Board of Directors

Jon F. Hanson, Chairman, is Chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, a sponsor of real estate funds, and has 50 years of experience in the real estate industry. Mr. Hanson has been non-executive Chairman of the Board of HealthSouth since October 1, 2005. Since 1991, Mr. Hanson has served as lead director of Prudential Financial Corp., and is Chairman of their Finance Committee and their Investment Committee. 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. Currently, Mr. Hanson also serves as a director of Yankee Global Enterprises, the principal owner of the New York Yankees.

Bruce M. Meisel, President and CEO, has been a director of the Bank since its founding in 2002.  He served as Chairman of the Board from 2002 until 2008.  Mr. Meisel was named Chief Executive Officer in July, 2007 and President and CEO in 2008.  Mr. Meisel was a practicing attorney in private practice until 2007, specializing in commercial and real estate law.  He is also founder of First Westwood Realty which has developed and currently owns commercial real estate in the Pascack Valley, primarily in Westwood.  Mr. Meisel received a B.A. from American University and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.  After graduating from law school, he served as a judicial clerk with the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Paul C. Baker, received a B.S. in Engineering and B.A. from Lehigh University, and an M.B.A. in Business Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Mr. Baker is a founder and managing partner of PCB Associated, LLC, a management consulting company. Mr. Baker is a retired Group Vice President of American Cyanamid, Wayne, New Jersey and former President of Cyanamid’s Consumer Products Group. He currently is a shareholder, director and officer of a number of affiliated entities that own food franchises in New Jersey. Mr. Baker 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 is the Chairman of the Institute of Psychoanalytic Studies, Inc. Mr. Baker serves as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Real Estate Committee and the Audit Committee of the Bank.

Salvatore Cocco, is a financial consultant with AXA Advisors, LLC. Prior to this, Mr. Cocco was a staff accountant and a Director of Personnel/Administration at Coopers & Lybrand (now a part of Pricewaterhouse Coopers), as well as the owner of his own private accounting practice. 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, is a Board member of the Nutley Parkside Apartments senior housing complex, an Advisory Board Member of the Nutley Chamber of Commerce, the past-President and current Treasurer of the First Cerebral Palsy Center of NJ, the Co-Founder and Vice President of the Michael Geltrude Foundation, and formerly was the Scholarship Chairperson of the Nutley UNICO. Mr. Cocco was a founding director of Franklin Bank of Nutley, New Jersey, and served on its Board until it was sold in 2005.

Daniel J. Geltrude, received a B.S. in Accounting from Rider University and an M.S. in Taxation from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a Certified Public Accountant as well as the managing partner of Geltrude & Company, LLC, an accounting firm based in Nutley, NJ. Mr. Geltrude was a founding director of Franklin Bank and served on its board as audit committee chairman until Franklin Bank was sold in 2005. He also served as an advisory board member of Interchange Bank and he owns and manages commercial real estate.  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.

Jerrold B. Grossman, received a B.A. in Economics and Finance and an M.B.A. in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey. He received a doctorate from Pace University, New York, New York, with a specialization in Financial Management. He is the founder, President and Chief Executive of Genesis Bio-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and related companies, which are headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey. Dr. Grossman is also the CEO of ADMA Biologics Inc., a development stage Biotech Company and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bergen Community Regional Blood Center. He is a member of the Blood Bank Task Force of New Jersey. Dr. Grossman serves on the Executive Committee and is the Chairman of the Investment and Funds Management Committee of the Bank.

Robert S. Hekemian  is the Chairman and CEO of First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey, a publicly traded REIT, and Chairman and CEO of Hekemian & Co., Inc. He has an extensive business background in real estate and mortgages and maintains a real estate broker’s license in New Jersey. He has served as a Director at Bergen County National Bank, Commercial Trust Co., United Jersey Bank and Summit Bank. Mr. Hekemian serves on the Executive, Real Estate and Investment and Funds Management Committees of the Bank.  He received a B.S. in Economics from the University of Vermont.

Sanford S. Herrick, received a B.A. from Michigan State University, and a Masters of Architecture from Columbia University. Mr. Herrick is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Hudson Realty Capital LLC.  Previously he was a founding principal of SWH Funding Corp and co-founder and principal of Realty Holdings of America, a real estate advisory firm engaged in asset management and the purchase of corporate sale/leaseback transactions. Herrick served as senior vice president at Integrated Resources, Inc. and as vice president and regional manager at Citibank from 1978 through 1986. Hudson Realty Capital LLC (HRC) is a real estate fund manager; since the formation of its initial two funds, the company has closed more than $2 billion in debt and equity transactions. Activities include originating, participating in, servicing, restructuring and/or acquiring high-yield, special situation debt and mezzanine loans, as well as investing directly in real estate and acquiring under-performing real estate assets and other real estate-related instruments. The firm recently earned Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) status, reflecting a rich diversity within its leadership.  Mr. Herrick serves on the Executive, and Investment and Funds Management Committees of the Bank, and is the Chairman of the Loan Committee of the Bank.

Martin J. Levine, received a B.A. from Long Island University in New York. He has been actively engaged in all aspects of the real estate business, including property acquisition and management, for over 30 years. Mr. Levine owns and manages both commercial and residential real estate, primarily in Manhattan. He is also the founder and President of Audubon Management Company, Inc., a real estate management company which manages commercial and residential properties in New York City.  Mr. Levine serves on the Audit and Real Estate Committees of the Bank.

Jerome J. Lombardo, is the President and CEO of C. J. Lombardo Real Estate Company of Hackensack. The company owns and manages a portfolio of commercial properties and multi-family housing in the tri state area. Mr. Lombardo serves on several boards including the New Jersey Apartment Association, the Wyckoff Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Bergen County Community Action Partnership and, is the current Chairman of the Hackensack's downtown Business District.

James M. Piro, Esq. is a founder and a member of the law firm of Piro, Zinna, Cifelli, Paris & Genitempo. 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 received a B.A. from Seton Hall University, and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law. Mr. Piro also serves as Assistant Counsel to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, and Counsel to the Suburban Essex Joint Insurance Fund. Mr. Piro was selected Nutley’s PBA’s “Citizen of the Year” in 1990. Mr. Piro was an Advisory Board member of Interchange Bank.