One thing that is constant is change, even here in the Land of Steady Habits. A big change here at the Hartford Business Journal is that our longtime publisher Gail Lebert will be leaving us as of Sept. 1.
Gail joined us back in 2002, two years before Facebook! Her record, as they say in politics, speaks for itself. In her time as publisher, our brand has successfully evolved in ways we could not have anticipated 12 years ago; our revenues have effectively more than doubled under her leadership.
Gail has been a prime mover in the growth and evolution of our products and brand, from a feisty upstart biweekly business paper, to a leading multimedia B2B company known not only for a nationally recognized weekly business journal, but for signature events like 40 under Forty and the Connecticut Business Expo, along with strong digital products, video, and highly respected custom publications like Doing Business In Connecticut.
Gail succeeded wonderfully as our publisher and leader because she is committed to and unafraid of change. Now she is leaving for the same reasons. We wish her well as she explores new career possibilities, and continues to grow professionally and personally. If we learned anything from Gail, then you can certainly expect to continue to see change at the Hartford Business Journal as well.
Gail has always been a strong relationship builder, and we are proud and pleased that while she will be stepping away from day to day operations, she will continue to have a strategic role at the Hartford Business Journal, having agreed to serve as chairwoman of the newly inaugurated Hartford Business Journal Executive Advisory Board.
In this role, she will recruit and convene quarterly roundtables comprised of senior decision makers with wisdom, and perspective, to advise us on how we can better serve the Greater Hartford business community.
We hope as always that you will continue to advise us as well, and we invite you to let us know what you think about all of our products and how we are doing, as we continue on the journey of evolution and innovation that we have undertaken under Gail’s leadership.
And if you see Gail, wish her good luck and congratulate her on the next phase of her journey.Â
Joe Zwiebel is Hartford Business Journal’s founder, and a partner in New England Business Media LLC, which publishes HBJ and two other New England business newspapers. Zwiebel will take over as HBJ’s publisher Sept. 1.
