Crains New York - July 16, 2012 - (Page 8)

PEOPLE ICE ON THE PRIZE: Brian Smith’s Ample Hills Creamery features exotic flavors. BUSINESS of employees are offered summer Fridays, but 41% of them are too busy to take advantage Source: Ultimat Vodka 12% EXECUTIVE MOVES Katten Muchin Rosenman: Craig Barbarosh, 44, has joined the law firm as co-head of financial institutions, board member and partner. He was previously a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Shilo Inc.: Robert Berman, 50, joined the film production company as head of production, East. He was previously president and executive producer at WeaselWorks Ltd. Modern Luxury: Cristina Greeven Cuomo, 42, joined the lifestyle magazine publisher as editor in chief of Manhattan. She was previously editor in chief of Plum Hamptons and content chief at Plum Network. James Aguiar, 44, joined as national Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry: Geoffrey Hess, 43, joined the luxury-goods brand as president. He was previously managing director at Giuliani Partners. American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Marc Goldsmith, 64, was elected president of the organization. He was previously a member of its board of governors. Ketchum: Raymond Kotcher, 60, was appointed chairman of the public relations and marketing firm. He was previously chief executive. Rob Flaherty, 52, was promoted to chief executive. He was previously senior partner and president. DeVries Public Relations: Stephanie Smirnov, 45, was promoted to chief executive. She was previously president. James Allman, 61, was named chairman. He was previously chief executive. International Culinary Center: Howie Lindenbaum, 46, joined as chief financial officer. He was previously executive vice president and chief financial officer at Royce Too. Antenna Software: Bill Smith, 45, joined the technology company as chief financial officer. He was previously chief financial officer at Kayak Software Corp. Swift Exchange: Rob Jacobson, 45, joined the global commerce firm as chief creative officer. He was previously senior vice president of marketing at Discovery Health. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing: Georgine Anton, 48, joined the global, digital and customer relationships marketing agency as senior vice president and chief client officer. She was previously senior vice president at Atlantic Media Co. SapientNitro: Alan Schulman, 52, joined the marketing and technology services firm as regional chief creative fashion director. He was previously visual director at Bergdorf Goodman. GOTHAM GIGS Ice-cream maven leaves former career out in the cold Ranked No. 1 by Zagat— just a year after opening As a child, Brian Smith dreamed of writing movies, producing audio dramas and owning an ice-cream parlor. By the time he turned 40, he had done two out of the three for the Syfy cable network. ¶ “I figured it was time to try out that third life goal of my 7-year-old self,” said Mr. Smith, who opened Ample Hills Creamery in May 2011 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. “I knew that I’d be able to keep coming up with different flavors the way that I could come up with monster movies.” ¶ His recipes are certainly unusual. Mexican Hot Chocolate, a mix of dark chocolate, Saigon cinnamon and ground chili flakes, is just one of the 24 flavors that the 42year-old Boca Raton, Fla., native pasteurizes and churns in-house. The results have been good enough to earn the shop Zagat’s No. 1 ice-cream ranking. He learned the craft by experimenting at home and taking a course in ice-cream chemistry at Penn State. ¶ The biggest challenge for the mad scientist and his wife, Jackie Cuscuna, the shop’s co-owner, has been keeping up with demand. The duo invested a couple hundred thousand dollars in the store and were so overrun by customers in the first four days of business that they closed for nine days to regroup. Since then, their staff has doubled to 12 employees, and Mr. Smith is on the hunt for a space to launch a combined retail and factory location that could feature tours and ice-cream-making classes as well as a wholesale operation. ¶ He attributes part of the shop’s success to its community atmosphere. There is turf out front with tables and chairs, and a kids’ play area inside. His own children, 6 and 3, can be seen asking employees for drawing paper. “I set out to create a space that was magical,” he said. “I think we’ve done that.” Scooping up a new business —ken m. christensen buck ennis See EXECUTIVE MOVES on Page 10 8 | Crain’s New York Business | July 16, 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - July 16, 2012

Crains New York - July 16, 2012
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business Peopl
From Around the City
Opinion
Greg David
Real Estate Deals
Report: Small Business
For the Record
Classifieds
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - July 16, 2012