Crains New York - August 6, 2012 - (Page 7)

PEOPLE NUMBERS GAME: Next year’s citywide elections offer plenty of opportunities for Jerry Skurnik’s firm. BUSINESS Amount U.S. business-school applicants expect to make post-M.B.A. Sources: QS TopMBA.com Applicant Survey 2012, Crain’s research $153K EXECUTIVE MOVES Warner Music Group: Mike Caren, 35, was promoted to president, worldwide A&R. He was most recently executive vice president of A&R at Atlantic and co-president of Elektra Records. Vidaris Inc.: Marc Weissbach, 45, joined the buildings consulting firm as president and chief operating officer, a newly created position. He was previously chief operating officer at Israel Berger & Associates Inc. BNY Mellon: Matthew A. Kim, 40, was promoted to chief administrative officer at the banking and financial services corporation. He was previously chief financial officer at BNY Mellon Securities, serving the Asia-Pacific region. Animal Care & Control of New York City: Yonaton Aronoff, 35, joined the organization’s board of directors. He is senior counsel at Foley & Lardner. Elaine Keane, 63, joined the organization’s board of directors. She is vice president for business development at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Gilbert Tweed International: Richard G. Lipstein, 54, joined the executive search firm as managing director. He was previously managing director at Boyden. Yahoo News: Hillary Frey, 37, was promoted to editor in chief. She was previously managing editor. Rosen Seymour Shapss Martin & Co.: Michael Bernstein, 70, was promoted to managing partner at the accounting firm. He was previously senior partner. David W. Ostrow, 64, was promoted to administrative managing partner, a newly created position. He was previously partner. McKinley Marketing Partners: Debbie Gee, 53, joined as director of business development. She was previously vice president of marketing at Surety. American Classical Orchestra: Vincent A. Gardino, 56, joined the organization as executive director. He was previously executive director of underwriting at New York Public Radio. Espirito Santo Investment Bank: Dennis Holtzapffel, 45, joined the Portuguese investment bank as head of debt capital markets origination, a newly created position. He was previously managing director and head of emerging-markets debt capital at Jefferies & Co. Brand Matter: Arta Isovski, 31, joined the brand management and licensing company as director of licensing and business development for Ellen Tracey. She was previously senior brand manager for Marcolin. Julia Graham, 28, joined as retail marketing manager. She was previously account executive at Vineyard Vines. —emily laermer GOTHAM GIGS Political strategist finds ways to stay competitive ‘The main thing we have to offer is our reputation’ New York’s decennial redistricting process, when election districts are redrawn to reflect changes in the state’s population, is good business for political consultants like Jerry Skurnik. ¶ Or as one of Mr. Skurnik’s mailers read, “New districts, new voters, new challenges and new opportunities.” ¶ Mr. Skurnik, along with his partner, Stuart Osnow, runs Prime New York, billed as the city’s “oldest and most successful voter file company.” It sells detailed lists of voter information to campaigns looking to target “prime” constituents (read: most likely to be politically engaged). Campaigns can expect to get everything from voter addresses to emails to ethnic data. ¶ But with more voter data available to the public than ever before, Mr. Skurnik, 63, said he needed to find ways to stay competitive. “I’m no mathematician,” Mr. Skurnik said. “But I am interested in results.” ¶ Prime New York recently launched a Webbased program for candidates to map out their field operations. And Voter Contact Services, the Hawaii-based voter data processing firm that Prime New York has worked with since 1988, was recently acquired by Labels & Lists Inc. Mr. Skurnik said that will result in quicker data updates and lower prices, which he hopes will attract more clients. ¶ Next year is shaping up to be a busy one. In addition to competitive races for the three citywide elected positions— mayor, comptroller and public advocate—there will be 19 open City Council seats. That means dozens of prime customers for the firm. ¶ “We’ve been doing this for 20 years,” said Mr. Skurnik, who started out in politics working for Ed Koch’s first mayoral campaign. “The main thing we have to offer is our reputation.” —andrew j. hawkins A consultant in his prime August 6, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 7 buck ennis http://www.TopMBA.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 6, 2012

Crains New York - August 6, 2012
Contents
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Greg David
From Around the City
Report: Business of Sports
Classifieds
Small Business
Real Estate Deals
Helluva Town
Source Lunch
Out and About

Crains New York - August 6, 2012