NJ Tech Council Awards Innovation

On Nov 18, 2016

Last night, 10 companies, two individuals and one institution of higher education were recognized for their contributions and support of high-tech innovation in the Garden State at the New Jersey Tech Council’s Awards Celebration, held at The Palace in Somerset.

Stepping in front of hundreds of leading players in the field of high technology and research & development in the state, NJTC President and CEO James Barrood commented, “Tonight is a celebration of everything that makes our community so amazing. Every day, I see what you are doing … it is work that will change the world.”

The companies that were recognized included:

• Admera Health, which received the Trailblazer Award
• Princeton Identity, the Outstanding Technology Award
• LG Electronics, the Consumer Product Award
• Chromocell, the Beacon Light Award
• Tripod, the Rising Star Award
• Lumeta, the Innovative Technology Award
• iCIMS, the Impact Company of the Year Award
• Avaap, the Private Company of the Year Award
• Celgene, the Public Company of the Year Award
• Juniper Networks, the Master Technology Company of the Year Award

Kean University received the Knowledge is Power Award. Andrew Gilbert, co-managing partner at the law firm DLA Piper in Short Hills, received the Legend of Technology Award. Donald Katz, founder and CEO of Audible, Inc., Newark, received the Martinson-Ballen Technology Supporter award.

John Martinson and Maxine Ballen, founders of the NJTC, were in the audience and recognized for their passion and hard work in make the 20-year-old organization a success.

Barrood said the council has updated its programs to be more relevant to businesses. “We launched our second venture fund, and that is astounding. We are working on new initiatives to strengthen our talent pipeline, both technical and entrepreneurial. We are launching a new advisory board that will help us launch the next generation of leadership. We have much to be proud of, but at the same time, we have much work to do. We have to continue to strengthen our ecosystem to make each of you succeed,” he told the audience.

In protest to the wave of anti-immigration talk seen in the recent presidential campaign of President-elect Donald Trump, Barrood said, that much of the success of the high-tech sector is “due to the influx of immigrants who now call New Jersey home. I need to say that loud and clear. Our diversity is our strength.”

Barrood also introduced the council’s new logo; a circuit board design symbolizing “all of the connections we make at the Council with our universities, policy makers, talent and stakeholders.”

The tag line at the bottom of the logo, designed by Marketsmith, reads: “The Future Starts Here.”

Regarding New Jersey innovation moving foward, Barrood commented, “Tonight, the future starts here in this room.”

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