Board of Directors

Jon F. Hanson, Chairman, is the Chairman and founder of the Hampshire Companies, a sponsor of real estate funds. He has over 50 years of experience in the real estate industry, especially in the northern New Jersey market, as an owner, manager and sponsor. Mr. Hanson has been non-executive Chairman of the Board of HealthSouth since October 1, 2005, lead director of the Prudential Financial Corp. headquartered in Newark, New Jersey since 1991 and currently serves as Chairman of the Finance Committee and their Investment Committee. Mr. Hanson also serves as a director of Yankee Global Enterprises, the principal owner of the New York Yankees. Mr. Hanson was formerly Chairman of the New Jersey Sports Authority and was recently appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to serve as Chairman of a Special Commission on Gaming, Sports Authority and Entertainment. Previously, Mr. Hanson served for 12 years as Chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc., and now serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Foundation. Mr. Hanson was a founding organizer of the Bank and is a member of the Executive and Loan Committees.

Bruce M. Meisel, President and CEO,  served as the founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank from 2002 through 2008. In 2007, he become Chief Executive Officer and in 2008 assumed the position of President. Mr. Meisel practiced law in Westwood, New Jersey from 1975 until 2007, specializing in real estate, corporate and commercial law. He is the founder and managing partner of First Westwood Realty and Jefferson Realty Group, LLC, both of which have developed, and continue to own and manage, commercial properties in northern New Jersey. Mr. Meisel received a B.A. from American University, Washington, D.C. and a J.D. from Cornell Law School. In 1973-1974, he served a judicial clerkship with the New Jersey Supreme Court. Mr. Meisel was recently appointed by the Governor of the state of New Jersey to serve on the Executive Transition Team for the Department of Banking and Insurance. Mr. Meisel was a founding organizer of the Bank and actively serves as a member of the Executive and Loan Committees.

 

Paul C. Baker, was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of American Cyanamid and was the President of American Cyanamids’s Consumer Products Group, which at the time of his service in 1987 had over $800 million in world wide sales.  He currently is a shareholder, director and officer of MBIF Enterprises, Inc., which owns and operates food franchises primarily in northern New Jersey.  Mr. Baker also serves as a director of Media Sciences International, Inc., a publicly traded company, where he is Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.  Mr. Baker has served as a director of the United Way of Bergen County and serves as Chairman of the Bank’s Compensation Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee.

Salvatore Cocco, is a financial consultant with AXS Advisors, LLC.  He was a founding director, Executive Committee Member, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Franklin Bank of Nutley until the Bank was sold in 2005.  Mr. Cocco is a Certified Public Accountant and was previously a staff accountant and a Director of Personnel/Administration at Coopers & Lybrand (now a part of PricewaterhouseCoopers).  Mr. Cocco is credentialed as a Chartered Life Underwriter, is a member of the American Association of Life Underwriters, and a member of the Million Dollar Round Table.  Mr. Cocco serves on the Board of Advisors for the Seton Hall University Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. 

Daniel J. Geltrude, is a Certified Public Accountant as well as the managing partner of Geltrude & Company, LLC, an accounting firm based in Nutley, New Jersey.  Mr. Geltrude was a founding director of Franklin Bank and was Chairman of Audit Committee until Franklin Bank was sold in 2005.  He also owns and manages commercial and multi-family residential properties in northern New Jersey.  Mr. Geltrude is co-founder of the Mike Geltrude Foundation for Melanoma Awareness and a member of the Board of Trustees of the First Cerebral Palsy Center of New Jersey.  Mr. Geltrude received a B.S. in Accounting from Rider University and an M.S. in Taxation from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Jerrold B. Grossman, Is the founder, President and Chief Executive of Genesis Bio-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and related companies which are primarily engaged in the research, development and worldwide sale of bio pharmaceutical products.  The company is headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey.  Mr. Grossman also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bergen Community Regional Blood Center, a non-profit company which distributes blood and stem cells to hospitals throughout the region.  He received a B.A. in Economics and Finance and an M.G.A. in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickenson University, Teaneck, New Jersey.  He received a doctorate from Pace University, New York, New York, with a specialization in Financial Management.  Mr. Grossman was a founding organizer of the Bank and serves on the Executive and Audit Committee and is Chairman of the Investment and Funds Management Committee of the Bank.     

Robert S. Hekemian Sr. is the Chairman and CEO of First Real Estate Investment of New Jersey, a publicly traded REIT, and Chairman and CEO of mian & Co., Inc., which owns and manages numerous prime commercial and multi-family properties primarily in northern New Jersey.  He has previously served as a Director for several New Jersey banks which have since been acquired or merged, including the Bergen County National Bank, Commercial Trust Co., United Jersey Bank and Summit Bank.  Mr. Hekemian is a founding organizer and director of the Bank and serves on the Executive and Investment and Funds Management Committees of the Bank.

Sanford S. Herrick, is a principal in various funds which specialize in the acquisition, financing and management of real estate.  Through these funds, Mr. Herrick has overseen approximately $2.5 billion in debt and equity transactions.  Other activities of the funds include special situation debt and mezzanine loans and investing directly in real estate and real estate related instruments.  Mr. Herrick is also a co-founder and Management Director of Hudson Realty Capital LLC.  From 1978-1986, Mr. Herrick was a Vice President and Regional Manager at CitiBank. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University, and a Masters of Architecture from Columbia University.  Mr. Herrick was a founding organizer and director of the Bank and currently serves on the Investment and Funds Management and Real Estate Committees of the Bank.

Martin J. Levine,  has over 35 years of real estate experience in the New York City/northern New Jersey metropolitan area, including property acquisition, renovation, repositioning and management.  He is also the founder and President of Audubon Management Company, Inc., a real estate management company which owns and manages commercial and multi-family residential properties in New York City.  Mr. Levine was a founding organizer and director of the Bank and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Jerome J. Lombardo is the President and CEO of C.J. Lombardo Real Estate Company, a multi generational real estate company headquartered in Hackensack, which owns and manages an extensive portfolio of commercial and multi-family properties primarily in New Jersey.  Mr. Lombardo is a member of the Board of Directors of New Jersey Apartment Association, Chairman of the Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Bergen County Community Action Partnership and is the current Chairman of the Hackensack Special Improvement District.  Mr. Lombardo is a member of the Loan Committee of the Bank.

James M. Piro, Esq. is a founder of the law firm of Piro, Zinna, Cifelli, Paris & Genitempo and as such has practiced law in northern New Jersey for approximately 40 years.  He was a founding director, Executive Committee Member, and Chairman of the Loan Committee of Franklin Bank of Nutley, and served on the Board until the Bank was sold in 2005.  Mr. Piro is Assistant Counsel to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners and Counsel to the Suburban Essex Joint Insurance Fund.  Mr. Piro received a B.A. from Seton Hall University, and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law.  Mr. Piro is the Chairman of the Loan Committee.