Michele Siekerka
President & CEO
Alice Gens
Chief Operating Officer/CFO
Chris Emigholz
Chief Government Affairs Officer
Bob Considine
Chief Communications Officer
Betty Boros
Chief Member Strategy Officer
Vincent Schweikert
Chief Marketing Officer & Publisher
Wayne Staub
Chief Business Relations Officer
Heather Hansberry
Executive Assistant to the President & CEO
Our Vision for New Jersey
New Jersey will reclaim its stature as the innovation state; the home of economic vitality, business prosperity, workforce skill excellence and a great quality of life so that NJBIA members can grow and sustain.
Our Mission
NJBIA exists to advance the competitive excellence and financial success of our members by:
- Delivering member value through essential information and services.
- Championing a competitive business climate, both locally and globally.
- Facilitating partnerships among business, government and academia.
About NJBIA
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association provides information, services and advocacy to its member companies to build a more prosperous New Jersey. We are the nation’s largest statewide employer association. Our members employ more than one million people.
Founded in 1910, as the New Jersey Manufacturers Association, this organization began as a group of manufacturers sharing ideas about workplace safety. In addition, they also want to have a say in government policies affecting their businesses. The Association later formed New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance to protect their members with workers compensation insurance.
Entering the last 25 years of the 20th century, the makeup of its membership changed dramatically. For this reason, the Association changed its name to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association in the mid-1970s.
Today, our members represent every industry in the State. This includes contractors, manufacturers, retail and wholesale businesses, and service providers of every kind.
NJBIA is widely regarded as the most credible and effective advocate for business in the Garden State. Our headquarters at 10 West Lafayette Street in Trenton is strategically located near the State Capitol. Our staff of government affairs experts testify frequently before the Legislature and state agencies to protect the interests of our members.
In addition to powerful advocacy, we also provide member companies with practical information and a number of money-saving benefits to help make the Garden State’s businesses prosperous.
Contact our membership department to learn more.
History of NJBIA
Marking Over a Century of Service to New Jersey Business
Founded in February 1910, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association has served the State’s private-sector employers for more than 100 years through good times and bad.
Read the History of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association as published in the September 2010 issue of New Jersey Business magazine.
In this 1926 photo, Association President J.P. Bird points to a bronze plaque outside its then-headquarters at 175 West State Street. The plaque contains the names of NJBIA’s executive staff and board.
Board of Trustees
Clifford F. Lindholm, III, Chairperson, President & CEO, Falstrom Company
Lori Roth, CPA/ABV, CFF, Vice Chairperson, Co-Managing Partner, Prager Metis
Denise Beckson, Vice President of Human Resources & Government Relations, Morey’s Piers
Bernie Corrigan, President, IBEW Local 102
Tim Corriston, Managing Partner, Connell Foley
Gary Fisch, Owner, Gary’s Wine & Marketplace
Kiran Handa Gaudioso, CEO, United Way of Northern NJ, & President United for ALICE
James W. Horne Jr., President & CEO, Junior Achievement of NJ
Anthony Iacono, Ph.D., President, County College of Morris
Jaclyn Kator, Regional Vice President, External Affairs, AT&T
Teik Lim, Ph.D., President, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Rebecca O’Connell, EVP, Head of NY Metro Corporate Banking, Citizens Bank
Nick Rafanello, President & CEO, Eastern Janitorial Company
Celestina S. Quintana, Owner/Operator McDonald’s restaurants
Michael Reagan, Senior Vice President of Consulting Services, CGI
Michael Renna, President & CEO, South Jersey Industries
Gail Friedberg Rottenstrich, CEO & Co-Founder, ZAGO Manufacturing
Deanna Sperling, MAS, RN, NE-BC, President & CEO, RWJBarnabas Health Behavioral Health Center
Sarah Switlik, COO, Switlik Survival Products
Rick Thigpen, Senior Vice President-Corporate Citizenship, PSEG
Dave Vitali, Manager, Public Policy DE/NJ/PA, Amazon
The Benefits of Membership
For more than 110 years we have been focused on the advancement of competitive excellence and financial success of our members. We are the voice of thousands of businesses bound together to build a more prosperous New Jersey. Get Started by creating a user account and JOIN the largest and most influential state-level business association in the United States.