Board of Directors

Our chapter is supported by the consistent and enthusiastic commitment of many people. Serving the chapter in their many roles, the individuals listed below work to bring programming to PDMA members and the product development and management community.

Anastasia Conlon

Anastasia Conlon – President

Anastasia leads the NY/NJ Chapter as the Chapter President.  She currently is a Global Product Manager for Thermo Fisher Scientific where she drives growth of the Analytical and Bioreagents product lines via all aspects of the NPI process, as well as strategic pricing.  She has a broad based background gleaned from over 25 years manufacturing including new product development, and has contributed to and awarded 6 patents. She has a BA in Chemistry and a BS in Ceramic Science.

Adam Schwartz

Adam Schwartz, PMP – Treasurer / Webmaster

Adam assists the chapter by managing chapter finances and supporting its presence on the PDMA website, including ensuring effective communication to chapter members about upcoming events.  Adam is a Managing Director at Acquis Consulting Group where he leads Acquis’s New Product & Service Development practice.  There he works closely with clients to support New Product endeavors from idea to launch. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Miami University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Prashant Shah

Prashant Shah – VP of Programming

Prashant’s goal is to help deliver exceptional educational and networking opportunities to the PDMA membership and the NY/NJ Innovation community. His Product Development experience at Alcatel-Lucent/Bell Labs, for wireless 1G to 4G base stations, includes various roles - Technical Expert, Architect, System Engineer, and Developer. He was a key Architect for 3G CDMA/EVDO and 4G UMB technologies. Currently, he is providing technical consultation for 4G LTE products at Alcatel-Lucent.  Prashant holds B.E. (Electronics) from M.S. University, Baroda, India and M.S. (Electrical) from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Howard Hall

Howard Hall, PMP – Director of Programming

Howard's role is to assist with the development of top quality informational programs and to ensure a superior event experience.  His telecommunications career includes product development, product management, business analysis and project management positions at Verizon, Lucent Technologies, Cartesian, and Argent Associates.  He has provided network technology solutions and business analysis consulting services to the large business, health and education sectors.  Howard holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, Northwestern University, and a Master Certificate in Business Analysis from Villanova University.

Peter Duggan

Peter Duggan – Director of Marketing

Peter is Senior Vice President of Product Management & Strategy for the US Registry business of Computershare. Prior to assuming his current role, he was the head of Client Management for BNY Mellon’s Shareholder Services division.  During his 12 year tenure at BNY Mellon and its predecessor companies, Peter held a number of roles within the business.  Before joining BNY Mellon in 1999, he was the head of product management for Deutsche Bank's global Corporate Trust business with staff in New York, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.

Peter graduated cum laude from Boston College with a B.S. in English and Mathematics. He received his MBA in Finance and International Business from the NYU Stern Business School. Peter is a dual citizen of both the U.S and the Republic of Ireland.

 

Les Neumann

Les Neumann – VP of Membership 

Les is the Managing Director of iCANny, a not for profit New York State Certified Business Incubator serving entrepreneurs in the greater Mid-Hudson Valley since 2005. iCANny is uniquely focused on supporting the accelerated commercialization of innovative technologies, products and services. As a lifelong entrepreneur and innovator, Les is leading these initiatives which are altering the paradigm of traditional, geographically restricted incubation and acceleration.

iCANny is a socially networked organization that has a recruited a global cadre of experienced business executives, professionals, technologists and service providers in a variety of technical and business disciplines. Our mission is to facilitate the licensing of cleantech, energy, information technologies, bio, med-tech and life science innovations worldwide stimulating local investment, economic development and job creation.

Les is a co-founder of iCLEAN, a NYSERDA supported energy and cleantech incubation partnership between iCANny and the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering (SUNY Polytechnic). His energy and cleantech incubator is also engaged with the formation of new cleantech incubators in Newburgh New York (as a component of a StartUpNY initiative with Mount Saint Mary College)incubator; the BioInc incubator in a collaborative partnership with New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York; and has integrated its virtual incubation methodologies into various co-working centers in Westchester.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Les has managed privately and publicly held companies, structured numerous financings, formed strategic partnerships and turnarounds. An experienced executive, Les serves on numerous Boards as well as an Advisor for academic institutions. Les is a sought after speaker for domestic and international conferences on emerging cleantech innovations, entrepreneurship and twenty first century incubation methodologies.