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Don Katz has been named new chairman of Brick City Development Corporation.

(Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger)

Audible founder and chief executive officer Donald Katz will succeed former Newark Deputy Mayor Adam Zipkin as chairman of the Brick City Development Corporation, according to the development organization’s CEO Lynier Richardson.

Zipkin, who served under then-mayor Cory Booker, will join the senator in D.C. as an adviser. Booker created the BCDC in 2007 to spur redevelopment, produce jobs, expand existing businesses and lure new ones to the city.

Katz has served on the BCDC board since since 2010.

“Don’s leadership and technology-driven economics expertise will help clarify and strengthen the mission of our organization,” Richardson said in a statement. He called Katz a “consistently vocal and eloquent advocate of job growth creation in Newark.”

Katz was responsible for Audible’s move to Newark in 2007. The company, the largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, is one of the fastest-growing private employers in the city, increasing its workforce by fivefold.

“A focused BCDC can play an essential role in connecting Newark to the job growth economy, and with that increase our tax base to support services and investment in a better future,” Katz said in a statement.

Richardson announced last month he was stepping down from BCDC to take a post at Rutgers Business School. He starts his new job March 3.

Newark Mayor Luis Quintana said in a state that “This is a new era. Don’s vision and leadership will make BCDC a force for dynamic economic development in Newark for years to come. … Don’s business experience and dedication to raising up all Newark citizens economically aligns perfectly with BCDC and our mission.”

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