Bill Noonan recently was named the chief business development officer at Choose New Jersey, one of numerous hires and promotions the organization announced Thursday.
Rachel Cohen, a small business owner who previously served as an economic and real estate development officer for Middlesex County, and Anastasia Blasi, a former special assistant to the secretary of state of New Jersey, have joined the organization as business development officers.
Cohen will manage the Life Sciences and Film and Digital Media sectors, while Blasi will oversee the Food and Beverage, Technology, and Finance sectors.
Noonan will lead all domestic and international efforts in this role — much as he did in his previous job as the organization’s director of business development.
Under Noonan’s leadership, the business development team has expanded and reorganized, strengthening the team’s reach locally, at industry trade shows around the world and on Choose New Jersey-led business attraction missions.
Three other employees were promoted internally:
- Rena Sherman: She was promoted to director of research and strategic partnerships, where she will continue to manage market research. In her new role, she also will nurture existing external relationships and identify new strategic relationships with institutions of higher education, county economic development offices, site selectors, statewide trade associations and workforce programs that support client needs.
- Ryan Fox: He was promoted to senior business development officer, where he will continue to manage the logistics and manufacturing sectors and will now also oversee the Clean Energy sector.
- Ahmed Bajwa: Previously a research analyst intern, he has been promoted to research analyst on the business development team.
Choose CEO Wes Mathews applauded the announcement.
“I’m thrilled to welcome new team members to Choose New Jersey as we continue to attract some of the region’s best talent, and I congratulate those within our organization who are being recognized and promoted for their exceptional work,” he said.
Mike Reagan, senior vice president of CGI and Choose New Jersey board of directors and Business Development Committee chair, agreed.
“These new additions and promotions strengthen our world-class team and highlight our commitment to telling New Jersey’s story around the country and across the globe, ensuring the world understands all that our great state has to offer businesses across a variety of sectors,” he said.
