Jeff Salmon has more than 20 years of experience in directing promotional productions for some of the world’s premiere companies. Planning these events, a part of the corporate communications business, is something that Salmon’s been involved with since the early days of the practice’s conception.

“If I wasn’t the first, I was one of the first who studied this in school in college,” said Salmon, who got a B.A. in communications from Iona College in his hometown of New York.

Salmon was recently named president of Campos Creative Works, a Santa Monica-based company that produces business-to-business and experiential marketing events. He has a lot on his plate in his new role, overseeing strategic planning, new business development, client relations, sales, marketing, and budgets.

Since getting his start as an intern in the communications business, Salmon knew he would pursue this career, but he didn’t know it would be on the West Coast. He moved to L.A. in 1988 when marketing agency Jack Morton hired him as vice president and director of production. Salmon still misses Manhattan, a place he describes as full of energy and where everything is accessible within blocks. But he has grown to love Los Angeles. “Who can complain about the weather here?” Salmon asked.

The best part of being in the industry is making use of the skill sets his colleagues bring to the table. “It’s truly gold to be in the office, to interact with people and communicate and mix the talents of the people,” he said.

What is challenging about his job is keeping the right outlook. “We need to know enough to keep the fresh perspective going,” he said. “Finding the ways to strategically help out our clients is the biggest challenge. But it is also the greatest reward when our clients say that we nailed it.”

Salmon lives in San Pedro with his wife, Mary. In his free time, he listens to music and singles out guitarist Les Paul as his favorite musician.

Yoo Mi Chin