Leane Romeo
Overland Entertainment Company
What She Plans: Romeo has run the full-service event production company as its president since Overland founder Jonathan Scharer died of cancer in September 2004. Under her management, the company has continued to increase its sales while producing large-scale events and marketing tours for clients including IBM, Allure, and The New Yorker. One specialty is award shows—Overland produces the James Beard and Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice awards—and Romeo runs promotions and marketing tours for liquor brands including Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker, and Veuve Clicquot. The firm started with a focus on talent booking, which still accounts for about half of its business, and Overland produces the entertainment and opening ceremonies at tennis’s U.S. Open.
Staff: Thirteen people, including three event producers and a talent department that books celebrities
Age: 40. “When you reach 40, you kind of think, ‘Ah, my 20’s and 30’s are gone!’ But there is certainly a lot to look forward to.”
Career Path: At Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts, Romeo got involved in music promoting on campus. Out of college, she worked for a commercial real estate firm as an assistant for a woman who hated the financial.phpect of the business. With her budgeting experience, she went on to work at Ron Delsener Presents, where she met Scharer. When he started Overland 18 years ago, he took her with him.
Where She Grew Up: Douglaston, Queens
Where She Lives: Stuyvesant Town
Proudest Noncareer Moment: “The birth of my son—bringing him into the world, and creating someone that is so unique and so inspiring every day. [Nicolas is three.] I have a stepson who is 16, Lucas, and I have known him since he was four years old, so he is a son to me as well. I have two boys. My husband, Marc, I have been married to for seven years, and we’ve been together for 12 years. I’ve got great men in my life.”
Favorite Drink: “I love a vodka martini with olives, but I don’t necessarily make that required at events.”What has been the biggest change, now that you’re running the company since the founder, Jonathan Scharer, died last year?
I am still very hands-on with the projects and up to speed on every show and event that we’re working on, even if I’m not running it day to day. But I also have to be out of the office a lot, meeting with [existing] clients or new clients. I am taking a lot more meetings now that I’m running the company, not only on potential new projects, but also on the nuts and bolts of running the business—meetings with financial advisers and accountants.
When it became obvious that you were going to take over, how did you approach your clients to tell them about the change?
Jonathan was very involved in the business up until about four days before he passed away. Because of modern technology, he was able to be on email and conference calls. He had a very sudden decline, so with the projects we were really in the thick of at the time of his death, for example the U.S. Open and The New Yorker Festival, he was still really participating. So we had already established with all of the clients that we were working together, and therefore, when he did pass away, there were a certain number that already knew, and there were some that definitely didn’t know just how ill he was. But because we had been in touch with everyone, there was no doubt that the continuity was there. There was just sadness that he was gone. Every single client across the board was extremely confident in Overland and just sad for the loss of such a great person.
You’ve been producing events all over the world this year. What are the challenges of working in new markets?
Certainly you face challenges because every market is somewhat different, but we have a very good network of people that we work with worldwide. If we don’t already have a local representative in the market, we have a market close by that recommends someone that we quickly forge a relationship with. The challenge is mostly in the time change, in having to conduct business sometimes in the middle of the night because of the market that you’re working in.
So what do you do—just take conference calls from your bed?
Exactly. Alicia Keys opened the Glamour Women of the Year awards in 2004, and we had to finalize the production needs for her opening number and I had some questions logistically for [her crew] and they at the time were in Japan. So her assistant was calling me at 2 AM to go over the details. So I made sure that I was up at 2 AM to get that call, to get the information that I needed and to ask my questions. You have to be very flexible. It is a 24-7 business.
How do you find new vendors or venues out of town?
We’re still trying new venues. We try to keep up to date as much as possible. In January we were in Barcelona for IBM. As time progressed their number [of guests] increased and they were divvying up their events, so we had to go back to Barcelona to scout more places. We found a location called the Fira, which is the old fairgrounds. It was really successful.
One of your clients told us you’re great at staying calm under pressure. How do you do that?
I’ve always liked to approach anything in my life with a sense of calm and a very positive outlook that we’re going to make this happen, and do whatever it is we need to do to make this happen and not get crazy. That can be just simply trying to organize Thanksgiving with my family or the Glamour Women of the Year awards. Too many times, I have heard of or seen people get frantic, and that doesn’t really get you good results. Being calm and having that sort of focus creates a positive environment around the job that you’re doing, and helps clients and the people who work for you be confident about the job that they’re doing.
We’ve also heard praise for your creativity. How do you come up with novel ideas for your corporate clients?
We certainly love to hear the client download as much information about their upcoming event to us, and hear the commentary that comes from their internal colleagues about what they want to achieve from their events. But it also comes down to the team here. We sit down together and throw out ideas. Something might not be really appropriate, but it sparks another idea for someone else at the table. The creativity comes from everyone bouncing ideas off of one another. The process of mixing and matching ideas brings a lot of different approaches to the client.
How do you define a successful event?
When the production and presentation of the event exceeds [the clients?] expectation, and their audience and attendees give them raves, and the client can measure their success, as far as the market and demographic that they?ve reached, and the press they were able to get.
You produce several award shows. How do you keep them interesting year after year?
The events I produce haven’t changed very much in their structure, but they have in who participates, who their hosts are, or how you change the special segments that happen in the shows to make them topical or timely. This year, for Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice awards, for the host we had the three stars from Spamalot. That’s one of the hottest tickets out there now. Mary J. Blige opened the Glamour Women of the Year awards, and with her was a choir from New York and 12 girls from the New Orleans Children Chorus, which we had contacted right after Hurricane Katrina hit. We offered them the opportunity to come up and join the choir to back up Mary J. Blige. They were thrilled beyond belief. All of these girls had been displaced. Their director was just in tears thanking us for giving them the opportunity to come up here because it was such a light of hope for these girls.
How do you see award shows changing?
I think philanthropy will come into play. The content of these shows is getting a lot more inspirational. People leave these shows wanting to get a lot more active and get involved in whatever area has been brought to their attention. I think there is a trend that causes will be present at the shows, so people feel, how do I get in touch with so-and-so?s charity because she so inspired me? And you have that information available on-site.
You’ve been doing marketing tours for clients. How are corporations using tours differently?
I am not sure that they?ve changed that much, because ultimately the goal is always to market the product, and to market it in the exciting and inspiring light that it should be marketed in to get the word out that it exists. If anything, the tours that we?re doing now, rather than a big branding initiative, they?re getting much more fine-tuned and focused.
—Erin Parker
Overland Entertainment Company
What She Plans: Romeo has run the full-service event production company as its president since Overland founder Jonathan Scharer died of cancer in September 2004. Under her management, the company has continued to increase its sales while producing large-scale events and marketing tours for clients including IBM, Allure, and The New Yorker. One specialty is award shows—Overland produces the James Beard and Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice awards—and Romeo runs promotions and marketing tours for liquor brands including Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker, and Veuve Clicquot. The firm started with a focus on talent booking, which still accounts for about half of its business, and Overland produces the entertainment and opening ceremonies at tennis’s U.S. Open.
Staff: Thirteen people, including three event producers and a talent department that books celebrities
Age: 40. “When you reach 40, you kind of think, ‘Ah, my 20’s and 30’s are gone!’ But there is certainly a lot to look forward to.”
Career Path: At Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts, Romeo got involved in music promoting on campus. Out of college, she worked for a commercial real estate firm as an assistant for a woman who hated the financial.phpect of the business. With her budgeting experience, she went on to work at Ron Delsener Presents, where she met Scharer. When he started Overland 18 years ago, he took her with him.
Where She Grew Up: Douglaston, Queens
Where She Lives: Stuyvesant Town
Proudest Noncareer Moment: “The birth of my son—bringing him into the world, and creating someone that is so unique and so inspiring every day. [Nicolas is three.] I have a stepson who is 16, Lucas, and I have known him since he was four years old, so he is a son to me as well. I have two boys. My husband, Marc, I have been married to for seven years, and we’ve been together for 12 years. I’ve got great men in my life.”
Favorite Drink: “I love a vodka martini with olives, but I don’t necessarily make that required at events.”What has been the biggest change, now that you’re running the company since the founder, Jonathan Scharer, died last year?
I am still very hands-on with the projects and up to speed on every show and event that we’re working on, even if I’m not running it day to day. But I also have to be out of the office a lot, meeting with [existing] clients or new clients. I am taking a lot more meetings now that I’m running the company, not only on potential new projects, but also on the nuts and bolts of running the business—meetings with financial advisers and accountants.
When it became obvious that you were going to take over, how did you approach your clients to tell them about the change?
Jonathan was very involved in the business up until about four days before he passed away. Because of modern technology, he was able to be on email and conference calls. He had a very sudden decline, so with the projects we were really in the thick of at the time of his death, for example the U.S. Open and The New Yorker Festival, he was still really participating. So we had already established with all of the clients that we were working together, and therefore, when he did pass away, there were a certain number that already knew, and there were some that definitely didn’t know just how ill he was. But because we had been in touch with everyone, there was no doubt that the continuity was there. There was just sadness that he was gone. Every single client across the board was extremely confident in Overland and just sad for the loss of such a great person.
You’ve been producing events all over the world this year. What are the challenges of working in new markets?
Certainly you face challenges because every market is somewhat different, but we have a very good network of people that we work with worldwide. If we don’t already have a local representative in the market, we have a market close by that recommends someone that we quickly forge a relationship with. The challenge is mostly in the time change, in having to conduct business sometimes in the middle of the night because of the market that you’re working in.
So what do you do—just take conference calls from your bed?
Exactly. Alicia Keys opened the Glamour Women of the Year awards in 2004, and we had to finalize the production needs for her opening number and I had some questions logistically for [her crew] and they at the time were in Japan. So her assistant was calling me at 2 AM to go over the details. So I made sure that I was up at 2 AM to get that call, to get the information that I needed and to ask my questions. You have to be very flexible. It is a 24-7 business.
How do you find new vendors or venues out of town?
We’re still trying new venues. We try to keep up to date as much as possible. In January we were in Barcelona for IBM. As time progressed their number [of guests] increased and they were divvying up their events, so we had to go back to Barcelona to scout more places. We found a location called the Fira, which is the old fairgrounds. It was really successful.
One of your clients told us you’re great at staying calm under pressure. How do you do that?
I’ve always liked to approach anything in my life with a sense of calm and a very positive outlook that we’re going to make this happen, and do whatever it is we need to do to make this happen and not get crazy. That can be just simply trying to organize Thanksgiving with my family or the Glamour Women of the Year awards. Too many times, I have heard of or seen people get frantic, and that doesn’t really get you good results. Being calm and having that sort of focus creates a positive environment around the job that you’re doing, and helps clients and the people who work for you be confident about the job that they’re doing.
We’ve also heard praise for your creativity. How do you come up with novel ideas for your corporate clients?
We certainly love to hear the client download as much information about their upcoming event to us, and hear the commentary that comes from their internal colleagues about what they want to achieve from their events. But it also comes down to the team here. We sit down together and throw out ideas. Something might not be really appropriate, but it sparks another idea for someone else at the table. The creativity comes from everyone bouncing ideas off of one another. The process of mixing and matching ideas brings a lot of different approaches to the client.
How do you define a successful event?
When the production and presentation of the event exceeds [the clients?] expectation, and their audience and attendees give them raves, and the client can measure their success, as far as the market and demographic that they?ve reached, and the press they were able to get.
You produce several award shows. How do you keep them interesting year after year?
The events I produce haven’t changed very much in their structure, but they have in who participates, who their hosts are, or how you change the special segments that happen in the shows to make them topical or timely. This year, for Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice awards, for the host we had the three stars from Spamalot. That’s one of the hottest tickets out there now. Mary J. Blige opened the Glamour Women of the Year awards, and with her was a choir from New York and 12 girls from the New Orleans Children Chorus, which we had contacted right after Hurricane Katrina hit. We offered them the opportunity to come up and join the choir to back up Mary J. Blige. They were thrilled beyond belief. All of these girls had been displaced. Their director was just in tears thanking us for giving them the opportunity to come up here because it was such a light of hope for these girls.
How do you see award shows changing?
I think philanthropy will come into play. The content of these shows is getting a lot more inspirational. People leave these shows wanting to get a lot more active and get involved in whatever area has been brought to their attention. I think there is a trend that causes will be present at the shows, so people feel, how do I get in touch with so-and-so?s charity because she so inspired me? And you have that information available on-site.
You’ve been doing marketing tours for clients. How are corporations using tours differently?
I am not sure that they?ve changed that much, because ultimately the goal is always to market the product, and to market it in the exciting and inspiring light that it should be marketed in to get the word out that it exists. If anything, the tours that we?re doing now, rather than a big branding initiative, they?re getting much more fine-tuned and focused.
—Erin Parker
