Ms. Jodi B. Katzman

Events Management and Production

National/International

Ms. Katzman's expertise is in the planning, management and execution of high-profile events, business programs and television projects from concept to completion. Additional expertise includes talent scouting/booking and coordination, television and theatrical production, stage management, logistics and on-site management.

Management and Production of High-Profile Events, Business Programs and Television Projects that Elevate Profitability, Visibility and Image for Leading Organizations (Events Range from 25 to 25,000 Participants)

Daily Variety, BizBash, Crain's New York Business, Special Events Magazine, Event Marketer, Sports Business Journal

Collecting Autographs and Memorabilia, Writing Skits and Song Parodies, Mentoring, Professional Organizing, Musician, New York City Arts & Entertainment, Theatre, Collecting Old Advertising Tins, Making People Laugh

Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications and Theatre, University of Hartford, Cum Laude; Music Studies, The Hartt School (Music)

Arts and Sciences Advisory Board, University of Hartford; Board Member, Women in the Arts & Media Coalition; Member, Women in Sports and Events; New York Women in Communications; New York Women in Film & Television; Member/Emmy Judge, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; Stage Managers’ Association; New York Media Information Exchange Group; Board of Directors/Vice President, Village Light Opera of New York City; Cambridge Who's Who; Guidepoint Global Advisor

Brooklyn, New York

JBK Productions, Director, Events & Production, New York, NY (2002 - Present / 1990 - 1999)
Produce high-profile events for corporations, non-profits and television. Manage projects from concept to completion in support of product launches, sports competitions, promotions, celebrations, fundraising efforts, TV/award shows, media events, conferences, city-wide cultural programs, festivals, parades and theatrical productions. Expertise includes talent booking and coordination, logistics, stage management and on-site operations. Oversee multimillion-dollar budgets, contract negotiations, client/vendor relations and business development initiatives. Build, lead and motivate top performing teams of staff, crew, vendors and volunteers.

Selected Accomplishments:
* Bob Hope Memorial Library Dedication Ceremony: Met aggressive deadline and received 100% positive feedback.
* Beijing Olympics: Secured all 1,000 entry visas; achieved 100% registration rate; managed air travel across 25 countries and created inaugural air travel and logistics procedures that quickly became best practices.
* Annual Salute to Women in Sports: Increased funding for Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation by $10M; converted talent into long-term donors and supporters.
* Mercedes-Benz S-Class Launch: Generated close to 1,500 sales leads representing 48% of attendees.
* Presidential Convention: Ensured smoothly run production of live satellite broadcast entertainment segment within tight schedule, on location, on budget despite being assigned project on very short notice.
* Blockbuster World Game Championships: Fueled 25% sales increase and elevated client to industry leader.
* Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games: Ranked among the most successful venue operations by International Olympic Committee and President/CEO of Atlanta Olympic Committee.
* BMW Goldeneye Press Launch: Completed project 30% below budget; garnered $300M in sales, 50% higher than projections; cited by Harvard Business Review as model case study for successful non-traditional marketing program.
* World Archery Championships: Ranked most successful competitions in sport’s history; completed project $100K under budget.
* Miss America Pageants: Introduced new production elements and reinvigorated show’s electronic graphics, the first change in 50 years.
* Grammy Awards Celebration: Raised bar on event expectations, elevated production values and improved ROI.
* United Cerebral Palsy Telethons: Doubled celebrity participation to 300+ and secured commitments from “long shot” celebrities; reached record-breaking $100M in revenue.
* Verizon Films: Minimized costs through creative hiring, deft negotiations and careful budget monitoring and won two Telly Awards.
* Nickelodeon Studios Grand Opening: Garnered 100% response rate and 75% attendance.
* First Annual Snapple Convention: Multi-faceted themed event became cornerstone of company’s marketing and branding efforts.
* Young Presidents’ Organization Global Leadership Conference Social: Managed first-of-its kind outdoor tented event to record-breaking attendance.
* Hong Kong USA Festival: Increased New Yorker’s awareness and strength of Hong Kong as a tourist destination; awarded Special Events Magazine Gala Award for consumer promotion.
* Food, Media & NYC TV Event Series: Lauded as top NY Chapter events by Academy Governor.
*Japan Amway Diamond Forum: Produced seamless show despite unique logistical and language challenges.
* Women’s Funding Network Conference: Built robust list of potential speakers to promote work of WFN to celebrities and talent executives.
* Desert Storm/Columbus 500th Parades: Solicited, negotiated participation of and supervised over 175 musical and specialty units; authored communications and procedures, adopted as “model” for future parades.
* TV Specials & Award Shows: 9/11 Memorial Services * Tony Awards * Grammy Awards * Writers Guild of America Awards * Night of 100 Stars * Irving Berlin 100th Birthday * Liberty Weekend Closing Ceremonies * VH-1 Top 10 Video Countdown * Chase Holiday Festivals

Avon Products, Inc., Manager, U.S. Events & Motivation, New York, NY (1999 - 2002)
Led creative planning, development and execution of 60+ meetings, conventions, motivation, recognition, incentive and special events nationwide for 25-15,000 participants. Created and controlled multimillion-dollar budgets and negotiated cost saving contracts and discounts. Served as liaison between 3,000+ employees, sales leaders and Representatives. Built and managed new communications system and sales/marketing partnerships. Managed on-site operations, trained and oversaw staff, cross-functional teams, contractors and external vendors including production/expo company, incentive house, suppliers and designers.

Key Contributions:
* Slashed costs by $750K, cut budget by $2M and doubled event ROI
* Launched inaugural recognition events and cruises which became future benchmarks
* Negotiated unprecedented contract terms
* Created first-time global celebrations to revitalize morale and pioneered thank you commendations and group recognition
* Boosted annual convention revenues by $100K on five concurrent events for 15,000 attendees

Fry Enterprises, Ltd., Vice President, Promotions & Marketing, New York, NY (1985 - 1989)
Led marketing, promotion/sales management, conferences, trade shows and special events from concept through delivery to post-program evaluation for global corporations, associations and non-profits for this boutique special events firm.

Performance Milestones:
* Generated $7M in new accounts for one corporation and double participation in new incentive program
* Increased last day traffic at major trade show by 25%
* Raised awareness of Beach Boy’s Sunkist premium promotion/concert tour by 25% for the band’s 25th anniversary booklet and record album

Receiving the President's Award from Avon Products for outstanding contributions to the success of the U.S. business (distinction of receiving this recognition after only two years of service); winning multiple top corporate awards for excellence in event creation and execution; program management for 7,000 international guests for a first-time, top sponsor on the Beijing Olympics, and being second in command at the tennis venue for the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games, which ranked among the most successful venue operations by organizers. In addition, securing 'difficult to book' A-list celebrities, athletes, sports personalities and VIP's at no cost for ten consecutive years for Billie Jean King's Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports fundraiser is high on the list; this strong celebrity presence contributed to a $10M increase in funding for the Foundation over that ten year period. Being able to work with these top-tier celebrities and continue to maintain and leverage these existing relationships for other shows and events has also been a great career achievement.

The highlight so far was working on the Beijing Olympics for a major multinational corporate sponsor, managing strategic planning, development and implementation of 11 Olympic Hospitality programs with 89 event agendas for 7,000 guests worldwide. It was a monumental project with a million moving parts, and the largest event this first-time, top sponsor had undertaken to-date. She oversaw the program’s critical path as well as on-site management for 17 days during the Olympic period. This experience required her to call upon everything she had ever learned in the events business and put into play her entire events skill-set. All of the guests had an extraordinary time and it was exciting to be able to give them a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime experience. China was fascinating and they did an outstanding job on the Games. It was incredible to meet people from all over the world and be a part of Olympic history.

Volunteer, Local Charitable Organizations; Community Service; Playing Guitar and Singing to Children at Local Hospitals; Community Theatre

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She attributes her success to having great passion for the work, delivering results that exceed expectations, integrity, stick-to-it-iveness, a 'can do' approach, keeping clients and customers at a high level of comfort and satisfaction, a drive to deliver excellence, being a strong collaborator and business partner, remaining cool in the chaos and calm under fire, ability to find win-win solutions, tenacious negotiation skills, epic attention to detail, creative cost containment, ability to recruit and lead strong project teams and a knack for creating fun and innovative programming.

She became involved in her profession because from an early age she was putting on shows and events for the neighborhood in the backyard and discovered she had a real knack for it. In college, she created and produced a wide variety of campus events and programs and fell in love with the behind-the-scenes role of making it all happen, and was hooked. It became a natural progression to do it professionally.

Ms. Katzman has been producing award-winning national and international events for corporations, television, sports, fundraisers and city-wide cultural programs for over 20 years. Her knack for bringing the ‘wow factor’ to every event she manages has contributed to her success garnering repeat and referral business from world-class organizations in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Over her career, Ms. Katzman has produced events and marketing campaigns for Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, Nickelodeon, MTV, Blockbuster, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, 3M and Snapple and created cutting-edge employee incentive and recognition programs for Avon Products. She oversaw program management, hospitality and logistics on the Beijing Olympics for a top sponsor, and the Atlanta Olympics. She has project-managed programming and production for Bob Hope's Memorial Library Dedication, Presidential Conventions, Miss America Pageants, Grammy Awards Celebration, United Cerebral Palsy Telethons, World Archery Championships and the Young Presidents' Organization Leadership Social. She managed talent booking/coordination and logistics for Billie Jean King's Annual Salute to Women in Sports and Desert Storm/Columbus 500th Parades. She has provided stage management, production and talent coordination for award shows/specials including the Tony Awards, Grammy’s, 9/11 Commemorations, Night of 100 Stars, Irving Berlin's 100th and Liberty Weekend Closing.

Ms. Katzman combines her competencies in program promotion, logistics management, contract negotiations, talent coordination and stage management to consistently over deliver on her promise for a spectacular event. Her events frequently garner special awards and ‘best-ever’ ratings from top management, sponsors and attendees.

She has earned an equally strong reputation as a savvy and collaborative dealmaker, meticulous project manager and creative cost-cutter and has saved millions of dollars for multiple firms by negotiating unprecedented contract terms, streamlining procedures and creating greater accountability for spending.

For 18 years she was a ‘solopreneur,’ managing projects from concept to completion for dozens of clients. In between that time, she spent three years at Avon Products as Manager of U.S. Events & Motivation. Earlier in her career, she was VP of Promotions & Marketing at Fry Enterprises.

Ms. Katzman 'eats, lives and breathes' production work. She has stage managed 50+ theatrical productions and events.

Leading Creative Planning, Development, Management and Production of Events, Business Programs and Television Projects for Corporations and Nonprofit Organizations in a Multitude of Industries; Spearheading Projects from Inception to Execution in Support of Product Launches, Sports Competitions, Promotions, Celebrations, Fundraising Efforts, Television and Award Shows, Media and Recognition Events, Conferences, Conventions, City-Wide Cultural Programs, Festivals, Parades and Theatrical Productions; Overseeing Multimillion-Dollar Budgets, Contract Negotiations, Client and Vendor Relations and Business Development Initiatives; Building, Leading and Motivating Top Performing Teams of Staff, Crew, Vendors and Volunteers

Arts & Sciences Advisory Board, University of Hartford (2007-Present); Two Telly Awards, Verizon FiOS (2007); President's Award, Avon Products (2001); Executive & Professional of the Year in Event Planning & Management, Cambridge Who's Who (2006-2007); Esprit Award-Winning Promotion, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Launch (1999); Special Events Magazine Gala Award, Tai Chi in The Park (1999); Special Events Magazine Gala Award, Hong Kong USA Festival (1996); Published Articles, Public Relations Journal and PR Week Magazine (1993-1998)