Mr. Jose Lozano, Co Vice-Chair

Jose Lozano serves as Senior Vice President for Strategic Business Partnerships at Hackensack Meridian Health, the largest health network in New Jersey with 18 hospitals, 500 patient care locations, 36,000 team members and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

An accomplished executive in strategy, operations, public relations and communications across multiple sectors, Jose has distinguished himself through an exceptional record of achievement in state, national and international affairs.

Jose returned to Hackensack Meridian Health in 2022 to oversee the development and implementation of external strategies that bridge the private sector with high-quality, accessible healthcare. His responsibilities also include managing the organization's growing real estate portfolio ensuring that innovative, state-of the-art care continues to expand into communities throughout New Jersey to  achieve optimal outcomes and value in healthcare delivery.

Prior to his return, Jose was president and chief executive officer of Choose New Jersey, the state’s leading  not-for-profit organization facilitating economic growth throughout New Jersey.  Under Jose’s leadership, Choose New Jersey expanded its operations to Europe and India, managed a groundbreaking $10 million business marketing initiative on behalf of the State of New Jersey, and helped recruit and retain tens of thousands of jobs in the state, resulting in billions of dollars in new investment.

Before leading Choose New Jersey in 2018, Jose was Chief of Staff and Vice President for Corporate Services and Governance at Hackensack Meridian Health, where he managed several critical executive functions including corporate relations, strategy development, operations, board relations, public relations and communications. Jose became chief of staff for HMH upon the onset of the merger that created the health network and played an instrumental role in integration strategies.

Before joining the Hackensack Meridian Health leadership team, Jose served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Chief of Staff and homeland security advisor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, leading an immediate staff of 100+ in the development and implementation of the agency’s environmental agenda domestically and abroad. 

Jose also served in several other key government positions including as Executive Director of the 2017 Transition for Governor-elect Phil Murphy; Director for Strategic and External Affairs at the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness; Director of Operations for New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine; and a member of the Transition Staff for President Obama and Vice-President Biden. This wealth of experience has given Jose unique expertise in building and managing organizations through times of crisis, transition, merger and consolidation.

He is widely recognized by national and regional media as a stand-out young executive. He has been named among NJBiz’s Top 40 Under 40, Becker’s Hospital Review’s 60 National Rising Stars Under 40, ROI-NJ’s Power 100, and listed in the top People of Color Influencer List.  Jose currently serves on several boards, including the National Advisory Board of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Regional Plan Association and Stockton University.

Jose is a New Jersey native, who received his Bachelor of Arts from Stockton University and a Masters degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Oradell, NJ with their two daughters.