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Thomas J. Grech
President & CEO of Queens Chamber of CommerceTom’s career has spanned the printing and publishing industries over the past 25 years with RR Donnelley & Sons Company, Merrill Corporation and SONY DADC. For the past five years, he has been involved in the energy industry. Most recently, Tom was Director of Sales for CCI Energy Solutions, Inc.
His other interests include investing in multi-family real estate, adviser to non-profit and for-profit boards.
Originally from Astoria, Tom lives in Malverne, NY with his wife and their daughter and son. He is a graduate of the University of Scranton, Scranton, PA with a BS in Accounting and received his MBA in International Business from Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY.
He has served as President & CEO of Queens Chamber of Commerce since July of 2015.
DuWayne Gregory
Senior Vice President at McBride Consulting & BusinessDuWayne Gregory, an Army veteran, brings 26 years of country, county, and community service to the McBride Consulting & Business Development Group. As Senior Vice President, Gregory will be involved in the day to day operations at McBride Consulting and Business Development Group with a concentration in diversity issues and the MWBE practice, which is rapidly growing.
An out-of-the-box thinker, DuWayne is a business, community, and local government leader who feels problem solving begins by delving into the issue, listening and getting perspectives from all stakeholders, and then formulating a working strategy and plan and executing it. He’s excited to help the team provide clients with comprehensive solutions that comply with all applicable minority, women, disadvantaged, service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprise requirements on the federal, state, county and local levels.
DuWayne served five terms representing the county’s 15th legislative district in the Suffolk County Legislature. In 2011, he was chosen as the Legislature’s Majority Leader and was the first person of color to serve in that role. Three years later, he became the first person of color chosen as Presiding Officer and was annually reelected by his colleagues for six years making him the third longest serving Presiding Officer.
Knowing that successful local businesses are a big part of thriving communities, he created Charting the Course, a workshop series designed to help his legislative colleagues connect with their local business communities. This successful series provided a platform for conversations and connections to occur and helped bridge the gap between local government and business.
As Presiding Officer of the legislature, DuWayne consistently worked to create policies that inspire change, protect the rights of workers, and stimulate the local economy. He also co-sponsored efforts to form the Long Island Manufacturing Task Force to encourage growth of the manufacturing sector here in Suffolk County. Additionally, he created the Marine Industry Revitalization Advisory Council to protect and promote Suffolk’s $1.6-billion marine industry and to attract good-paying jobs to the region while also creating legislation to give service-disabled veterans who are business owners an equal opportunity to contract with the county under the women- and minority-owned business law.
A graduate of North Carolina Wesleyan College, DuWayne has received many honors and recognition throughout his career. In 2019, he was recognized as one of Long Island’s Top 100 Influencers by City & State New York. They also recognized him in their inaugural Color of Power List as one of the top 100 Black Influencers in New York State, and he was listed on the Long Island Press’ Power List (2015-2019).
DuWayne lives in Copiague with his wife of nine years, Erica. They have four children ranging in ages from 23 to 29 years old. When not working or spending time with his family, DuWayne enjoys a good game of golf or some time fishing.
Rachel Kellner
Co-Owner at Aigner ChocolatesFounded in 1930, Aigner Chocolates is one of the oldest chocolate and confectionery shops in NYC. Owned by the same family for three generations, the Aigners have recently passed the recipes and traditions of chocolate making to the new owners, Mark Libertini and Rachel Kellner. Mark and Rachel plan on continuing the rich tradition of making Austrian style chocolate using the same antique equipment and techniques that has made Aigner a New York City institution. Mark and Rachel are honored to be a part of generations of tradition and hope to help create new traditions in the years to come.
Jimmy Moyen
Principal at First Choice Mechanical, Inc.First Choice Mechanical is a family-owned and operated business with a robust vision of building a strong company in the New York construction market.
Jimmy Moyen began his career as a Licensed Stationery Engineer at Columbia University where he remained for twelve years while opening his company, First Choice Mechanical IN 2001.
Mr. Moyen also holds a NYC Building Department license a Refrigeration Engineer as well as other relevant licenses from the Fire Department for his area of expertise. Mr. Moyen operates the firm along with his wife,
Throughout the firm’s first decade of growth, Mr. Moyen built his company, one project at a time, developing a reputation for excellent service and reliability. Today as the firm enters its second decade of service. First Choice Mechanical is committed to a plan of phased, structured growth with strong financial stability. Reputation is key to this growth, and the firm’s core values of integrity, trust and value contribute to the growing of First Choice Mechanical brand.
First Choice Mechanical maintains strong relationships in the public sector. In 2010, First Choice Mechanical was recognized by the NYC Small Business as an outstanding MWBE for its project awards of over $1 million for city projects.
Today the firm is also pursuing new relationships in the private commercial sector. It is launching a new program for HVAC maintenance and retrofits that will align with current market trends in energy efficiency and sustainability.
It is looking forward to adding to its current portfolio of work with schools and universities in this area.
Angelina Ramirez
Director, MWBE Practice of McBride Consulting & BusinessAs a performance-driven and dynamic marketing leader, Angelina has over 20 years of experience building brands and leading omnichannel marketing initiatives for Fortune 200 companies, start-ups, financial institutions, and nonprofits.
During her tenure at American Express, PepsiCo, and Philip Morris, she was responsible for setting the marketing agenda for global clients, utilizing customer–centric analytics to develop and implement brand strategies. She managed multi-million dollar advertising budgets that delivered award-winning campaigns, yielding increases in market-share and exceeding sales goals.
In her role as the Executive Director of the Washington Heights Business Improvement District, her business acumen helped drive economic growth in Northern Manhattan. She worked with local businesses as well as city agencies, federal and state government, and community-based organizations to create and implement economic development programs. Angelina’s business expertise — strategic planning, advocacy, stewardship, capacity building, and program and workforce development — means she is a highly valuable asset to all McBride Consulting & Business Development Group clients.
She’s passionate about helping women in business obtain their Minority & Women Business Certification (MWBE) certification as a step along the path to prosperity. She recognizes the importance of educating clients on how to seize and maximize opportunities because understanding the why behind any strategy is the key to its success. Angelina prioritizes community building as a means to promote economic and social prosperity for all stakeholders — especially in a city as large, vibrant, and diverse as New York.
As a part of the McBride Consulting & Business Development Group, Angelina is excited to leverage her knowledge and share her network; she loves connecting the right people to the right opportunities. A self-proclaimed team player, she’s eager to collaborate with the team, provide her expertise, and work with both existing and new clients who seek the top-tier business guidance that the McBride Consulting & Business Development Group offers.
Born and raised in Queens, Angelina is fluent in English, Spanish, and French. She earned her Latin American Studies degree from New York University, and subsequently obtained an MBA from New York University – Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She is also certified as a Digital Media Marketing Strategist from New York University.
Annette Runcie
Owner at Pa-Nash Restaurant & LoungeThis Kingston, Jamaica, emigre experienced early success in the United States. And it had nothing to do with food: Runcie earned an MBA and forged a promising career as a computer systems analyst, eventually leapfrogging to IT plant manager for consumer goods titan Procter & Gamble. Still, her entrepreneurial urges remained unfulfilled. Leaving the white collar world behind, she purchased a Golden Krust franchise before joining forces with her husband to open Pa-Nash in 2013 and went on to coin a unique brand of fusion she christened “EuroSoul.”
And while feeding people fine fare (such as jerk salmon gravlax and honey pineapple fried chicken) is a primary goal of Runcie’s, so too is nourishing the neighborhood. In addition to making daily donations to City Harvest, she organizes free annual health fairs for the residents of Queens Village, founded the Alexander Youth Etiquette Success organization, sponsors two children at the primary school she attended in Jamaica and plans on a future PhD in business, so she can become a professor and use her skills to further better her community.