Alphonso O'Neil-White and Tom Tranter elected to The Business Council Board

ALBANY, NY (05/31/2012)(readMedia)-- The Business Council of New York State Inc. Board of Directors at their May Board meeting elected two new directors. Alphonso O'Neil-White, president and CEO of HealthNow New York Inc., and G. Thomas Tranter, president of Corning Enterprises and director of government affairs at Corning Inc., will each serve for terms ending in 2013.

"Tom and Alphonso both bring a multitude of experience to the board," said Heather Briccetti, president and CEO of The Business Council, "They will, without a doubt, help to advance our organization's push for a more business-friendly New York."

Tom Tranter - who is the former chairman of The Business Council of New York State President's Council - joined Corning Incorporated in May 2000, as the director of state and local government relations. He was named president and CEO of Corning Enterprises - the company's community, economic development and government relations subsidiary - in May 2004.

Prior to joining Corning, Tranter served as Chemung County Executive, a position he was elected to for three 4-year terms. Before then, he served as Deputy County Executive and Horseheads Village Manager. Tranter previously held the executive director position for the Chemung/Schuyler American Red Cross.

Tranter is co-chairman of the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council. He also holds the position of first vice-chairman of Corning Hospital's board of directors, and he serves on the boards of Corning's Intown District Management Association, the Chemung County Industrial Development Agency and the Southern Tier Central Regional Planning & Development Board. Tranter is chairman of the Regional Civil Service Commission and the Corning Area Wide Transportation Council, and he serves as vice chairman of Three Rivers Development Corporation. He is past chairman of the United Way of the Southern Tier board of directors.

Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Elmira College and a master's of professional studies from Alfred University. Tranter is also a graduate of Cornell's Executive Development Program.

Alphonso O'Neil-White joined HealthNow New York in 1996 as senior vice president and general counsel; in July 2004, he was named president and CEO of the organization. Before then, he served as vice president and general counsel for America's Health Insurance Plans. As an attorney in private practice, he specialized in labor/management relations, and is licensed to practice law in two states and the District of Columbia.

In December 2011, O'Neil-White was elected as a Class B director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He will serve through December 2013, for the unexpired portion of the three-year term of a previous director.

O'Neil-White holds a gubernatorial appointment to the Buffalo State College Council. Additionally, O'Neil-White serves as a trustee and director on many local and national boards, including the BlueCross BlueShield Association, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. He is also Chair of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

Alphonso is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and holds a law degree from the University of Louisville's Louis Brandeis School of Law.

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