Woodinville, Washington-based Bensussen Deutsch & Associates Inc. (BDA), the nation’s premier Merchandise Agency and recognized leader in sports and entertainment merchandise activation, announced that it has appointed John Rostas as its new chief operating officer. Rostas brings to BDA nearly 30 years of operational and management expertise. He most recently served as president of global venues for Live Nation, a concert promoter and producer. As COO, Rostas will be responsible for driving operational efficiency and process improvements at all levels of BDA’s global business, which consists of 450-plus employees located across more than 30 offices, including Canada and China. Specifically, he will direct all aspects of BDA’s global supply chain, import, finance, and IT strategies.
“John has a long and impressive track record of driving operational results for some of the world’s most successful companies,” said Jay Deutsch, co-founder and CEO of BDA. “To attract someone with John’s background from one of the leading entertainment production companies speaks volumes about the BDA team, our culture and the extraordinary opportunities in front of us.There are few professionals who have the business acumen and hands-on experience that John brings to BDA.”
In addition to his Live Nation experience, Rostas has held senior management roles with other leading U.S.-based enterprise organizations, including GE and United Technologies. His background includes engineering, operations and program management roles in the aerospace and consumer goods industries and general management experience in the financial services industry. Rostas joined Washington Mutual as the senior vice president for operational excellence in October 2002, and was named executive vice president in 2005, responsible for operational excellence, strategic sourcing, business process outsourcing and service excellence. Rostas received a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Syracuse University.
“I was intrigued with BDA the first time I met the team. Their passion is infectious and I was immediately drawn to the amazing culture focused on providing incomparable work to the most admired brands in the world,” said John Rostas, COO of BDA. “BDA is the clear leader in an 18 billion dollar industry and continues to evolve and push the boundaries of what branded merchandise can do. Despite a sluggish economy, the company has continually demonstrated an uncanny ability to grow its business and bottom line results. As BDA continues to expand its global reach, I’m confident that I’ll bring a fresh perspective and add additional value to the company and its impressive and growing roster of clients.”
“We’ve been fortunate to attract extraordinary talent to our management team over the past year and John will undoubtedly enable BDA to achieve some very ambitious objectives. We welcome John to the family and are confident his contributions will have a powerful impact on our growing company,” said Deutsch.
For more information on the power of merchandise, visit www.bdainc.com.
