Press Releases

MJSA Elects New Chair

He is the executive vice president of National Chain Group.

Published

3 years ago

December 17, 2020

Press Releases

Joseph Esposito

(PRESS RELEASE) MJSA, the trade alliance dedicated to professional success in jewelry making and design, has elected Joseph Esposito as chair of its board of directors.

Esposito, the executive vice president of National Chain Group in Warwick, RI, brings decades of experience to his new position. After entering the industry as an apprentice toolmaker in 1979, he partnered in 1988 to form Prime Time Manufacturing, a “manufacturer’s manufacturer” in Rhode Island that produced exclusive gold jewelry products for a diverse customer base. He ran that company’s manufacturing operations and served as president for 20 years, until the Berkshire Hathaway-owned Richline Group purchased Prime Time in 2007.

Esposito subsequently ran Richline’s global manufacturing for 12 years before joining National Chain, a full-service contract manufacturer and supplier.

Among other MJSA board changes:

Former board chair Steven A. Cipolla, president of National Chain Group, is now chair of the MJSA Education Foundation.
David Siminski, vice president of sales and marketing at United Precious Metal Refining in Alden, New York, has been elected a vice chair of the MJSA board.
Molly Bell, executive vice president of Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has stepped down from the board. Bell served for eight years as a director, most recently as an officer at large on the board’s executive committee.
Ann Arnold, chief strategy officer for the Buyer’s Intelligence Group (BIG) in Norwood, New Jersey, is now an officer at large.
Arien Gessner, president of Rio Grande, was elected to a three-year term as director.

For more information, go to MJSA.org.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”