Chuck Leitgeb, who oversees state government relations for Bayer across the
Northeast, has been elected chairman of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey’s board of trustees.
He succeeds Leo Farber, formerly of Novartis and now senior vice president of public
affairs at BD.
The news was first reported by the New Jersey Globe.
The board also reappointed Johnson & Johnson’s Adam Taliaferro, a former Democratic assemblyman from South Jersey, as chairman of its steering committee.
Leitgeb’s career began in journalism, as a political reporter for the Bergen Record,
before he moved into press roles for Essex County Executive Nicholas Amato and Rep.
Jim Courter’s 1989 gubernatorial campaign. He later served as press secretary for
Rodney Frelinghuysen’s 1990 congressional run.
Leitgeb joined the Assembly Republican staff in 1992, the same period Bob Franks — a former assemblyman, congressman and GOP state chairman — was finishing his legislative career before heading to Congress. Franks went on to lead HINJ before his death from cancer in 2010 at age 58.
Leitgeb has been with Bayer’s government relations team since 2014, managing state
legislative matters affecting the company’s pharmaceutical, consumer health and crop science businesses, as well as its radiology unit. He previously served as vice president
of the Insurance Council of New Jersey and assistant vice president of the New Jersey
Cable Telecommunications Association.
In other board actions, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical’s Adam Brand and Sanofi’s George Coutros were elected vice chairmen; Johnson & Johnson’s Christopher Guiton was elected treasurer; and Keenova Therapeutics’ Derek Naten was elected secretary.
Additional board members include Andrew Antrobus of Novo Nordisk, Domenick
Argento of Merck, Adam Lotspike of BD, Joseph McGowan of Novartis and Melissia
Whitmarsh of Daiichi Sankyo.
