NJBIZ Conversations

Brendan Heegan, the founder and CEO of Secaucus-based Boxzooka – an ecommerce fulfillment technology provider – and Tom Behnke, the company’s senior vice president for sales and marketing, explain the ramifications of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and how the Northeast region is coping.

Karthik Krishnamurthy, CEO of Basking Ridge-based software engineering company Ascendion, discusses what artificial intelligence can do for businesses, how Ascendion helps clients use the technology and how to address the questions that arise around the deployment of AI.

The 4.8 magnitude earthquake that jolted New Jerseyans on April 5 was mild by the standards of the world’s most seismically active areas, but it was enough to startle most residents. In this special edition of NJBIZ Conversations, Whitney Boykin, an associate with DeSimone Consulting Engineers, explains how buildings and other structures are designed to withstand earthquakes and other hazards and why New Jerseyans should be confident that the state can survive the shaking.

Chris Porrino is a former state attorney general who now chairs the Litigation Department at Roseland’s Lowenstein Sandler. Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy added yet another entry to Porrino’s resume: chair of the state Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission. In this episode of NJBIZ Conversations, Porrino talks about the work of the commission and how it will affect businesses, what’s happening in the business of law and the controversy over the so-called county line on ballots.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind CEO Joris Veldhoven talks about the challenges facing offshore wind developers, addresses the opposition and lays out a course for the future.

Schone Malliet – former Marine Corps pilot, salesman and banker – is the founder of Winter4Kids, a nonprofit organization based in Sussex County that offers vulnerable kids the opportunity to experience winter in a new way, with lessons, better nutrition and, most important, fun. In this edition of NJBIZ Conversations, Malliet talks about how he came to establish Winter4Kids, what it took to get the organization started, how he keeps it running and his plans for the future.

Northwind Group founder and Managing Partner Ran Eliasaf talks about firm's activities in New Jersey, discusses the state of the lending market and assesses the overall strength of the commercial real estate space.

Cyndie Williams, the executive director of the Carpenter Contractor Trust, talks about her introduction to and career in carpentry, the resources available for young women considering careers in the industry and the state of the industry and labor movement.

Chubb Senior Vice President of Risk Engineering Services Erik Olsen – who specializes in property protection risk engineering and complex evaluations for industrial and commercial facilities, and property conservation for large properties and construction – describes many of the dangers businesses now face, including threats created or exacerbated by climate change, and what can be done to protect against them.

Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water, describes how the company pitches itself to voters about potential acquisitions, how the infrastructure work is going and what its charitable arm is up to.