VICTOR KLINE NAMED DIRECTOR OF RUSS BERRIE INSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL SALES AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY

Victor Kline of Lawrenceville, N.J., has been named director of the new Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J.

As director, Kline will be responsible for coordinating the development of professional sales education programs, sales executive programs, and specialized continuing education programs to be offered by the Institute.

The Institute, established in December 2002, represents a unique partnership between the private sector and higher education. It offers both professional and academic programs for undergraduate students and sales professionals.

Established by the late Russ Berrie, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., the Institute realizes Berrie’s dream to create a world-class educational institute dedicated to elevating and advancing the field of professional sales.

Kline most recently served as president of Princeton Consulting Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm serving Fortune 500 companies in the United States and abroad. Previously, he held positions as director of organization training and development for Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Products Company. He was also the first head of corporate organization and management development at Engelhard Corporation, where he started their training department and developed their extensive executive and management development systems and sales training programs.

He has provided management consulting and professional development services for a wide range of clients, including Anheuser-Busch, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Hoffmann-La Roche, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Automobile Dealers Association, Lucent Technologies and MTV Networks.
A graduate of Long Island University, Kline earned a master’s degree in communication from William Paterson University. He has pursued post-graduate studies in group dynamics at the University of Maryland and psychology at Rutgers University, and doctoral studies in management at Rutgers University, where he has taught in the advanced management program. He is certified by nearly 20 organizations as a trainer, facilitator or practitioner. Kline resides in Lawrenceville with his wife Marilyn, an attorney in private practice in Princeton.

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For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966

4/14/03