News @ DrapeKings

Please welcome our newest addition to the Drape Kings team. Xiomara Ceballos starts today as our HR Manager. Xiomara comes to us with over 8 years of HR experience across all areas. Most recently, she spent 6 years as HR Manager at Bindi North America, a frozen desserts supplier. In that role, she managed multiple offices as a true HR generalist with responsibilities for their ADP migration & implementation, employee payroll, employee benefits, employee evaluation process, new hire onboarding & company team building events.

Xiomara is also SHRM certified, the Society for Human Resource Management, a credential earned by top level HR professionals. Fortunately, she is also bi-lingual, fluent in both English & Spanish.

Xiomara will be sure to introduce herself to you all over the next few days. Feel free to stop by her office to welcome her aboard.

As we implement our growth strategy at Drape Kings, this HR role will be paramount to our success. Our people are the foundation of our company. We will all continue to live by our company mission to “Raise the Standards.”

Best,

Dru

Hello to all and best wishes for a great 2018!

As the Kingdom continues to grow, we’re happy to announce the addition of some new members. In late November, we added Linda Passaro and Robin Lee to the management team.

Linda brings a wealth of experience in Sales & Marketing management for both international and national brands including DeLonghi Appliances, Mont Blanc Watches/Pens, and McIntosh Audio, provider of high end sound solutions and home theaters. Her job focus at each company has been the development and implementation of more efficient Sales & Marketing management systems to better position for improved customer experience, revenue growth and market expansion.  This is exactly what she will do for us. Linda is well versed in organizational, motivational, and revenue generating areas, and she hit the ground running at Drape Kings, bringing our Rental Business Development team to New Jersey for a 2 Day meeting to review our past accomplishments and plans for future growth. We will continue to bring groups of you together to identify areas for growth & improvement across each department.

We will also utilize her vast knowledge of Sales & Marketing processes to analyze old and current data, explore new business opportunities and keep our current clients up to date on all we can offer. She will focus her time working with the BDM’s, Sales and Marketing Divisions, Accounting Department and Customer Service teams as we work cross functionally to grow our business.

Robin Lee has come on board as a seasoned professional in project and facility management, and is valued for his successful supervision of equipment and personnel while maintaining business continuity. His vast experience includes Production and Operation positions at firms that are both our clients and vendors including PRG, VER, and Production Glue.

In the few short months since joining us, Robin has analyzed the work flow in the NJ warehouse, orchestrated our new Chicago shop lease, and is working diligently on our impeding move. Robin brings a wealth of industry knowledge to us including Six Sigma, a set of tools and techniques for continued evaluation and improvement of all company SOP’s. We will further define this process and the development of his position in the coming months.

Our Chicago team is happy to announce the addition of Joe Reinhardt, who joins us as a third Production Coordinator in Chicago.  Joe also comes to us from the Event Industry, having worked as the Art Department Manager for Chicago’s Event Creative. In this position Joe managed scenic installations, graphic applications, assembly and construction of all props and sets. He also pitched in to assist all departments providing support with logistics, design, pricing, lighting, carpentry and rigging.  Joe spent time at the Westin Hotel where he managed quality control and logistics for food safety. From what we hear, he’s fitting right in and learning quickly, allowing Michelle Manni more time to devote to our new AV-Drop product.

Rodrick Vibes joined us last month in the New Jersey Fabrication and AV-Drop departments. Rod brings with him the discipline of 5 years of service in the US Navy, and his recent event experience includes working on many projects at Showman Fabricators Scenic Shop. Rod came to DK at just the right time, jumping in to help Teresa with one of our largest Custom Fabrication projects for Sunbrella’s Interior Designers Gala. In a matter of days, he worked with her to assemble a massive custom string curtain in the shop, and went on-site to help crew the install. He’s already wearing many hats, showing his flexibility by generally helping out wherever and whenever needed. He has a creative vision which combined with construction experience are both welcome skill sets.  He’s already wearing many hats, showing his flexibility by generally helping out wherever and whenever needed.

Paul Rispoli starts this week as a third shift Shop Team leader. Bringing Paul onboard will allow us to operate the New Jersey Shop 7 days a week during most of the year. He comes to us from a longtime customer Evention, where he managed schedules, daily operations, and inventory control, as well as crewing jobs as needed. Paul’s  experience as a Warehouse Manager as well as onsite stagehand brings us the combination of skill sets that we can all appreciate. Paul also has experience in the construction  industry, so he will be an asset to Chris, helping to manage the many ongoing projects in the wood shop.

As our company continues to grow, and people come and go, we are happy to bring on Kevin Dudzinski  an experienced full time recruiter who will search high and low for the best and brightest team members in every department to support our continued expansion.

Kevin’s  recent background includes recruiting for small to mid-size companies, cultivating relationships  with management and managers to understand their needs and staff the business accordingly. He is eager to get started, and we’re looking forward to the addition of this new position to our ever increasing roster!

A warm welcome these new members to our team as we continue to RAISE our STANDARDS every day.