George E. Norcross, III serves as Executive Chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, one of the nation’s largest insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage and consulting firms. George has been the head of Conner Strong & Buckelew and predecessor companies since he founded the firm in 1979. George also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cooper Health System, Cooper University Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, all in Camden. He has served as a Trustee of Cooper University Hospital since 1990. During this time, Cooper has been transformed into a top-tier tertiary academic medical center; launched the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, the first new medical school in New Jersey in 30 years; and opened the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.
George has won wide praise for his leadership of Cooper, including the prestigious Seven Seals Award given by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Employer Support for National Guard and Reserve in recognition of Cooper’s Veterans VIP Priority Program. George was named one of New Jersey’s most powerful healthcare leaders by NJBiz, recognized as one of New Jersey’s 2013 Top Influencers in New Jersey Biotech by BioNJ, Trustee of the Year by the New Jersey Hospital Association in 2011, and Trustee of the Year by the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals in 2006. In 2009, George accepted the Susan G. Komen Beacon of Hope Award on behalf of Cooper University Hospital/Cooper Cancer Institute, and in 2018, George was named “Business Leader of the Year” by the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. In receiving this prestigious honor, he joined the ranks of regional and national business and civic leaders from the past half-century, including H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest, Richard J. Green, Betsy Z. Cohen, Ira Lubert, David L. Cohen, Governors Edward G. Rendell and Thomas J. Ridge, and Bill Rouse along with some of America’s business, military, and media titans, including David Sarnoff, Harold A. Shaub, George W. Romney, Henry R. Luce, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Edward R. Murrow.
In addition to his role in making Cooper a regional healthcare leader, George has been recognized for his personal philanthropy and support of the larger South Jersey community, especially the City of Camden. George serves as chair of The Cooper Gala, which is one of the largest single event charity fundraisers in the greater Philadelphia-South Jersey area each year and has raised over $12 million to benefit Cooper University Health Care, including $2.1 million in 2018. In addition to supporting The Cooper Foundation, in 2011, George and his family announced a $5 million pledge to Cooper. It was the first commitment in a $50 million capital campaign to help fund the rapid expansion of one of New Jersey’s preeminent academic medical centers.