with additional People to Watch and Power List features covering real estate, technology, and numerous other industries throughout the year. Readers looking to browse the full, continuously updated collection of honorees can explore the complete archive of recognitions, offering an ongoing view of exactly which professionals are shaping New Jersey’s economic future long before most of the state has learned their names.
