Skonieczny (left) is based in Santa Monica, Calif., while Choate is based in Newport Beach, Calif.Photo: Courtesy of CAT/ALINA Productions LLC
How they got their start: Choate kicked off her career in New York City, working for event and public relations firms primarily in the fashion space, producing New York Fashion Week shows, product launches, and consumer and lifestyle brand events. In 2009, she moved to California and began working in the surf industry, leading her to become the director of global communications at Quiksilver—a role she held until deciding to start her own event company in 2012.
Skonieczny, meanwhile, studied the cultural and historical impact of art around the world before getting a master's degree in marketing—before moving to Rio de Janeiro and realizing these two passions overlapped in the field of event production. She launched her own company, which she ran for 13 years, before her family moved to Southern California due to political unrest in Brazil. The duo met during Skonieczny's first year back in the states—and CAT/ALINA Productions was born.
What sets their work apart: "Since we both have marketing backgrounds, we approach events as a 360-degree campaign, focusing on the customer journey, aesthetics, and seamless production, while also ensuring the various marketing tactics are incorporated—how to hit those metrics while still presenting a wonderful experience for both guests and clients. As managing partners, we pride ourselves on being highly involved in all aspects of production and creating an environment inclusive of all ideas that encourages our employees to work beside us as much as for us." 
Last fall, they produced "The RHONY Orchard by Bravo,” a lavish pop-up that transformed Manhattan’s Chelsea Factory into a jaw-dropping apple orchard with a glamorous twist. See more: This Elegant 'Real Housewives' Event Used Over 2,200 Apples as DecorPhoto: Courtesy of CAT/ALINA Productions LLC
What innovation means to them: "Inspiration for innovation for us comes from continuous learning through observations within the industry, experts, books, travel, podcasts, and other areas that spark creativity. Networking offers us new insights, while our enduring creative partnerships offer us a cross-pollination of new ideas, ensuring we stay ahead of the trends. We firmly believe that trying new strategies and techniques in projects encourages creativity and can lead to unexpected solutions and incredible experiences." 
The Marvelous Mile was a milelong pink carpet event celebrating the season five premiere of Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.Photo: Courtesy of CAT/ALINA Productions LLC
Memorable moments: "One event that really stands out is what we called The Marvelous Mile—a milelong pink carpet event that took place along Fifth Avenue in New York City celebrating the season five premiere of Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In addition to multiple activations taking place on the carpet, we took over the center six windows of Saks Fifth Avenue, leveraged multiple brand partnerships, held an official proclamation by the Office of the Mayor declaring that day 'Maisel Day,' had dancers performing every hour in front of Saks, and produced an appearance by the entire cast of the series for them to publicly thank New York for five marvelous seasons.
Not only was it an act of working with all of the cross-functional teams within Prime Video as well as the showrunners, but we also had to manage production with the various NYC departments including the NYPD, the Mayor’s Office, the Fifth Avenue BID, and so on. While it was truly a large group effort to pull off an event that saw over 1 million people throughout the day, the Marvelous Mile strikes us as particularly special because it reminds us of everything we’re capable of doing." 
The team recently produced an event with Sephora called Sephora Hairlines, a getaway for an exclusive group of beauty and hairstyle content creators.Photo: Courtesy of CAT/ALINA Productions LLC
Their biggest hope for the event industry: "Be it one or another major disruption (pandemic/natural disasters) that’s had an impact on the industry in the last five years, our hope is simply that we as an industry are able to move forward with consistency now, continuing to grow, cultivate, and create more unforgettable experiences to add to the larger tableau of rich and diverse works being produced by our contemporaries."
