Phil Battista of Leonia was named vice president and publisher of New Jersey Business magazine and Senior Editor Anthony Birritteri of High Bridge was promoted to editor-in-chief by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association Board of Directors in April. Battista will take over for Publisher Donald Hahnes and Birritteri for Editor James Prior, both of whom are retiring.

As publisher, Battista will oversee all aspects of the magazine's operations, including editorial, advertising, marketing and circulation. As editor-in-chief, Birritteri will direct the magazine's editorial focus, developing story ideas, supervising the editorial staff and freelance writers, writing articles and interviewing business leaders in the State. The magazine is an affiliate of NJBIA.

"Donald Hahnes and James Prior turned New Jersey Business into one of the most successful publications of its kind," NJBIA President Philip Kirschner said. "Under their leadership, New Jersey Business has thrived in one of the most difficult and competitive publishing markets. Don Hahnes and Jim Prior will leave behind a legacy of which they can truly be proud."

"We are fortunate to have talented people like Phil Battista and Anthony Birritteri to fill the void," Kirschner added. "Phil and Anthony are top-drawer professionals who know the publishing business inside and out. With their experience and energy, New Jersey Business magazine will continue to grow."

The Board also promoted NJBIA's Michele Glassburg of Robbinsville from vice president of marketing to first vice president of marketing. Several administrative promotions at both New Jersey Business magazine and NJBIA have also taken place.

Battista has been with the magazine for over 27 years, becoming advertising director in 1984 and associate publisher in 2003. As associate publisher, Battista worked closely with all magazine departments to achieve a cohesive working environment, and coordinated the advertising sales team's effort to continually increase ad revenues.

In 1995, Battista developed a marketing resource tool called the NJB annual "Book of Business Lists." Over the years, he created special advertising supplements for State

organizations such as the New Jersey Bankers Association, the Southern New Jersey Development Council, the New Jersey Hospital Association, the New Jersey Hotel Motel Association, and numerous county economic development agencies.

Battista graduated from the Newark School of Fine & Industrial Arts and continued his education as an illustration major at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. He is a past president of the Advertising Club of New Jersey.

Birriteri joined the magazine in 1989 as editorial assistant and was promoted through the years to associate editor, managing editor and senior editor. He was a key player in the magazine's conversion to desktop publishing and the development of its Web site in the 1990s. He also introduced a number of successful magazine departments, including Health Care Report, TechSourceNJ.com and NJBIA Member News.

Recognition for his writing abilities came early on for Birritteri. In 1986, while a communications/journalism major at Union County College, he received the English Department's Excellence in Journalism award. Since then, he has won numerous writing awards from various news organizations. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Business Travel Executive and Credit Union Times.

He is a member and past president and trustee of The Working Press Association of New Jersey, now The Garden State Journalists Association (GSJA). Recently, he was named vice president of the association. Birritteri is also a past trustee of Medical Missions for Children, Paterson.

Birritteri graduated with honors from Rutgers, the State University, New Brunswick, where he majored in English.

As first vice president, Glassburg will continue to oversee the 12-member marketing staff in charge of programs, publications for sale, membership development and retention and membership services. Glassburg started at NJBIA in July 1982 as a researcher. In 1985 she became director of special programs where she developed and centralized NJBIA's member services, especially its programs and publications.

In 1987, Glassburg was promoted to assistant vice president for membership and marketing, taking on the additional responsibilities of membership development, retention, relations and services. She was promoted to vice president in 1990. Under Glassburg's leadership, membership at NJBIA has more than doubled to 22,000 from 10,800 member companies.

She has a BA degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Temple University's Graduate School of Management with a concentration in Marketing.

Others receiving promotions:

George N. Saliba of Randolph was promoted to deputy editor of New Jersey Business magazine. A graduate of Drew University with a BA degree in English, Saliba joined the magazine two years ago as an editorial assistant, before being named staff writer and then associate editor. In his new position, Saliba will be responsible for interviewing business executives, writing cover stories and feature articles with headlines, editing, updating the Web site, and assisting with the overall month-to-month publication of the magazine.

Vincent Schweikert of High Bridge was promoted to advertising director. His primary responsibility will be to oversee the advertising department at the magazine and develop revenue through advertising sales. He will work closely with all departments to develop a sound economic platform for the magazine.

Schweikert joined the magazine's advertising department in 1988 after working three years at New Jersey Success magazine. He helped in the redesign of New Jersey Business magazine in 1993, as well as the implementation of the magazine¹s Web site in 1995. He graduated in 1985 from Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a major in Marketing

Al Leone of Westfield was promoted to Advertising Director for the magazine. Leone has been with the magazine for six years, coming from Suburban News and the Worrall Community newspaper group in New Jersey. He has also worked for the advertising agency Young & Rubicam and NBC radio networks. Al graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 1969.

Jeanne Jespersen of Morrisville, PA, was promoted to director of membership development of NJBIA's Marketing Department, where she will oversee the Association's membership development activities. She has worked at NJBIA since 1997. She will also continue coordinating and developing the Association's affinity programs.

Lisa Figatner of Lawrenceville was promoted to member relations coordinator at NJBIA, where she will be responsible for the day-to-day member relations and retention operations. Figatner has worked at NJBIA since 1999 as a member services associate and program associate. She is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University.