Awards/Recognition > Outstanding Business Persons 2007
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Patron Sponsors: 
Amper, Politiziner & Mattia; Ceremonial Weddings, Inc.

Patrick A. Cozza

HSBC

Patrick A. Cozza has served as chairman, president and CEO of HSBC Insurance in North America of Bridgewater, NJ  since 2004. HSBC's presence in New Jersey includes over 1,600 employees, 700 of which are in Somerset County.
Cozza directly oversees Insurance operations that include 700 employees in 5 states plus overseas operations. His business serves nearly 9 million customers in the U.S. and Canada and is the second largest insurer for credit protection in the U.S. The company also offers a variety of life insurance to customers of its HFC and Beneficial branch locations across the U.S. He is a life-long New Jersey resident, and current Somerset County resident. Cozza is chairman of the board of Junior Achievement of New Jersey, a non-profit organization whose main goal is to educate young children about business. He has served on the JA board for seven years. Pat is also on the board of trustees of the Cancer Hope Network, a non-profit organization that provides one-on-one support to people undergoing treatment for cancer. He also serves on the board of directors of the Somerset County Business Partnership.

Jeanne Perantoni
SSP Architectural Group

Jeanne Perantoni, AIA, a native of Somerville, NJ, is a Principal of SSP Architectural Group, a firm with a 116-year legacy of service in Somerset County. Jeanne has been involved with a body of educational work that includes well over one hundred projects. Local design-build projects include work with the Somerville Public Schools and the Somerset County Vocational Technical High School, the Raritan Valley Community College's Twenty-five Year Master Plan and its new high performance West Building. Jeanne and SSP Architectural Group were main contributors to the recently adopted new public policy on County public building design. Furthermore, Jeanne has been instrumental in setting public policy at the State level, guiding the planning, design and development of K-12 educational facilities. Her pioneering work has helped form State Department of Education program models for their design; and her application of those community school programs combined with green design principles have been mandated for all future State-funded school projects by Executive Order. Jeanne’s was recognized by NJ BIZ as one of the top 50 women in business in the State in 2006. She is a member of the RVCC Foundation Board of Directors and the Somerset Medical Center Foundation Board. She has previously served as a member of the Somerset Valley YMCA Board.

Kelly is Director of Operations for WESKetch Architecture, Inc. of Millington, NJ. She is responsible for business operations of the firm that has witnessed growth of nearly 400% during her ten-year tenure. To accommodate growth, Ms. Kaufman developed an employee manual in an effort to keep pace with the challenges of today's workforce. The 82-page document is a one-stop resource for all employee related issues. She has developed an employee recognition program that provides a real and tangible award for an outstanding employee each quarter. She worked with department heads to form an Employee Health and Welfare program with over 70% staff participation. Kelly is responsible for the annual staff training and development trip, handling all staff arrangements and coordinating all sessions, scheduling topics touching virtually every component of the firm, from human resources to leadership and teamwork training, from learning sessions about the design process to procedure overview.  Kelly also serves in the capacity of wife and mother of three daughters. She remains active in her community, serving on many committees at her children’s schools and participating in charitable activities representing the firm. She was recently awarded with the firm's highest level of recognition, the Pinnacle Honor.

Emily Anne Granger is a junior at Bridgewater-Raritan High School who has turned her love for animals into a profitable part-time business for the young entrepreneur. As a fan of nature shows her whole life, Emily Anne realized at a very young age that a career working with animals was in her future. Now, with the success of her business and a short lifetime of experience, she is pursuing a higher education in the field of zoology.
Her pet sitting business began at a young age when care for her own two cats, bunny, turtle, and frog turned to watching and caring for the pets of family and friends. In 2004, Emily Anne determined that there was a significant enough market for her to expand her enterprise and Emilyanneimals Pet Care became a business. Operating by the motto, “I’ll care for your pets as if they were mine,” Emily Anne follows a busy day in class with extracurricular activities including the Color Guard with the Marching Band. Despite daily practice, a hot and tired Emily Anne immediately serves the needs of client pets before dinner and homework. It is this attitude and work ethic that has enabled her business to grow to 12 clients generating in excess of $4,000 per year and requiring the support of two part-time employees. She has recently branched out into lawn care, serving three clients with three and a half acres to maintain. Further expansion will have to wait as schoolwork and the prospect of college are taking precedence.