Connie Brennan

By Brian Sodoma

Monday, June 29, 2009 | 1:07 p.m.

In 1978, Connie Brennan wanted a change from the small-town Arkansas life she knew. Like many others before her, Las Vegas was the land of opportunity she chose to explore. Earning a communications degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Brennan set out on a marketing career in Southern Nevada that eventually landed her in the world of journalism as publisher and CEO of Nevada Business Journal 20 years later.

“I love the creative process. I love the ad agency business,” Brennan said of her early years working for R & R Partners and later, Joyce Advertising. Her husband, who purchased the Nevada Business Journal shortly after it was established in the mid-’80s, needed someone who understood marketing, public relations and journalism to grow the publication. The candidate for the position surfaced in Brennan, who came onboard on a full-time basis in 1998.

“My husband is a developer and had a number of businesses. … We saw the value in owning a statewide business publication in Nevada. … Many times, it takes the TLC of the owner to take it to the next level. One of us really needed to be involved, and since I had the journalism background, it was me,” Brennan said.

Through the years, Brennan’s publication, now simply titled Nevada Business, has covered many important Southern and Northern Nevada business issues, including but not limited to: diversity, technology, real estate, lending, health care and small-business issues.

Brennan takes pride in the fact that her publication is the “right wing conservative magazine in the state” and sees her role as publisher of a statewide publication as an opportunity to connect the northern and southern business communities in the Silver State. As a small-business owner and advocate, Brennan prides herself in the fact that more than half of her readers are from businesses that employ fewer than 100 employees.

“I have a passion for helping small businesses and educating Nevada’s business professionals. I think there are so many tools out there that are needed to operate a business, and let’s face it, it’s not getting easier. … Any publication has the obligation to serve your readership. Our goal is to give them tools to help their businesses succeed,” Brennan offered.

In addition to running the business side of the publication, Brennan also authors some of the magazine’s stories, while overseeing all of the copy, before the magazine publishes.

“I do run the publication from a high level. But I’m still really the editor-in-chief. Nothing goes in without my eyes on it,” she said.

Brennan also has contributed time and money to several valley nonprofits, including Opportunity Village, The Shade Tree Shelter, March of Dimes, Miley Achievement Center and Communities In Schools.