Jason Rzepka

Current

• Vice President of Public Affairs at MTV Networks
• Director, Communications at Pop!Tech
• Director, Communications, mtvU, MTV Public Affairs & Research at MTV Networks

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Past

• Manager, Corporate Communications at IMAX
• Account Supervisor at Ruder Finn
• Senior Account Manager at Atomic PR

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Education

• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Recommended

3 people have recommended Jason

Connections

129 connections

Industry

Program Development

Jason Rzepka’s Summary

A driven, strategic public affairs leader with polished partnership, new media, communications and relationship-building skills – and a long track record of delivering outsized results.

• Unique ability to forge high-impact strategic partnerships and drive impact-generating pro-social campaigns
• Natural leader with flair for building consensus and helping catalyze stand out performance
• Highly effective written/oral communicator
• Innovative problem solver
• A decade of successful communications and public affairs experience: HIV/AIDS, human rights and mental health; TV, film and vanguard digital media; financial services, investor relations and much more

Jason Rzepka’s Specialties:

public affairs, strategic partnerships, new media, media relations, strategic communications

Jason Rzepka’s Experience

• Vice President of Public Affairs

  MTV Networks

  (Public Company; VIA; Entertainment industry)

  January 2009 — Present (7 months)

  Engage, educate and activate young adults to take action on the biggest challenges facing their generation; use MTV's superpowers for good!

• Director, Communications

  Pop!Tech

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Entertainment industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 3 months)

  Head up communications for the Pop!Tech Institute - a renowned idea summit and innovation network. Pop!Tech's core mission is to accelerate the positive impact of world-changing people and ideas.

• Director, Communications, mtvU, MTV Public Affairs & Research

  MTV Networks

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; VIA; Entertainment industry)

  October 2005 — Present (3 years 10 months)

  Head of communications for Emmy-winning college network mtvU and PR lead for all MTV research and “pro-social” initiatives – including “Choose or Lose,” “Break the Addiction,” Think.MTV.com and more
  • Partnered with GM/EVP of mtvU and senior strat team in driving network to double-digit yearly growth, two acquisitions, two Emmy wins and position as the #1 pure-play college media brand
  - Led team of five in generating a steadily increasing stream of brand-defining coverage across broadcast, print, wires and onlines – on diverse initiatives such as mtvU Woodie Awards, Sudan campaign, Emmy-nominated “Stand In,” Digital Incubator grant program, Fulbright mtvU Fellows & mtvU Poet Laureate
  • Promoted in Spring 07 to also lead PR efforts for all of MTV’s groundbreaking public affairs campaigns and audience research studies
  - Achieved critical acclaim for MTV/MySpace Presidential Dialogue series and widespread visibility for “Street Team ‘08” citizen journalism program

• Manager, Corporate Communications

  IMAX

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; IMAX; Motion Pictures and Film industry)

  August 2004 — October 2005 (1 year 3 months)

  Primary manager of corporate communications for IMAX and chief communications liaison to the IMAX theatre network – spanning 259 theatres in 36 countries
  • Working closely with VP of Marketing and Communications, effectively managed two PR agencies and oversaw all of IMAX’s media relations efforts, including business/financial, brand and consumer PR
  • Principal author or editor of all corporate press releases; interfaced with multiple internal parties (including co-CEO), as well as senior executives at top Hollywood studios and exhibitor chains to attractively position IMAX and articulate key messages to a wide variety of target audiences
  • Fostered strong relationships with key commercial exhibitor clients – including AMC, National Amusements and Loews – in part through providing strategic counsel on the development of customized, local consumer PR programs

• Account Supervisor

  Ruder Finn

  (Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Public Relations and Communications industry)

  June 2003 — August 2004 (1 year 3 months)

  Key senior member of Corporate & Financial practice specializing in top-tier/financial media relations, corporate messaging and strategic positioning
  • Served as day-to-day account lead for a $1.2B global office supplies manufacturer; developed corporate messaging platform, managed a pan-European network of six affiliate offices, and worked side-by-side with EVP of practice on CEO media training and top-tier media relations
  • Core member of Investor Relations practice; contributions included strategic counsel for quarterly earnings calls/releases, sell-side outreach, investment thesis development, M&A support and financial media relations
  • Managed a $100K internal communications and constituency education campaign for New York Life; responsibilities included interviewing employees, developing a tiered messaging hierarchy, managing project budget, drafting collateral materials and coordinating the activities of three internal departments, as well as an outside vendor

• Senior Account Manager

  Atomic PR

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Public Relations and Communications industry)

  September 2000 — March 2003 (2 years 7 months)

  Day-to-day client contact on multiple high tech accounts responsible for planning, management and execution of ongoing strategic PR campaigns
  • Successfully supported business development and category leadership efforts of clients by fostering perception of thought leadership, enhancing brand equity and depositioning competitors
  • Rose from the rank of account coordinator to account executive and day-to-day contact within one year of hire; within another year, responsible for managing the PR programs of two publicly traded companies
  • Team frequently tripled the results of previous firms, consistently exceeded target performance metrics by as much as twofold and dramatically enhanced media profile of clients
  • Generated a steady flow of strategic coverage in top-tier/I.T. media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Associated Press, CNN, Knight Ridder, Business Week, CIO Magazine, Ziff Davis, Information Week, ComputerWorld and eWeek

Jason Rzepka’s Education

• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

  1995 — 1998

Jason Rzepka’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch