ALBANY - Linda Sanford, senior vice president for enterprise on demand/transformation and information technology at IBM, has been elected chairman of The Business Council of New York State for the next 12 months. Kirk Gregg, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Corning, Inc., has been elected vice chairman of The Business Council, and is in line to succeed Sanford next year. Paul S. Speranza Jr., senior vice president, secretary, and general counsel for Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., has been re-elected vice chairman for finance.
In addition, the Board of Directors of The Business Council has elected seven other business leaders to terms on the board. The elections took place Wednesday, September 21, at The Business Council's Annual Meeting in Bolton Landing, Warren County.
The top board officers of The Business Council are:
- Linda Sanford, chairman of The Business Council and
senior vice president for enterprise on demand transformation and information
technology. In that role, Sanford leads the strategy for IBM’s
internal transformation to the industry’s premier on-demand business.
She is responsible for working across IBM to transform core business
processes, create an information-technology infrastructure to support
those processes, and help create a culture that recognizes the value
that on-demand leadership can bring to IBM.
Sanford joined IBM in 1975 and has moved up through engineering, management, and executive positions to become one of the highest-ranking women at the company. She is a member of the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame and has been named one of the 50 most influential women in business by Fortune magazine.
She earned a bachelor’s degree at St. John’s University and a master’s degree in operations research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. - Kirk Gregg, vice chairman of The Busienss Council
and executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Corning,
Inc.
Gregg joined Corning in 1993 as the director of executive compensation. The following year he became vice president of executive resources and employee benefits. In 1997, Gregg was named the senior vice president of administration. He was named to his current position in 2002. Gregg is a member of the board of directors of PersonalPath Systems, Inc. and Three Rivers Development Corporation. He is a graduate of Bemidji State University in Minnesota and received a master’s degree in industrial relations from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. - Paul Speranza, vice chairman of finance of The Business Council and senior vice president, secretary, and general counsel of Wegmans. Speranza joined Wegmans in 1976, and is responsible for legal affairs, government relations, taxation, and labor relations. A graduate of Syracuse University, he earned degrees in law from the University of San Francisco and New York University.
The Council's new directors are:
- Paul R. Comeau, chairman of the Buffalo-based law firm, Hodgson Russ, LLP. A graduate of the SUNY at Buffalo School of Law, he has practiced New York tax law since 1973, has served as co-editor of two tax-law publications and lectures frequently throughout the U.S. on tax-related topics.
- William J. Cromie, president and CEO of Capital District Physicians' Health Plan. Dr. Cromie has served as a professor of surgery and pediatrics at Albany Medical College and has held the post of vice chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Chicago. Dr. Cromie has authored dozens of publications in the health-care field and is a governor of the American College of Surgeons. He holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a medical degree from St. Louis University Medical School.
- Robert M. Curley, chairman of Citizens Bank's operations in New York State. He began his career in 1976 with Keybank and later became vice president of that company. In 1999, he joined Charter One bank, which was aquired by Citizens in 2004. He serves on nearly a dozen boards, including the Albany Local Development Corporation and the Center for Economic Growth. He holds an MBA in finance from Adelphi University.
- Gerard A. Dufresne, sector vice president for airborne early warning and electronic warfare systems at Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems. He is a 1980 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and has been with Northrop Grumman since 1987. He has served as vice president of operations and quality for [air compat] systems, vice president of Palmdale (California) operations, and vice president and long range strike manager. Before assuming his current posision, he had served as vice president and deputy for the air combat systems business area.
- Jeffrey Kindler, vice chairman of Pfizer, Inc. He also serves as the company's general counsel and chif compliance officer, and—along with the CEO and fellow vice chairmen—he is a member of Pfizer's four-person executive committee, the governing management team of the company. He is a 1980 graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He later served as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. He later became the vice president and senior counsel for litigation and legal policy for General Electric.
- Leland C. Launer, president of institutional business for MetLife, Inc. In that role he oversees MetLife's institutional business segment, which provides group life, disability, dental, long-term care, and other insurances services to group customers in the U.S. He received an MBA in accounting and finance from the University of Southern California in 1979 and joined MetLife that same year.
- Thomas M. Warsop, a vice president for U.S. fiancial services at EDS, a global business consulting firm. Before serving in his current position, Warsop spent three years in the United Kingdom as chief executive for one of EDS’ largest clients: the United Kingdom Department of Work and Pensions. Warsop has held several executive roles with EDS, including president of EDS’ Business Process Management organization in Asia Pacific.
In addition, Marsha Gordon, the president and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester, has been designated to sit with the Council's Board as the chamber of commerce representative.
The Business Council is New York's largest broad-based business group, representing some 3,500 member companies across the state. Council members represent well over one million employees in all regions of the state and in all sectors of the economy. Based in Albany, The Council lobbies for a better business climate and offers cost-cutting services to its members.
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