BCW Elects New Chairman and Six New Members to Board of Directors

The Business Council of Westchester, the county’s largest and most influential business membership organization, has elected a new chairman and a new slate of members to its Board of Directors.

Heidi Davidson, the Co-Founder and CEO of Galvanize Worldwide, the largest distributed network of marketing and communications experts in the world, was elected chairman of the Board of Directors at the BCW’s Annual Dinner on October 10, along with six new board members who will take office January 1.

Davidson of West Harrison is a marketing and communications executive who has worked for BlackBerry and MasterCard Worldwide. She has served on the BCW’s Executive Committee and is responsible for key Business Council policy initiatives including the launch of the BCW’s Data Exchange. She will succeed Anthony Justic, a partner with accounting firm Maier, Markey and Justic LLP, who has served as chairman for the past five years.

“From the revitalization of our urban centers to our advocacy for responsible enhancements at the county airport and leadership on the future of our energy supply, the BCW has been a dominant player on economic development issues that matter to Westchester businesses,’’ said Marsha Gordon, President and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester. “Tony Justic’s leadership played a key role in that success. In 2019, the BCW continued to build on its success and I am certain that Heidi Davidson will bring us to new heights and lead our organization into the future.”

Davidson said that she was honored to lead the BCW. “I look forward to continuing the upward trajectory and inclusiveness that the BCW has experienced under Tony Justic’s leadership,’’ she said. “My goal as chairman is to build on that success and to expand the BCW’s role as an economic development leader in Westchester and beyond.’’

Before co-founding Galvanize Worldwide, Davidson spent four years as part of the turn-around team at BlackBerry in senior executive roles focused on helping the company move from a device manufacturer to a security software and services provider.  Prior to that, Davidson worked at MasterCard Worldwide at its global headquarters in Purchase, New York for 11 years, serving in various leadership capacities.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY, an MBA in Marketing and a Doctorate degree (ABD) in Business from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business in New York. In 2015, Heidi was named to the PR News list of Top Women in PR and won the Canada’s Top Women in Technology – Leadership Excellence Award.

Also elected to the board to three-year terms were six new board members: Seamus Carey, President, Iona College; Robert Cioffi, COO & Co-Founder, Progressive Computing; Susan W. Fox, Ph.D, President and CEO, Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD);  Jerry Klein, President & CEO, Tompkins Mahopac Bank; Marvin Krislov, President, Pace University; Jill Singer, President, Jill Singer Graphics.

“We are truly honored to have such a distinguished group of business leaders joining our board of directors. They bring many years of experience in their respective fields and we are fortunate to have these proven leaders join our board,” said Gordon.