Providence Business News has been publishing since 1986, and during these past 30 years we have seen a lot of change, most of it for the better!
Our economy survived the Great Recession and is poised for a push to compete in a world that is changing every day. One of the keys to that recovery and a reason for my optimism is the quality of the business community leadership.
In our Driving Forces section of this 30th Anniversary issue, we have identified 30 of those leaders. They made a difference in our past, but just as importantly, they will play an important role in the state going forward.
Business models are being disrupted around the world, and as a news organization, PBN is no exception. Our response has been to diversify from a weekly newspaper to a multiplatform operation. Our core product is still the print product that comes out on Fridays, but it is complemented by a robust website, three e-newsletters five days a week and 12 different events throughout the year. Our audience is bigger now than at any time in our history. The PBN community can interact with us through the physical paper, on computer or mobile device, at one of our many events, or through any combination of the above.
This can only happen with the hard work and dedication of the staff at PBN. Our formula relies on original reporting and editorial contributions from the business community, putting our readers in direct contact with their leaders and peers.
For this anniversary issue, Editor Mark S. Murphy and his staff have spent months putting together a snapshot of the past 30 years. In addition to the 30 Driving Forces, we have compiled a timeline of the most important events of the last 30 years. In a nod to the quality of the businesses and their leaders, we have listed all the winners from PBN recognition programs in the last five years.
We decided to delve deeply into the major industries in the state from both past and future perspectives with stories by our writers. We took some of our more popular Top Lists (the source material for our yearly Book of Lists) and looked at how they have changed through the years. And we looked back on 30 years of interviews and picked a number of interesting/surprising/insightful quotes from the pages of PBN to share.
And finally, to delve into some of the most important issues facing the state today, we convened two roundtable discussions. The first conversation involved a very select group – our current governor, Gina M. Raimondo, along with her predecessors.
The second group included business leaders from different industries discussing challenges and opportunities facing the state. Both of these groups were taped at the WSBE-TV PBS 36 studios and will be broadcast on WJAR-TV NBC 10 and Ocean State Networks in May, and will be hosted on PBN.com. The roundtables were moderated by Murphy and WJAR anchor Frank Coletta.
Of course, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our advertisers, subscribers and event attendees. Thank you for your input and loyal support. Our sponsors for our 30th Anniversary celebration are: presenting sponsors, Gallo/Thomas Insurance and Sensata Technologies Holding N.V.; partner sponsors: CVS Health Corp., Kelly & Mancini P.C. and Lifespan; and section sponsors: Cox Business, FM Global, Hope Global, Johnson & Wales University, Mystic Aquarium and the University of Rhode Island.
The best is yet to come!
Sincerely,
Roger C. Bergenheim
Publisher
