How things change in 20 years. Back when the Route 1 corridor was still an infant (and this newspaper was that, as well), few corporate headquarters graced the landscape. The experts had a reason for this. Corporate headquarters had to be located on hills, and Princeton was flat. The big corporations, so the collective wisdom went, had to be higher, and central New Jersey, with its flat topography, was not a good choice and never was going to be.
While Princeton still is not home to the likes of an IBM or AT&T, times do change, and so do corporate tastes. As the cover story of this issue illustrates, some companies today have a different outlook, and a business community like Princeton can literally offer a level playing field. When the president of the company wants to be in close contact with the newest hire, as David Crane prefers at NRG, a corner office on the fifth floor just won’t do. Fortunately for Princeton, the building at 211 Carnegie met this egalitarian-minded space requirement.
We saw some familiar faces and some new faces at the grand opening reception. One familiar face was that of architect Ahmed Azmy, one of the founders of the firm that first occupied Carnegie 211, CUH2A – Azmy is one of the 2 As in the firm’s title. But Azmy wasn’t there for old times’ sake – he was representing Princeton Rotary and also visiting with his daughter, Nahla, now director of investor relations for NRG.
Among the new faces are these that appear on our cover: Jim Dauer (senior trader, natural gas), Bob Henry (vice president of asset management), Herb Tate (former chair of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, now an NRG board member), CEO David Crane, Denise Wilson (vice president of HR), Tim O’Brien (vice president and general counsel), Lisa Cariveau (executive assistant to CEO Crane), Kathy Marhold (executive assistant to CFO Bob Flexon), Steve Winn (director, M&A), David Galvin (executive director, strategy) and Carolyn Burke (director of financial planning and analysis).
To the Editor
The article about Ken Traub (U.S. 1, January 12), mentioned that Ken found a “. . . building constructed by Matrix Development” on Applegate Drive in Robbinsville. Although Matrix has constructed most of the buildings in the park, in fact Matrix did not build this building. I know this because we built the building for McLean Engineering.
Matrix did develop the entire park. McLean was the second building in the park. We were the construction manager for McLean. We started work on site for the McLean project in the spring of 1997 and completed it in the summer of 1998.
Vincent J. Scozzari Jr.
Vice President,
V. J. Scozzari & Sons Inc.
134 Franklin Corner Road, Lawrenceville
Correction:
In the Best Bets article (January 19), “Four Minute Workout,” the correct website is www.thefourminuteworkout.com.
