SJBiz_TopCEOs_0121FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 1 / 29 / 21 3 : 30 PM Page 2 Stanley Middleman , LeAnne Stewart , President and CEO , CFO , Axia Women’s Health Freedom Mortgage Corporation Stewart has more than three Since founding Freedom Mort - decades of experience as a gage in 1990 , Middleman has chief financial officer across rown the company into one g various industries . Her career of the largest U.S . originators began at Ernst & Young , fol - and servicers , with more than lowed by CFO roles at Nash 10,000 employees and con - Finch Company , a publicly tractors across 100 locations . raded grocer , and Granite t Middleman is an active member Construction , a civil construc - of the Mortgage Bankers As - tion and materials company . sociation , where he serves on Stewart moved into the health both the board of directors care industry as CFO of CRC nd the residential board of a Health Group where she governors . In 2019 he received played an integral role in its the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur successful sale to Acadia Healthcare for $ 1.2 billion . She was of the Year Greater Philadelphia Award in the financial services also CFO of 21st Century Oncology , which provides integrated category . A strong supporter of U.S . servicemen and women cancer care across the globe , and joined Axia in 2018 . Stewart and veterans , he received the 2018 Liberty USO Chairman’s holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Award , and last year the company and its employees donated Pennsylvania and is a certified public accountant and certified over $ 2.6 million to support several organizations including management accountant . Feeding America , Salvation Army and Toys for Tots . Middleman “ While profitable growth has always and will always be a also serves on several nonprofit boards , including Philadelphia’s cornerstone , business leaders today have a responsibility to Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts . matters beyond those that are purely financial . Our teams “ The hardest decision ever made in my career was letting need leaders who are empathetic , build resiliency and create go of running many of the day - to - day operations of my business . community through communication . Uncertainty surrounds Having built Freedom Mortgage from the ground up , I was in - us — arguably now more than ever before — and to be effective volved in every aspect of the business for years . I made the managers we must anticipate and plan for the unexpected , tough decision to delegate authority , responsibility and ac - empower agility in our teams and transform our operations countability to many of my skilled teammates . … The silver to drive better results . ” lining to this tough decision was that it offered career growth opportunities to others , which provided more fuel to grow the business . ” Jason Cesare , CFO , NEST Alice Gens , Cesare joined NEST in 2018 Operating Officer / CFO , New Jersey as CFO and oversees the com - Business & Industry Assocation pany’s financial planning and reporting , accounting , sourcing , Gens joined the NJBIA , one investment strategies , mergers of the nation’s largest statewide and acquisitions , tax and treas - employer associations , as its ury functions . Cesare joined CFO in 2015 . Her responsibil - NEST from Sneaker Villa , Inc . ities included overseeing the where he served as VP finance , controller , human resources planning and analysis and and information technology helped build profitability by departments . Within two years , an over 80 % run rate . Cesare Gens assumed the newly cre - has also held various positions ated chief operating officer in financial management with position at NJBIA , while main - Charming Shoppes and Robinson Luggage . He also spent 10 taining the role of CFO . Gens years at A.C . Moore , growing into the senior vice president fi - has over two decades ’ expe - nance of the company and assisted in its growth from $ 87 rience in fiscal operations , million to $ 650 million . Cesare has a bachelor’s in accounting which began at AT & T and progressed to nonprofit and asso - from West Chester University . ciation management . She obtained an MBA from La Salle Uni - “ Signing off on closing a division was the toughest decision versity and bachelor’s from Rutgers University . I’ve had to make in my career , knowing that this would affect “ The biggest challenge today , especially during a pandemic , many families . Even though it was the right business decision , is the speed in which you need to make critical decisions . there’s the human factor that can’t be ignored . Knowing how Because information is moving so quickly , oftentimes it doesn’t difficult this was , I was able to provide outplacement services afford the necessary amount of time to study data or consumer to ensure we provided assistance for their transition to new behavior to best inform those decisions . When that happens , opportunities . In this experience , and in days like today with you need to be able to rely on experience , instinct and your COVID , empathy must be top of mind . ” team . I’m very fortunate to have a smart and collaborative team at NJBIA to help with those decisions . ” ? SouthJerseyBiz.net | VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1 | SOUTH JERSEY BIZ | 19