JCU Honors John Catsimatidis, Robert J. Del Tufo, and Natalia Quintavalle at 2015 New York City Gala
John Cabot University hosted the 2015 New York Gala on March 31 at the Union League Club. This is the third consecutive year that JCU Trustees, the Presidential Cabinet, and friends of the University come together for a successful gala in New York City.
This year’s guests of honor were Mr. John Catsimatidis, the Hon. Robert J. Del Tufo, and Min. Natalia Quintavalle.
John Catsimatidis
Mr. John Catsimatidis is the Chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group, which has holdings in oil refining, retail petroleum products, convenience stores, real estate, aviation, and supermarkets with investments in both medical and industrial technology. His companies post annual sales of approximately $5 billion with over 8,000 employees making him a major employer in the New York metropolitan area and upstate New York. Mr. Catsimatidis’ charitable interests include the Kidney Foundation, Alzheimer’s Foundation, Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Police Athletic League, Boy Scouts and others like the Law Endorsement Foundation from which he received the Federal Homeland Security Patriot Award last Fall.
Hon. Robert J. Del Tufo was attorney general of the State of New Jersey from 1990 to 1993. In this capacity, he headed the Department of Law and Public safety, which has 11 divisions and approximately 10,000 budgeted employee positions. Among other things, he supervised approximately 500 attorneys providing legal advice to state agencies and representing those agencies in civil litigation. Previously, Mr. Del Tufo served as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he was responsible for the representation of the federal government in civil litigation and in criminal litigation and in criminal and quasi-criminal investigations and prosecutions. He also served as commissioner of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, first assistance state attorney general and director of New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice. During his years in private practice, Mr. Del Tufo’s work has included business-related litigation concerning matters such as trade secrets, employee benefits, antitrust and both Title VII and ADEA claims. Mr. Del Tufo repeatedly has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
Min. Natalia Quintavalle is a career diplomat with 27 years of experience. In the past 12 years, she has worked on several UN issues. First, at the Italian Permanent Mission in Geneva, where she was in charge of the relations with UN specialized agencies, including WHO and ILO, and then at the Permanent Mission in New York, where she represented Italy in the GA Fifth Committee and was subsequently in charge of the economic and development office. She served until September 2011 as Deputy Director General for political affairs and Principal Director for United Nations and Human Rights. Between 1986 and 1999, Min. Quintavalle served twice (1986-1988 and 1997-1999) at the General Directorate for Development Cooperation. She was appointed as Italian Consul in Toulouse, France (1989-1991) and as First Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, (1991-1995). Min. Quintavalle was appointed as Italian Consul General in New York on the 5th of September 2011 and continues to serve in that capacity.
JCU President Franco Pavoncello, Board of Trustees Chair Hon. Frank J. Guarini and Vice Chair William J. Martini addressed the guests and gave special thanks to the generous donors who showed their strong support of John Cabot University.
