Photo: Courtesy of Erika Kulovitz
How she got her start: When graduating from the University of Iowa 18 years ago, Kulovitz knew that she wanted to work in event design and production. She quickly worked to extend her education by buying books that led her to associations, which eventually led her to getting involved in the International Live Events Association (ILEA).
"From there, relationships blossomed, and I was recruited to work for Robert Sivek and Deborah Borsum at the former The Meetinghouse Companies, Inc. in Chicago," she remembers, describing it as a "dream job." "I grew and then went west to produce and manage larger-scale events and become more involved with the creative services and broadcast portions of the event. In 2013, I started akire productions, and have been growing our company ever since."
What innovation means to her: "Innovation to me is thinking beyond what is in front of us," she says. "It is thinking outside of the box, yet looking at what is inside the box, what the box is made up of, and what the box is lacking. Innovation comes from a collaborative and diverse environment, helping us grow as individuals, families, and working industries."
How she stays inspired: Kulovitz finds inspiration from the areas of her life that bring her joy. "For me, staying motivated and giving myself the space to be creative is the first step," she says. "Then staying grounded in nature, connecting spiritually, learning from others, reading, and taking classes that challenge my strengths."
She adds, "I love to entertain and cook. The art of gathering as a group has always inspired me."
Career highlights: A recent favorite event was a virtual commencement ceremony Kulovitz and her team produced for a Chicago-based university.
"COVID brought a lot of continued changes to the way we produced events. Over the last two years, we were constantly learning and adjusting," she explains. "A virtual interactive commencement ceremony was probably unheard of before 2020, but by 2021 it was part of the new normal. This particular event took place between total quarantine but still before any events (over 10 people) could happen."
For the ceremony, graduates and their families and friends joined from their own homes. "We had four teams of four producing the concurrent ceremonies. As the graduates' names, degrees, and honors were read and they 'walked across the stage,' a live, on-screen video from their location showed them waving, cheering, and throwing confetti. Extended family and friends enjoyed it as well, sending in chats and watching remotely."
Kulovitz adds that the event was so popular that her team upgraded the chat feature in order to accommodate even more virtual attendees. "Our team was also especially touched getting to celebrate with the graduates during a time of uncertainty," she says. "As a team, we were at the point in the pandemic that we were producing in our own home offices (that’s 16 different offices to be exact), not even from a remote studio, praying no one's internet would give out. It was a great way as a team and a university to honor and involve the 2021 graduating class!"
Her favorite thing about the event industry: To Kulovitz, the best thing about her job is being able to push boundaries and do something that hasn't been done before. "I want to always be pushing ourselves to create new ways to gather and define what 'experience' means to our clients and guests," she says.
This feature is sponsored by Hubilo, a leading virtual and hybrid event platform built to drive engagement, with clients including Deloitte, Coca-Cola, Amazon Web Services, and more.
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