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The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey‘s board of trustees on March 26 announced the successor to longtime President and CEO Dean Paranicas.

Christine “Chrissy” Buteas will take the reins of the Trenton-based biopharmaceutical and medical technology trade association, effective April 8. Paranicas announced his plans to retire in December. 

Chris Lepore, trustees chair, and vice president, U.S. State Affairs, Johnson & Johnson, described Buteas as “a highly regarded and accomplished businessperson with statewide recognition.” 

According to her LinkedIn profile, Buteas’ leadership experience includes serving as president and CEO of the Home Care & Hospice Association of New Jersey and chief government affairs officer for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA). Most recently, she was vice president, Government Affairs, for Optimum. 

She also serves on numerous boards. Recently, Buteas was recently chair of Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey. 

“These experiences will help to further enhance the mission of the organization and bolster the high-quality impact and work done on behalf of its members by the HINJ team,” Lepore added. 

Advocating for NJ’s life sciences industry 

In her new position, Buteas will serve as a key advocate in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Her work will aim to grow the life sciences industry “as a pillar of New Jersey’s economy, protecting and expanding patient access and strengthening our state’s world-class innovation ecosystem in the face of ever-changing federal and state public policy environments,” according to her hiring announcement. 

Buteas said she was excited to join HINJ. “New Jersey is the cradle of the nation’s life sciences community, and through the contributions of its companies, it has richly earned the reputation as the ‘medicine chest of the world,'” she added.

“The HINJ team is highly respected, and I look forward to working with them and our member companies to address the industry’s challenges and opportunities to benefit patients, and to ensure that we expand our state’s standing as a global life sciences leader where medical innovation can continue to flourish,” Buteas continued.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Buteas earned a master’s in public administration from Rutgers University-Newark. She received a bachelor’s degree in law and justice studies from Rowan University.  

Her predecessor, Paranicas, joined HINJ in March 2011 as the organizations’ third president and CEO.  

“It has been my distinct honor and privilege to have been a part of an industry for over 40 years with such a noble calling – to improve the human condition,” Paranicas said in his retirement announcement. “New Jersey’s life sciences community is a pillar not only of our state’s workforce and economy, but also of global human health.”