Following the December 9 promotion of former BookExpo America show manager Lance Fensterman to group v-p of Reed Exhibitions, show officials today announced Steve Rosato, who has been with the company for 15 years, will take over as event director of BEA. Rosato has worked on the show since 1998 and held various sales and strategic positions over the years, most recently as director of industry development and strategic accounts, a job in which he helped define and set BEA’s future goals based on customer feedback. Rosato’s new post is effective immediately.
Courtney Muller, senior v-p of BEA, cited Rosato’s “incredibly deep knowledge base of book industry issues” and “intuitive sense of our customers’ needs,” and said, “Steve has built many strong relationships with people throughout the book industry and I am confident that he will receive tremendous support from the professional community as he continues to seek ways to make BEA meaningful to our many constituents.”
Throughout his tenure at BEA, Rosato has played a part in expanding the Global Market Forum program, which featured books and publishing in the Arab world last year; growing librarian attendance at the show from a few hundred to several thousand; and executing a partnership with the International Digital Publishers Forum that will be a highlight of this year’s show. Rosato has also been responsible for the International Rights Center and the relationship with the IRC’s sponsor, the Association of Author Representatives.
