Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) announced the appointment of four national leaders to the company’s corporate advisory board: Dr. Judith Rodin, President Emerita of the University of Pennsylvania and former President of the Rockefeller Foundation; Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick (Ret.), former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Ron DeGregorio, former CEO of NET Power and President of Exelon Power; and Michael K. Ohm, leading environmental attorney and former Managing Partner of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.
“HRP is a transformation company and we are privileged to have these transformational leaders join our team,” said HRP CEO Roberto Perez. “Our advisors have a diverse background of experiences and expertise, with impressive track records of leadership, challenging assumptions and refusing to accept limitations. Their perspective and guidance will be invaluable as we work to transform obsolete industrial sites into sustainable economic engines in cities and communities across the country.”
The HRP advisory board will leverage their broad expertise to counsel the company on all facets of business and corporate strategy. Additionally, the advisory board will assist the company with key growth initiatives and help HRP continue to enhance its holistic approach to development and progress its core principles of economic, environmental, and community sustainability.
Dr. Judith Rodin
An innovator, change-maker and global thought-leader, Dr. Judith Rodin spent decades leading and transforming two global institutions: The Rockefeller Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Rodin was trained as a research psychologist and began her academic career as a professor of psychology at New York University.
In 1992, she became Provost of Yale University, where she earned an international reputation as a pioneer of the women’s health movement. In 1994, she was appointed President of the University of Pennsylvania, where she presided over an unprecedented decade of growth and progress that transformed the institution, its campus, and the community, taking the university from sixteenth to fourth in U.S. News and World Report national rankings.
In 2005, Dr. Rodin was named President of The Rockefeller Foundation. Serving in the role for more than a decade, she ushered in a new era of strategic philanthropy that emphasized partnerships with business, government, and the philanthropic community to address and solve for the complex challenges of the 21st century. Throughout her academic work, Dr. Rodin was appointed to leading government, academic, and nonprofit advisory roles, including President Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. She is the first woman named to permanently lead an Ivy League Institution and was the first woman to serve as The Rockefeller Foundation’s president.
Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick (Ret.)
Recognized as a foremost authority on strategic leadership, engineering, the environment, and infrastructure, Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick served as the 53rd Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), where he was responsible for most of the nation’s civil works infrastructure and military construction.
A highly decorated officer, Lt. General Bostick served as second-in-command of the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division when it deployed into Iraq, and later commanded the USACE Gulf Region Division. After returning from combat, he led U.S. Army Recruiting Command and later served as the Director of Human Resources for the entire Army. An expert in crisis response, Bostick controlled the keys to the nuclear codes during the tragic events of 9-11, and he led the nation’s recovery effort following Hurricane Sandy. Appointed USACE Chief of Engineers in 2012, Lt. General Bostick led the world’s largest public engineering organization. Under his leadership, USACE was the most improved federal agency for employee satisfaction and the only federal agency with a successful financial audit during his tenure.
Most recently, Lt. General Bostick served as the Chief Operating Officer and President of Intrexon Bioengineering (NASDAQ: XON). A nationally recognized educator and scholar, he has received numerous honors and awards, including induction into the National Academy of Engineering, recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers OPAL Leadership Award and the White House Fellows Foundation’s John W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award.
Michael K. Ohm
An early leader in and contributor to the nascent brownfield remediation and redevelopment era beginning in mid-1990’s, Michael Ohm recently retired from his environmental law partnership at the global firm, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.
Mr. Ohm began his legal career in public service, first with the United States Environmental Protection Agency focused in the area of waste management regulation and subsequently as a special assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois, where he prosecuted criminal and civil actions pursuant to Illinois and Federal environmental laws.
Upon entering private practice, Mr. Ohm transformed his litigation-focused Superfund and RCRA practice into a transactional practice with brownfield sites, their remediation and redevelopment, at its core. During Mr. Ohm’s 37 years practice, he has acted as lead environmental counsel for many of the most complex and in some cases, largest brownfield redevelopment project across the country including: the transfer of a Midwestern, former US Army ammunition plant which involved the initial transfer of 1,800 acres including two NPL Superfund sites into what is now the largest inland port and intermodal center exceeding 6,500 acres; the former largest US steel mill of approximately 3,100 acres which involved a first of its kind joint covenant not to sue understanding among the State of Maryland and the United States; the acquisition of the largest former oil refinery on the East Coast including highly complex multi-party agreements among the State of Pennsylvania, the United States, an historic responsible party and his client development/owner.
The evolution of Mr. Ohm’s brownfield practice has increasingly engendered ancillary and existentially critical dynamics ranging from positioning brownfield sites beginning in the early 2000s to accommodate cleaner energy applications, including solar, wind, and geothermal, to site sustainability and resilience through project remediation and design which is more environmentally sensitive, measurable, adaptable and accountable.
Ron DeGregorio
A power generation innovator and entrepreneur, Ron DeGregorio has over 35 years of experience developing, building, and operating power generation and utility systems, and has established himself as a scholar in the rapidly changing landscape of the energy and utility industries.
During over 30 years with the Exelon Corporation, Mr. DeGregorio held a variety of leadership roles including senior vice president of Exelon Nuclear, Chief Operating Officer of Exelon Transmission Company, and Chief Integration Officer following Exelon’s merger with Constellation Energy in 2012. As President of Exelon Power, Mr. DeGregorio oversaw the operations and maintenance of Exelon Generation’s oil and natural gas, landfill gas, hydro, wind and solar-powered fleet of generating assets that are capable of generating more than 15,000 megawatts of electricity in 16 states and Alberta, Canada.
Mr. DeGregorio recently retired as CEO of NET Power (NPWR on NYSE) after having successfully completed the capitalization and commercialization of the company’s patented technology that transforms natural gas into clean energy, taking the company public at a valuation of over $2 billion.