The end of 2017 brought some good news to Zito Partners and IPZ.
At Zito Partners, Deborah Kostroun has been promoted to Managing Director of our firm.  Deborah has done outstanding work for our clients, and her work ethic on their behalf has been exemplary.  It is well deserved for the Texas native, who spent more than a dozen years in front of the camera at Bloomberg.  You can read more about Deborah here:  Deborah Kostroun Promoted to Managing Director of Zito Partners.
At IPZ, Patricia Stark has joined to open our Media & Entertainment Group, and Tony Dutt has joined to elevate our basketball group.  Patricia also spent years in front of the camera and has become an outstanding coach for senior executives.  You can read more about Patricia here:  Patricia Stark Joins IPZ to Head Media & Entertainment Practice.  Tony’s career is legendary, and the respect General Managers and athletes have for him is off the charts.  His bio is here:  Tony Dutt.
We’ve also shortened our name to simply IPZ, and updated the website www.ipzusa.com accordingly.  Effective immediately, we have ended our “exclusive” agreement with Interperformances, but will still do some work with them on an individual athlete basis.  Accordingly, we are now free to work with any overseas agency, and have already had conversations with some, and placed one of our athletes with the support of one. Jeff Curtin, our Managing Director, is spearheading this effort.  Some of our male athletes are having phenomenal seasons in their European or Asian leagues, and a number of our women are killing it as well.
Last week, our IPZ Board member, Bob Hurley, was featured in a piece in The New York Times.  It’s a great holiday read.  The School Closed. The Players Left. But the Coach Can’t Quit.
Finally, please be safe this holiday season.  Too often we hear of tragedies caused by carelessness, especially when it comes to candles starting fires.  Our work with the FDNY Foundation constantly reminds us of this danger.  We can all learn from the great work our firefighters do, and this piece reminds us of that.  Please keep those who protect our cities, and our nation, in your prayers during the holidays.
Wishing you health, happiness and success in the year ahead…
 
/bob