Gibbons Attorney to Join Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's Senior Executive Team

Gibbons P.C. and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey today announced that William J. Castner, Jr. has joined Horizon BCBSNJ’s senior leadership as Senior Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Castner currently serves as the Chair of the Gibbons Government Affairs Department, which has been ranked by the New Jersey Law Journal as the state’s top lawyer-lobbying firm for seven consecutive years.

In his new role, Mr. Castner will be responsible for Government Affairs, Public Affairs and Enterprise Communications and will report to Robert A. Marino, Chairman and CEO of Horizon BCBSNJ. “We are pleased that Bill Castner, one of New Jersey’s most respected attorneys, will join our efforts to improve health care quality while reducing costs for New Jersey consumers,” said Mr. Marino.

At Gibbons, Mr. Castner has represented multiple Fortune 500 businesses, major healthcare systems, and top research universities, and has earned a place among the NJBIZ “Health Care Power 50” and PolitickerNJ “Power 100 List” of the most influential individuals in the state. He has previously served as Chief Counsel to the Democratic members of the New Jersey Apportionment Commission (2011) and to the New Jersey Redistricting Commission (2012).

“Bill Castner is a unique talent with Cooperstown-like capabilities,” stated Patrick C. Dunican Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons P.C. “We are pleased to provide the launching pad to the next stage of his career, where he will continue to work with our client, Horizon BCBSNJ, to help it achieve its goals.”

A former Chief Counsel to the Governor of New Jersey, Mr. Castner began his professional career drafting legislation for the New Jersey Legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services from 1997 to 1999. In 2002, he was appointed General Counsel to the New Jersey General Assembly, where he served as the chief legal adviser to that body. In 2006, he was promoted to the position of Executive Director of the New Jersey General Assembly Majority Office, becoming the youngest director in that office’s history. He became Chief Counsel to former Governor Jon S. Corzine in 2009 and served on New Jersey’s State Commission of Investigation (SCI) in 2010-2011.

Mr. Castner also served as a law clerk to New Jersey Supreme Court Justice James R. Zazzali, who went on to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sylvia B. Pressler, Presiding Judge for Administration of the Appellate Division. Mr. Castner earned a B.S., magna cum laude, from Rowan University with an honors concentration, an M.S. from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, and a J.D. from the Rutgers School of Law – Camden. He has completed graduate courses in public policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members.