Business Summit 2025 | Middlesex County NJ

2025 Business Summit Identifier Horizontal

A Sold-Out Day of Learning and Networking

Hundreds of New Jersey’s visionary business leaders, entrepreneurs, advisors, and government officials came together on October 9, 2025 at the Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center in New Brunswick. The theme, “Thriving Through Change: Business, Innovation, and the Future of Work,” highlighted the groundbreaking efforts underway to develop products, services, and jobs that enhance our lives, strengthen our economy, and enrich our communities.

Attendees gained firsthand insights from a distinguished lineup of presenters who are blazing trails in their respective fields. Thanks to all of our attendees and speakers for making the Summit a must-attend event and the region’s premier business conference.

Key Event Takeaways and Highlights

Keynote Speaker: William F. Tate, IV, President, Rutgers University

In this inspiring address, President Tate highlighted the critical role education plays in building and maintaining strong communities — and in building and maintaining a top biomedical hub. Reflecting on his early experiences as a mathematics teacher in public schools in Dallas, Tate shared the concept of the “cycle of opportunity,” which describes the vital need for a positive, supportive relationship between the community and education. He then connected this concept with Rutgers’ biomedical ecosystem, explaining that the University’s job is to “benchmark the very best practices so they can be applied in an open industry,” to help make this region the top biomedical ecosystem in the country.

Key Takeaways

“Organize or Die!” In order to succeed, everyone — businesses, the academic community, government — must work together. Coordinating efforts helps ensure that common goals are met. Working together is the key to surviving and thriving.

Invest in Education. Communities must have a strong K-12 school system, community college, and universities, and must invest in humanities majors as well as STEM majors in order to succeed as a biomedical hub. This is particularly true in New Jersey, where individuals with humanities degrees work in critical areas such as education, government, etc., with approximately 50% of humanities majors working in biomedical hubs.

Be on the Lookout for Your Real Opportunity and Be Ready to Pivot. While you may believe that you are good at one thing, there might be a different need your business can fulfill. Even as you focus on your goals, try to remain alert to other opportunities. This could be your real chance for success, so be on the lookout for it and be prepared to pivot if necessary.

Speaker

Dr. William F. Tate, IV

President, Rutgers University

From Classroom to Career: Education Driving Talent and Business Development in the Age of AI

With experience spanning the public and private sectors, the panelists discussed the potential benefits of AI for businesses and the community — and the strategic lens through which companies must view and implement this technology. They shared insights on how best to invest in developing the workforce of the future, including through education at the high school and collegiate levels, while also helping current employees learn and adapt to AI technology in the workplace.

“Will AI take your job? No, I don’t think so. But someone who knows AI will and I think that is the key.” — Henrik Elmgren, Enterprise Architect, AGT and SHI

Key Takeaways

Be Strategic. From hiring highly skilled individuals to build an AI system for your business to ensuring you have a workforce capable of using it properly, AI is an expensive investment. Rather than implementing AI simply because everyone else is, really think about how and why you will use it — and if it makes sense for your business or customers.

Education is Crucial. While Middlesex County government is investing in education at the County Magnet Schools and Middlesex College through its partnership with Rutgers University, it is not only young people who need to learn AI. Businesses should consider how AI will impact their workforce and plan to support existing employees, helping them get up to speed on AI so they are not left behind. Similarly, the community must be educated as well, in order to ensure your customer base benefits from AI.

Be Aware of and Prepared to Address Ethical Concerns. AI’s ability to intake and process tremendous amounts of data — some of it highly personal — means your business may face ethical questions around its use at some point, particularly in the healthcare industry. With great power comes great responsibility, so be ready to face those questions and concerns head-on and put practical, effective guardrails in place to protect your business and your customers.

Panelists

John Pulomena

Administrator, Middlesex County

Henrik Elmgren

Enterprise Architech, AGT and SHI

Naveena Yanamala, MS, PhD, FASE

Leader in AI & Cardiovascular Research, RWJMS, Rutgers University

Tom Bergeron

Founder, Owner and Editor of BINJE.com

The Future of Funding

In this exciting conversation regarding the future of funding, specifically for companies in the life sciences and technology industries, these two experts discussed the current funding landscape and what the future may hold. Additionally, they offered insights on how companies and entrepreneurs can best position themselves for investment in a highly competitive market.

“AI in summary is a big factor for getting funding, and at some point you need to mention how AI is shaping your company or startup or how you are benefitting primarily or secondarily from use cases.” — Arda Ural, PhD, Americas Life Sciences Leader, Ernst & Young

Key Takeaways

The Funding Landscape Has Shifted, But Opportunities Remain. The pandemic-era funding that fueled growth within the life sciences industry has slowed significantly over the past couple of years. Technology companies are now attracting a substantial amount of the available funding, leaving life sciences companies competing for what’s left.

As Public Funds Decrease, Some Private Equity Steps Up. The significant decrease in funding to universities from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Defense is impacting researchers. In some cases, private equity firms are working to expand their support for start-ups to help bridge the gap in funding.

Top Talent Attracts Funding. In most industries, but especially in life sciences, quality beats quantity. Focus on recruiting and retaining the best and brightest innovators and implementers to help make your idea a reality, and as long as there’s a market for your product, investors will follow.

AI is Already Impacting Funding in Certain Sectors. While it varies within the life sciences industry, there is an expectation among many investors that AI is a critical component in some products. This is particularly true in the medical technology industry, where a company that does not have AI embedded in their product may not receive a lot of funding.

Panelists

Nancy Tyrell

Director of Academic Partnerships, Portal Innovations

Arda Ural, PhD

Americas Life Sciences Leader, Ernst & Young

Tom Bergeron

Founder, Owner and Editor of BINJE.com

Entrepreneurial Success, Navigating in Today’s Environment

In a time of changing markets, these entrepreneurs shared insights on how to successfully scale a business through innovation, purpose, and finding the right partners. From industries like consumer goods, biosciences, and therapeutics, these three founders and CEOs shared their journeys, motivations, and strategies as well as key lessons learned along the way to becoming a successful business. They emphasized the importance of understanding customer needs, maintaining agility, and sharing a common vision, as well as the importance of location for their businesses.

“You need to have the passion, because it gets really hairy. Budgets get tight and you must have cash on-hand. But you have to be steadfast and have the passion to keep going, because you will face naysayers and challenges. And remember: Imposter syndrome is real. You’ll question yourself and if you have the credentials… but believe in yourself.” — Ariane Vasilatis, Co-Founder & CEO, Zena Therapeutics

Key Takeaways

A Shared Vision is Vital. Whether your funding comes from angel investors, grants, venture capital, or private equity, the right partners will share your vision for your business. Your partners must align with your mission, values, and long-term strategy, so choose partners wisely, as misalignments can lead to stalled growth. Having the right investors allows for strategic value in industry expertise and distribution networks.

Location, Location, Location. As with any business, a strategic location is critical. Building in the right environment can attract investment and accelerate growth, so base your company in an area where it can thrive through support for innovation and access to infrastructure. For instance, Middlesex County is a hub for innovation, in part because it actively supports and invests in innovation and innovators, but also because it offers companies access to distribution networks and diverse, highly qualified talent — making it a strategic location choice for any business.

Understand Your Market. Leading with insight pays off, so be sure you’re making decisions based on market research. Identifying clear demand, offering better value, and differentiating from competitors is what enables startups to succeed. Investing in consumer insights is essential to shape products, reduce risk, and guide strategy.

Panelists

John McGuckin

Chief Executive Officer, CLIO Snacks

John Huang PhD

Founder and Ceo, TheWell Bioscience, Inc

Ariane Vasilatis

Co-Founder & CEO, Zena Therapeutics

Sho Islam

Director of Business Engagement, Middlesex County

Artificial Intelligence Workshop

AI can help businesses streamline workflows and gain valuable insights that enable them to better reach their customers and audiences, freeing up more time to focus on the work that matters. Taught by a Grow with Google Coach, the Artificial Intelligence Workshop breakout session showcased actionable ways businesses can utilize AI as a tool to enhance their everyday work tasks. The session covered the fundamental principles of AI and its applications in various aspects, from small tasks like summarizing information at a business meeting to larger tasks such as understanding and acting on data relevant to their customers.

“AI is an assistant to you, but it’s an assistant to what’s already inside of you. It’s an assistant to your greatness.” — Soleil Meade, CEO, Pennsylvania Grow with Google Coach and CEO of Soleil Branding Essentials

Key Takeaways

AI Helps Businesses Stay Competitive. From common myths that AI will take over jobs to the unethical misuse of AI, some businesses may hesitate to adopt AI in their practices. Rather than view AI as a competitor, consider it a tool that your actual competitors are already using in their own operations. Embracing AI can help meet your business needs, stay current in this rapidly changing and competitive market, and be better prepared for the future.

Enhance Your Productivity and Creativity. By integrating AI into your business’s workflow, you can reduce time-consuming tasks, helping to streamline your processes. Whether it is brainstorming ideas, generating content, or researching trends, AI can help businesses make quicker, more informed decisions about the best next steps.

Strong Prompts = Stronger Results. To achieve AI results that closely align with your needs, it is essential to provide detailed and specific prompts that clearly outline what you want it to do. Be in conversation throughout the process so it can produce exactly what you want. Tell the AI a persona of who your business is, so it can understand your brand’s voice and audience, and provide clear directions on the task you need help with.

You are the Human Behind AI. While AI can produce content in a humanlike fashion, real human expertise and judgment are still necessary to utilize AI responsibly and ethically. Businesses should evaluate the AI response for credibility in its sources, refine it to match their brand’s voice and goals, and introduce constraints enabling them to use AI as a tool to support, rather than replace, their critical thinking skills.

Panelists

Soleil Meade

CEO, Pennsylvania Grow with Google Coach

Business Summit Highlights

For 2024 Business Summit highlights, click here.

For 2023 Business Summit highlights, click here.

For 2022 Business Summit highlights, click here.

ALERT: Weather-Related Closures and Service Suspensions

A Sold-Out Day of Learning and Networking

Key Event Takeaways and Highlights

Keynote Speaker: William F. Tate, IV, President, Rutgers University

From Classroom to Career: Education Driving Talent and Business Development in the Age of AI

The Future of Funding

Entrepreneurial Success, Navigating in Today’s Environment

Artificial Intelligence Workshop

Business Summit Highlights