Candace S. Johnson, president and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, has been named the 2016 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by the School of Management.

The award will be presented at the 67th Annual School of Management Alumni Association Awards Banquet on Nov. 1 at the Statler Hotel.

Johnson, who also serves as the Wallace Family Chair in Translational Research and professor of oncology in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the Buffalo-based cancer center and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UB, was selected by a vote of past honorees and the alumni association’s board of directors, who cited her innovative and collaborative leadership and commitment to Western New York.

Founded in 1898, Roswell Park provides care to nearly 34,000 patients annually and employs more than 3,200 team members whose mission is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in upstate New York.

In 2015, Johnson became Roswell’s 15th CEO and the first woman to hold that post. She is credited with re-energizing the organization. Under her strategic vision, Roswell Park is focused on bringing the world’s best physicians and scientists to Western New York.

Johnson is known for her results-oriented leadership style, which can be seen in the groundbreaking innovations and compassionate patient care delivered by the Roswell Park team.

From 2008 to 2015, Johnson led Roswell Park’s research activities as deputy director. She also served as chair of Roswell Park’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics for more than a decade, where she facilitated the seamless bench-to-bedside development and delivery of promising new cancer therapies.

Established in 1949, the Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year award is presented annually to an individual who resides in or has a major impact on the region, and whose career has been distinguished by executive success and civic leadership. Recent honorees include Jody Lomeo, CEO of both Kaleida Health and the Great Lakes Health System of Western New York; William Gisel Jr., president and CEO of Rich Products; and Christopher Koch, CEO of New Era Cap.