Nick D'Annunzio
Principal, Tara, Ink., Miami, 39
Launchpad: After working with Estée Lauder and Aveda, D’Annunzio started Tara, Ink. with partner (and fiancée) Tara Solomon. The full-service PR and event production company has worked with Arden B., Louis Vuitton, and Art Basel to stage over-the-top marketing stunts and events, like an Andy Warhol flash mob during Interview magazine’s Art Basel party.
Claim to fame: “Our agency was an instrumental part of making Cadillac cool again, helping to create a guerrilla campaign in L.A., Miami, New York, Dallas, and Atlanta. We paired the new models with all the best hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs, in addition to lending cars to celebs and offering car and driver service to V.I.P.s and tastemakers in each city.”
Big innovation: In order to work with clients “rich in ideas, but poor in pocket,” D’Annunzio developed Fresh Ink., a program to help emerging talent in fashion, art, beauty, culinary arts, and design.
On Twitter: @nickdannunzio
Launchpad: After working with Estée Lauder and Aveda, D’Annunzio started Tara, Ink. with partner (and fiancée) Tara Solomon. The full-service PR and event production company has worked with Arden B., Louis Vuitton, and Art Basel to stage over-the-top marketing stunts and events, like an Andy Warhol flash mob during Interview magazine’s Art Basel party.
Claim to fame: “Our agency was an instrumental part of making Cadillac cool again, helping to create a guerrilla campaign in L.A., Miami, New York, Dallas, and Atlanta. We paired the new models with all the best hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs, in addition to lending cars to celebs and offering car and driver service to V.I.P.s and tastemakers in each city.”
Big innovation: In order to work with clients “rich in ideas, but poor in pocket,” D’Annunzio developed Fresh Ink., a program to help emerging talent in fashion, art, beauty, culinary arts, and design.
On Twitter: @nickdannunzio
Photo: Dan Hallman for BizBash
Carla Ruben
President and owner, Creative Edge Parties, New York, 49
Launchpad: Ruben started her catering company at 27, working out of a small New York apartment. She did everything herself, from cooking the food and driving the van to bartending, bussing tables, serving the meal, and packing up at the end of the night. More than 20 years later, Creative Edge is one of the city’s most respected caterers, trusted by organizations like Target, the Museum of Modern Art, and Bravo to dream up creative menus that Ruben describes as “clean and intelligent, not tortured or pretentious.”
Big innovation: Last year the company launched the Creative Edge Culinary Council, a global exchange program that brings guest chefs to cook in New York, while sending its own chefs to other cities to learn new techniques. “We believe innovation does not come from just one chef, but from a collaboration of ideas, skill, and inspiration.”
Career highlight: “Catering a 1,800-person lunch and then flipping the room in 90 minutes for a 2,300-person seated dinner.”
Up next: “Tablecloths are a thing of the past. Buffet tables are the backdrop to our food—we consider them an extension of our design. So it’s not just a matter of interesting vessels to present the food in, but what type of material or furniture you’re putting it on.”
On Twitter: @CarlaRuben
Launchpad: Ruben started her catering company at 27, working out of a small New York apartment. She did everything herself, from cooking the food and driving the van to bartending, bussing tables, serving the meal, and packing up at the end of the night. More than 20 years later, Creative Edge is one of the city’s most respected caterers, trusted by organizations like Target, the Museum of Modern Art, and Bravo to dream up creative menus that Ruben describes as “clean and intelligent, not tortured or pretentious.”
Big innovation: Last year the company launched the Creative Edge Culinary Council, a global exchange program that brings guest chefs to cook in New York, while sending its own chefs to other cities to learn new techniques. “We believe innovation does not come from just one chef, but from a collaboration of ideas, skill, and inspiration.”
Career highlight: “Catering a 1,800-person lunch and then flipping the room in 90 minutes for a 2,300-person seated dinner.”
Up next: “Tablecloths are a thing of the past. Buffet tables are the backdrop to our food—we consider them an extension of our design. So it’s not just a matter of interesting vessels to present the food in, but what type of material or furniture you’re putting it on.”
On Twitter: @CarlaRuben
Photo: Dan Hallman for BizBash
