Business Briefs

Tim Murphy, of Freehold Township, has received accreditation from the Institute for Independent Business (IIB), with U.S. headquarters in Parsippany. Murphy will be expanding the institute’s presence in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties.

For the last 20 years, as a business owner, he has worked as a business adviser and consultant to the financial services industry. Prior to that, he held management positions at IBM, Citibank and other companies.

As an executive associate, Murphy will have access to top-level executives around the world to assist clients with any business issue or challenge.

Established in 1984 in the United Kingdom, the institute is an international, not-for-profit business support organization. Its purpose is to bring timely and practical advice to independent business owners. The IIB provides mentoring and business advice, as well as access to a wide range of expertise and services, including angel and venture funding, banking/financing, human resources, sales and marketing, organization and management, quality and ISO 9000, business valuations, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning and exit strategies.

Business owners may take advantage of a free meeting with one of the institute’s executive associates. To discuss a business issue or to arrange a free executive assessment, contact Tim Murphy at (732) 431-7684, or via e-mail at timmurphy@iib.ws.

Jan Topoleski has been named as the new artistic director of the Strand Theater, located on Clifton Avenue in Lakewood. Topoleski, a New Jersey native now residing in Brick, is an experienced producer and director with 30-plus years in the industry. Topoleski has produced and either directed or performed in all of the Strand Theater’s staged community productions in the past five years, as well as with numerous other theater companies.

Topoleski’s responsibilities will be producing a community theater series of four staged musicals (one of which will be performed by the newly formed Youth Community Theater troupe, one staged comedy/drama, and two dinner-theater productions to be held in the Strand Theater Gallery), as well as the supervision of the annual Summer Theater Youth Workshop.