Newport’s Rosecliff venue for PBN 30th birthday bash

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS PUBLISHER Roger C. Bergenheim welcomes attendees to the publication's 30th anniversary gala, held at Rosecliff in Newport. Behind him are photos of some of the 30 Driving Forces selected to mark the occasion. / PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI
PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS PUBLISHER Roger C. Bergenheim welcomes attendees to the publication's 30th anniversary gala, held at Rosecliff in Newport. Behind him are photos of some of the 30 Driving Forces selected to mark the occasion. / PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

NEWPORT – The setting was Rosecliff, overlooking the ocean, and guests feasted on a variety of food, including almond chicken, lobster salad, lobster and mushroom ravioli, assorted vegetables, clamcakes and mini stuffies. Vanilla ice cream topped with a chocolate chip cookie was the dessert.
The occasion was Providence Business News’ 30th anniversary gala event, held Thursday at one of Newport’s most resplendent Gilded Age mansions. More than 400 of Rhode Island’s business leaders attended the party, which started in the soft light of the afternoon and ended with a miniature version of WaterFire. The culmination of the evening’s festivities brought to mind events from when Rosecliff was built. Then, as now, attendees represented the work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit and business vision that can move the state forward.

Led by WaterFire Executive Artistic Director Barnaby Evans, the lighters of the two braziers located in the fountain in the ocean-facing lawn of Rosecliff were a number of the Driving Forces, 30 people chosen in honor of the anniversary celebration who have contributed greatly in the last three decades to Rhode Island’s economy and culture, and just as importantly, who are expected to have a positive impact on the state going forward.

For some, the event and the venue recalled the first cinematic version of “The Great Gatsby,” filmed at Rosecliff in 1974. In fact, one native Newporter at the party shared a story about what it was like to work as a child extra on the film, starring Robert Redford. The star was inside the mansion, preparing for a scene, and the young extras were goofing off on the great lawn. They made enough noise that Redford yelled at them from a second-floor window, telling them he couldn’t learn his lines. That was the end of the fun.

Another Newport resident in attendance noted that on March 19 he had been married at Rosecliff, adding a sweet memory to the night’s festivities.

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The gala marked three decades of covering the region’s business community, a period of transformative change. While PBN still publishes a weekly print edition, just like it did in 1986 when it was founded by Publisher Roger C. Bergenheim and his father, the late Robert C. Bergenheim, the publication publishes 15 e-newsletters a week, runs eight enterprise and individual recognition programs a year and produces three panel discussion “Summits” per year. The publication’s website, PBN.com, is responsively designed, meaning that it adapts its layout to the device on which it is being read, changing from a smartphone layout to a tablet and finally to a full desktop look.

In honor of the anniversary, PBN produced a 104-page book, in which the major events of the last three decades are reported on. In an introduction to the book, Bergenheim said that the key to his optimistic outlook for Rhode Island’s future is “the quality of the community leadership.
“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.”

Also included in the book are edited transcripts of two roundtable discussions co-produced with WJAR-TV NBC 10 with four of the state’s living governors as well as a panel of business leaders, pages of the some of the most interesting quotes from question-and-answer sessions from the print pages of PBN, 15 Top Lists from the beginning years of publication up to now, and mini-profiles of the 30 Driving Forces, many of whom attended the event.

The 30 leaders of the business community are:

  • Peter Andruszkiewicz, outgoing CEO and president of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
  • Dr. Timothy J. Babineau, CEO and president of Lifespan
  • John J. Bowen, chancellor of Johnson & Wales University
  • Arnold B. “Buff” Chace Jr., managing partner of Cornish Associates
  • Dr. Anne S. De Groot, founder and CEO of EpiVax Inc., director of the Institute for Immunology and Informatics
  • Robert A. DiMuccio, chairman, CEO and president of Amica Mutual Insurance Co.
  • David M. Dooley, president of the University of Rhode Island
  • Barnaby Evans, executive artistic director of WaterFire
  • Stephen J. Farrell, CEO and president of UnitedHealthcare of New England
  • Brian Goldner, CEO and president of Hasbro Inc.
  • Helena B. Foulkes, CVS Health Corp. executive vice president, president of CVS/pharmacy
  • Alan G. Hassenfeld, chairman of Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, former chairman and CEO of Hasbro Inc.
  • William F. Hatfield, Rhode Island market president for Bank of America Corp., managing director of U.S. Trust
  • Richard G. Horan, senior managing director of the Slater Technology Fund
  • Dennis D. Keefe, CEO and president of Care New England
  • Ronald K. Machtley, president of Bryant University
  • Joseph J. MarcAurele, chairman and CEO of Washington Trust Bancorp. Inc.
  • Cheryl Merchant, CEO and president of Hope Global
  • Larry J. Merlo, CEO and president of CVS Health Corp.
  • Jonathan M. Nelson, founder and CEO of Providence Equity Partners LLC
  • Joseph R. Paolino Jr., managing partner of Paolino Properties
  • Christina H. Paxson, president of Brown University
  • James A. Procaccianti, CEO and president of The Procaccianti Group
  • Carolyn Rafaelian, CEO and chief creative officer of Alex and Ani
  • Thomas A. Ryan, former CEO and president of CVS Caremark Corp. and philanthropist
  • J.L. “Lynn” Singleton, president of the Providence Performing Arts Center
  • Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation
  • John E. Taylor Jr., chairman of Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc.
  • Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group Inc.
  • John Hazen White Jr., owner and CEO of Taco Comfort Solutions

Also supporting the celebration were 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.

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