Ray Ovetsky is an experienced Senior Producer, Production Manager and Technical Director at E1. Ray brings a diverse portfolio of expertise to the projects and events he has worked on for these past 30 years. Starting his professional career early while attending the Berklee College Music as an electronic service and design technician at E.U. Wurlitzer Music Co. in Boston, MA., Ray’s career quickly progressed as a stage, production and tour manager for some of the world’s largest live touring entertainment groups. While staying home to help raise two young boys, Ray positioned himself as a personal artist manager, record label executive, and owner of a graphic design/printing company. Ray has worked both sides of the tracks as a vendor of services and as a decision-maker in successfully managing careers, producing events and executing innovative creative concepts.

A graduate of both the Berklee College of Music and Grumman Aerospace Technical Institute, Ray has directly worked with artists and organizations including Carly Simon, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Boston, Aerosmith, The Who, Parliament-Funkadelics, The Cars, Feline Presents, PolyGram Norway, IBM, Rubenstein Associates, Momentum Worldwide, MKTG, Production Glue, Turner Live Events, Clinique, NY Jets, Indianapolis Colts, NYC Marathon to name but a few. Having started the E1 collaborative over these past years, Ray also brings an entrepreneurial spirit to the job always seeking out the most efficient, cost-effective way to get things done while not sacrificing quality and safety.

Jon Yanovsky is a seasoned Marketing Professional with 21 years of global brand and agency experience across the Entertainment, Financial Services, Travel & Tourism and Consumer Packaged Goods industries.

As a Business Growth strategist, Jon has a proven track record of driving multi-million dollar revenue growth & cost efficiency initiatives via innovative, strategic business solutions.

He is also an expert in integrated marketing platform architecture, marketing & business plan development and end-to-end sponsorship portfolio management (investment strategy, negotiation and activation).

Susan Swallow is an apparel and merchandise executive with years of experience in increasingly responsible roles. Engaged in all phases of the product life cycle with broad breath exposure to the areas of manufacturing, operations and merchandising, creative design and visual retail display, Susan actively leverages her experience in foreign production markets to ensure the highest quality while satisfying customer pricing. Susan performs her responsibilities at E1 with a view of cost control and profit enhancement.

Ron Castellanos is a seasoned veteran who specializes in providing a wide variety of services that include the full picture of event management, venue, and operational logistics, staffing and technical production resources. Ron has acquired tried and true hands-on experience with multiple disciplines, being an integral part of some of the largest national live event productions produced from coast to coast. Starting his career by working his way up from the bottom via hard-working apprenticeship positions, Ron’s strengths lie in his 10+ years of real-world experience and numerous skill-sets working in every aspect of the event industry. From talent management, experiential marketing and live event productions to overseeing security, music festival operations, technical productions, trade shows and everything in between, Ron has become a truly valuable professional and well-rounded asset who can smoothly handle any role for any client.

Ron’s core belief and that of his company Mooring Consulting Group is to operate under the principles of honesty, integrity, dependability, and hard work, which ultimately results in the success of a client’s event. Career highlights include Super Bowl XLI Half Time Show, multiple private Gwen Stefani concerts, WrestleMania 31 Axxess, Pali Poker, NCAA March Madness Music Festival 2013 – 2015, Turner Live Events for various national NCAA D1 Fan Fest events and working with Backpacks For Life, helping homeless veterans.

Alessandro Rafanelli is a New York-based Cinematographer, director, and Producer with over 15 years experience in the film and video industry. He’s worked in nearly all aspects of the business and his reputation is for providing great service with a positive attitude. Recent work has included shooting segments for NatGeo’s “Brain Surgery Live” show in addition to shooting commercials for major Broadway shows, and storytelling projects for corporate and nonprofit entities. He founded Cima Image Arts to help clients find high-value solutions for video with the discipline, creativity, and devotion that comes from working in film.

Alessandro has worked to refine the art and technique of cinematic storytelling and branding after a decade and a half of working with cinematography, co-founding an adventure travel startup, and shooting worldwide for top brands and business leaders. Making things look beautiful and cinematic was his passion, but he found that rapid growth and expansion of film technology and labor allowed more brands to jump into shooting first and thinking second -often leaving behind or ignoring altogether with the main elements of storytelling. Think Story Films was created to change that.

Derek Schmalz has been managing a variety of special event projects for more than 10 years including conventions, trade shows, concerts, and sporting events. His strengths include coordinating diverse services and managing multiple operations while minding safety and compliance to all working staff and labor. His broad experience includes event management, rigging, staging, sound production, lighting, set design, and management of scenic design and fabrication resources, Over the years Derek has had opportunities to work with a wide range of major sporting event productions for Turner Live outdoor events including NHL Draft Fan Fest for the Chicago Blackhawks, NCAA Final Four Fan Fest, Hockey Frozen Fest, Wrestling and Lacrosse Fan Fest and Men’s College World Series Fan Fest.

Jerrod Smith has worked as a designer in entertainment, business, and automotive worlds for over 20 years. He launched Designsmith Collaborative® to create a network of skilled freelance designers that work together using an organized collaborative process. Before launching Designsmith Collaborative®, Jerrod was on the staffs of leading New York City design firms, including Hotopp Associates, Creative Production Resources Group and Castrigno and Company. Versatile and dynamic, Jerrod’s work encompasses a wide range of project types: Corporate and Government Meetings, Car Shows, Exhibits, Fashion, Television, Interiors, Mobile Marketing, and Theater.

Jerrod is the lead designer for a majority of the company’s projects. Designs include John Deere’s North American Divisions Meeting, sectional furniture for the Oprah Winfrey Show, DIRECTV’s Revolution Meeting, CNN’s Elect to be Fit Tour, Heisman Trophy Awards (ESPN), Architectural Digest’s Home Design Show, Google Partner Forum, The Gap Fall Photo Tour and car show designs for BMW, General Motors, Ford and Saab. Various other projects include work for A&E, Advance Auto Parts, Audi, Bell South, Cartoon Network, Clinique, Discovery Channel, Proctor and Gamble, Showtime, Sprint, Target, Texas Instruments, Verizon, Victoria’s Secret, Vogue and Xerox.

Jerrod has been published numerous times in both Live Design Magazine, Event Design Magazine and Lighting, and Sound Magazine. He was the content editor for Freelancer’s Guide to Corporate Event Design by Troy Halsey and has contributed drawings for Scene Design and Stage Lighting by W. Oren Parker, R. Craig Wolf, and Dick Block.

Jerrod received a Bachelor of Fine Arts for Scenic Design at Carnegie Mellon University where he graduated as an Andrew Carnegie Scholar and received the George Kimberley Set Design Award. Jerrod is a Scenic Design member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829. His designs have received two Ex Awards and a Telly Award for Best Production Design and Corporate Image Design and an Exhibitor Magazine Corporate Judges Choice Award.mithco.com

Andy Warfel provides E1 with creative direction and environment design for  corporate, television, retail, and theatrical projects. With over two decades of designing resonant storytelling through the mediums of theatre, film, music, television, retail and experiential marketing, designer & creative director Andy Warfel has brought audiences of every stripe to their feet, their knees, the sky and beyond.

Andy earned a BFA with honors (Dean’s List, University Faculty Players and Appreciation Awards) in Scenic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1991, and an MFA in Set Design and Art Direction for Theatre, Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Department of Design for Stage & Film in 1994, having been granted a full scholarship, a Graduate Assistantship in Scenic Painting, and a Department Award for Outstanding Achievement; he has since developed and taught new curricula for the department focused on new materials and modern techniques of stagecraft.

As a Senior Designer at Hotopp Associates from 1994 to 1999, and a Partner and Chief Aesthetic Officer of his own firm, cpr-group from 1999 to 2002, both in New York City, and later as President of andy warfel envirodesign in Champaign, Illinois from 2002 to 2011, Andy designed hundreds of environments ranging from off-off-Broadway to Broadway and national tours; student and indie films to television studios for CBS, ESPN, Fox and MSNBC; and music acts from the underground clubs to Mariah Carey’s Butterfly international tour, as well as many private, B2B and B2C events for corporate clients ranging from Audi to Xerox. As an aesthetic consultant for four years, and then as Senior Director of Marketing Creative from 2011 to 2013 for the fast-growing lifestyle brand Vera Bradley, Andy executed dozens of national events and campaigns, as well as international efforts in Japan including seven permanent shopin-shops and a record-breaking popup store at Tokyo’s iconic Isetan Shinjuku flagship.

Damon Jackson brings a wide breadth of knowledge, having many years of experience in business/retail management, which includes staff hiring and training, operations and logistics. These skills and his attention to detail are a valued asset to team operations. He’s also a live sound event production manager and technician, as well as a teaching artist.

When not at his desk or onsite at an event for Corp A/V, Damon exhibits his passion for service as a facilitator of intergenerational, community, corporate, and educational rhythm events. These events help him utilize his abilities as a confident presenter and public speaker, critical thinker, and a leadership and empowerment trainer.

Michael Seymour is an award-winning advertising executive who has made career-launching brands and developing media solutions that transcend into mass social awareness.  In the advertising world, Michael has had the pleasure of pursuing and winning over $590 million in agency new business and has launched several cultural endeavors such as; introducing the world to one of the first click-through banner ads ever crafted for the web (AT&T “You Will”), Rock The Vote, Microsoft – Xbox. His expertise in developing brands has launched several domestic and global products for such companies as BMW, Coca Cola, DeBeers, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft, The National Basketball Association, Nike, Snapple, and The Washington Post.  Michael has won numerous accolades including featured works at the Museum of Television and Radio, and the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University.  Michael holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Parsons School of Design, with post-graduate studies at New York University, and the Harvard Business School; Executive Management Program at Babson College.

Greg Russell graduated from Colgate University with degrees in Neuroscience and Music. After gaining experience in Sony Music’s art department, Greg started Tandem Digital in 2000 and became active in film & television visual effects and title design. Tandem became a trusted resource for producers and directors, as well as concert video directors – creating stunning concert animations for Rock & Roll giants RUSH and KISS, as well as fabrication and set designs for Neil Peart’s incredible “Time Machine” drumset.

As Partner and Creative Director at Xite Labs, Greg and team provide E1 with comprehensive concept, design, technical and production services for entertainment and corporate clients. We work both as a standalone studio, or in conjunction with other production teams to create the best results for all shows. In addition to providing top-tier services, Xite generates and produces original concepts and IP, implementing the latest developments into projects for our clients whenever possible.

More recently Greg has directed branded experiences for some of the biggest companies in the world, such as GE, Microsoft, and Disney. From the development of initial concepts to the production of polished showpieces, Greg works with Event Producers, Fortune 500 Corporations, popular music groups, and agencies – with an unwavering focus on achieving a unique vision for each brand/experience.

Losing Kip back in 2014 was a deep loss for all that knew and truly loved him. But his memory and previous work in helping to establish and build E1 cannot be understated. Kip will always be remembered for his experience, work ethic, professional attitude, honesty, loyalty, love of family, friends, and sense of humor. Kip was a strong Christian brother who cared deeply about helping anyone who needed it. This burger is for you my dear brother! Truly missed and loved, Kip’s spirit is always with us in all we do. A proper dedication is planned in a future project currently in development that will tour and delight all.