Roswell’s Johnson named 2016 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Candace S. Johnson, PhD, president and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, has been named the 2016 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by the University at Buffalo School of Management.

The award will be presented at the 67th Annual School of Management Alumni Association Awards Banquet beginning at 5 p.m. on Nov. 1, at the Statler Hotel, 107 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

Johnson, who also serves as the Wallace Family Chair in Translational Research and professor of oncology in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the Buffalo-based cancer center and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UB, was selected by a vote of past honorees and the alumni association’s board of directors, who cited her innovative and collaborative leadership and commitment to Western New York.

Founded in 1898, Roswell Park provides care to nearly 34,000 patients annually and employs more than 3,200 team members whose mission is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York.

In 2015, Johnson became Roswell Park’s 15th CEO and the first woman to hold that post. She is credited with re-energizing the organization. Under her strategic vision, Roswell Park is focused on bringing the world’s best physicians and scientists to Western New York.

Johnson is known for her results-oriented leadership style, which can be seen in the groundbreaking innovations and compassionate patient care delivered by the Roswell Park team.

From 2008 to 2015, Johnson led Roswell Park’s research activities as deputy director. She also served as chair of Roswell Park’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics for more than a decade, where she facilitated the seamless bench-to-bedside development and delivery of promising new cancer therapies.

Highlights of her tenure in that role include the renewal of Roswell Park’s Cancer Center Support Grant funding from the National Cancer Institute and designation of its core grant application as “Outstanding” in 2015, and her leadership role in the establishment of two new hallmark programs at Roswell Park: the Center for Immunotherapy in 2009 and the Center for Personalized Medicine in 2013.

Prior to joining the Roswell Park faculty in 2002, Johnson served as deputy director of basic research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and professor of pharmacology and medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Johnson is a member of the National Institutes of Health Reviewers Reserve and the boards of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the Association of American Cancer Institute, as well as several other professional and scientific societies.

In Western New York, she serves on the boards of the Catholic Health System, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Buffalo Translational Consortium and OmniSeq LLC, as well as the Daemen College community advisory board and the Sacred Heart Academy STEM advisory board.

Established in 1949, the Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year award is presented annually to an individual who resides in or has a major impact on the region, and whose career has been distinguished by executive success and civic leadership. Recent honorees include Jody Lomeo, CEO of both Kaleida Health and the Great Lakes Health System of Western New York; William Gisel Jr., president and CEO of Rich Products; and Christopher Koch, CEO of New Era Cap.

For information about the awards banquet, contact the School of Management’s Office of Alumni Engagement and External Relations at mgt-alumni@buffalo.edu or 716-645-3224.