Gangemi takes on post as HR director at PPPL

PPPL Gangemi

Paulette Gangemi

PPPL Sue

Susan Murphy-LaMarche

(Photos courtesy of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory)

Gangemi takes on post as HR director at PPPL

Paulette Gangemi is the new director of human resources at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. She succeeds Susan Murphy-LaMarche, who is retiring after working at PPPL for nearly 31 years.

Gangemi has worked more than a decade as a human resources expert in the pharmaceutical industry, where she developed in-depth experience in scientific enterprises employing a diverse workforce and interacting on a regular basis with federal agencies.

Adam Cohen, PPPL's deputy director for operations, said the lab will be sad to see Murphy-LaMarche leave.

"I can't thank Sue enough for all her efforts for the lab," he said. "She has creativity and understanding of everything from the pulse of the lab at a personal level to the interactions with Princeton and the DOE. And that's very hard to replace."

In Gangemi, Cohen said, the laboratory has found another individual with unique talents and capabilities.

"It's very exciting to have Paulette and her experience and new ideas coming to the lab," Cohen said. "It's wonderful to have someone with that experience who understands HR in an organization comparable to what we have here."

Throughout her career, Gangemi said she has been drawn to companies that make products aimed at changing people's lives, whether it was a drug that combats cancer or a medical device that heals wounds. The more she learned about PPPL's mission to do research aimed at developing magnetic fusion as an alternative energy source, the more certain she became that she wanted to support that goal, she said.

"This is global, this is the future," she said. "Our goal is to develop an unlimited amount of energy for the world. This touches everyone."

Gangemi will oversee a departmental staff of seven people and many programs that touch all facets of the lab. These include the hiring and recruiting of staff as well as administering compensation and benefits for the lab's approximately 440 employees. She will also manage the lab's Occupational Medical Office and the Furth Plasma Physics Library.

Before joining PPPL on Oct. 28, Gangemi was the HR member of the site leadership team for the Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo as it started a manufacturing plant in Bethlehem, Pa. Other companies where she has worked include Actavis Pharmaceuticals, ImClone Systems, Salomon Smith Barney (now Smith Barney/Citigroup), CheckFree Investment Services and Kinetic Concepts Inc.

She attended Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., and has a master's degree from the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations.

Murphy-LaMarche is assisting Gangemi in her transition and will work on special projects for Princeton University Human Resources through February.

Murphy-LaMarche said she has enjoyed the many years at PPPL since 1983.

"There are so many people that are my friends and part of my life," she said.