Alexa and Zoe Schwartz Step Up to Further Serve Clients at Legendary Post Facility
NEW YORK, NY, NOVEMBER 2, 2010 - hsr|ny, a leading audio/video post-production house that provides top-of-the-line sound design, mixing, original dialogue recording, automated dialogue replacement, offline/online editing, sound effects and stock music, is pleased to announce its milestone 35th year in the business. Having evolved from a single-studio operation to one of the industry's largest and most prestigious post facilities, hsr|ny is continuing its mission of superior service by announcing the expanding roles of Alexa and Zoe Schwartz, as director of client relations and director of sales and marketing, respectively.
Since hsr|ny first opened its doors in 1975 as Howard Schwartz Recording, founder and CEO Howard "Howie" Schwartz has cultivated a familiar and highly personalized environment for each client, a strategy directly correlated with the company's phenomenal growth. By taking the time to get to know each client and ensuring he or she looked forward to the time spent in session at the company, Howie built hsr|ny from a one-room "jingle factory" into an audio empire. The studios of hsr|ny now occupy 20,000-square-feet of space inside New York City's historic Graybar Building attached to Grand Central Station, with 10 audio studios, a casting company and 12 offline/online editing suites. Alexa and Zoe are continuing this tradition while helping to build the current crop of sound designers and mixers into the next generation of audio design luminaries.
As director of client relations, Alexa works closely with clients to ensure they have nothing less than a superb experience at hsr|ny. Her highly individualized approach is unique, making an effort to get to know the clients on a personal level. "As my dad always says, 'the best restaurant in town is the one where they know you,' so I try to have our studios give everyone that same welcoming feeling. Alexa also spearheads company efforts to grow and develop employees and overall company morale.
"It is important to make everyone happy and enjoy their time here, whether they are employees or clients," says Alexa. "It makes a tremendous difference in terms of client and employee retention. That is why I make it a point to get to know clients on an individual basis, so I can better anticipate their needs. The same goes for employees. I strive to make them feel valued and supported every step of the way."
In her role as director of sales and marketing, Zoe shares her sister's goal of growing the company through building great client relationships. Charged with seeking out new clients, maintaining existing ones, and keeping up hsr|ny's presence in the industry, she will utilize social networks, trade shows and industry events on a regular basis as forums for attracting and getting to know clients. As she sees it, this should be a company-wide effort: "More than anything, we are selling our personalities and our abilities, so it's important that all our team members get out there and make sure clients recognize our names and faces. The same goes for Alexa and myself."
Although Howie continues to be a strong presence at hsr|ny, he is thrilled at having the opportunity to pass on his business philosophy. "Alexa and Zoe bring a new generation to the company, both from a sales and sensibilities standpoint," he says. "They understand that above all, client relations is the most important component of the way we do business and that we are committed to making this a place where clients want to do their work - it's exciting to see two people with such dedication to the common good of the company."
As for the future, Alexa and Zoe envision growing hsr|ny beyond its audio origins to make it more inclusive of client needs, including audio, video, animation and graphics. "We want to be a one-stop shop for everyone," says Alexa.
For the time being, however, Alexa and Zoe are concentrating on learning as much as they can from Howie. "We know we have really big shoes to fill, so our plan is for each of us to take a shoe and see where we can go from there," says Alexa.
