BlueRock's Ethel Rubinstein Inspires Talent, And It Shows

BlueRock's Ethel Rubinstein Inspires Talent, And It Shows
 
As a woman who owns and runs a major post production
holding company, her influence has been felt across the
spectrum of the industry. What's her secret? Caring.  

SourceEcreative marks International Women's Day with the first of a series of profiles of companies in the industry that are owned and run by women.  
 
"It inspires you to move from thought to action."
 
Ethel Rubinstein is talking about TED, the four-day conference that unites top thinkers around the concepts and intersections of Technology, Entertainment and Design.  Rubinstein is the CEO and Partner of Stairway 9, the holding company for five independent and inter-related post production shops that, not coincidentally, happen to work at the same intersection of technology, design and entertainment that she finds so stimulating.  This list includes BlueRock, the creative editorial company; Spontaneous, the multimedia design, 3D and EFX studio; Scarlett, which concentrates on design and visual effects for luxury and beauty brands; Blast, the audio post production studio; and Ballistic, a high-end finishing house.

Rubinstein attends TED as a way to expand her knowledge and perspective, and to bring back new ideas to her team of managers, producers and artists at the Stairway 9 companies. To people who know her, this is no surprise - - as one of the industry's few women owning and running a major post production holding company, her strength lies in her ability to move from thought to action.
 

She honed this skill by working across the divisions of the industry.  Rubinstein started in advertising following a brief interest in law.  "It seemed too much like 'work' to me; a lot of rules," she recalls.  "And I don't like a lot of rules."  She took a job at an ad agency in the summer before starting law school, and found the work exciting.
 
Following a decade on the agency side, rising to VP/Director of Broadcast Production at Geer DuBois, Rubinstein spent five years as EP/Producer with tabletop director and RSA/USA co-founder Patrick Morgan.  Throughout, Rubinstein's relationship with prominent Editor John Palestrini expanded, leading to the partnership the two now share in Stairway 9.  When speaking with Rubinstein, she's pleased with where she is: at the top of her game, having achieved a position and helped build a company that fulfills her professionally and personally.
 
Few in the industry achieve this level of accomplishment; fewer still are women.  Stairway 9 is unique in that not only is it headed by a woman, but many of its senior staff are women.  In addition, the company is certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and New York State Department of Economic Development as women-owned.

WBENC's corporate members, which include such brands as Apple, Ford, Nike and Coca-Cola, have access to its list of suppliers, and they consult it frequently.  "Clients and agencies look for these certifications all the time," says Rubinstein.  "The certification process is rigorous, and once certified you are reviewed periodically."
 
That's about as far as gender enters into it, however. "Perhaps because there are so few women-owned businesses, people think they're unique," Rubinstein says.  "Women and men are different, but funny enough, women and women are different."

_________________________


"Ethel is fearless. She's all heart and guts.
And that's admirable to see in anyone."

_________________________

 
Those differences tend to play out in the way a culture is formed in a company, and Stairway 9 has developed a creative, collaborative environment that supports its clients and its staff, according to some observers.  "Ethel inspires our teams to think outside the box and outside their comfort zones, and that attitude is infectious," says Roe Bressan, President and COO of Stairway 9.  
 
Clients agree.  "Ethel is not only brilliant and creative, she is a partner in the truest sense," says Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of New York-based ad agency The Kaplan Thaler Group.  "When we work with BlueRock, we know that our ideas will come to life in ways that are beyond our expectations, because she is constantly there, behind the scenes, working her magic."
 
Maya Brewster, EP/Head of Sales with global production company @radical.media, describes Rubinstein another way: "She's fearless.  She is all heart and guts.  And that's admirable to see in anyone."  Brewster thinks this is an exemplary stance for any business owner, regardless of gender, although women may be more cautious in their approach.  "I do think very few females afford themselves the right to be fearless in their professions," she says.
 
To be a successful business owner one must source talent, nurture its development and encourage its growth.  This is a process that transcends office hours and job definitions, requiring the ability negotiate situations so that both the individuals and the company as a whole can thrive.  This is not a responsibility Rubinstein takes lightly.  "When you own a business, you're not only responsible for the livelihood of your employees, but also that of the people who are dependent on them," she says.  "It's because of that I think you have to be hands on, and understand what's going on, what's affecting them and what motivates them."
 
Fostering talent and encouraging the development of her people comes in many forms.  Fifteen years ago it meant granting time and access to post production equipment to a young director, often letting him sleep on her couch.  After a year of this arrangement, Rubinstein felt she needed to nudge the young filmmaker out of the comfort zone he'd grown accustomed to and gave him a deadline to finish his film.  That film, "Pi", was director Darren Aronofsky's debut feature, which went on to win Best Director at Sundance in 1998. He subsequently was nominated for an Oscar for 2009's "The Wrestler."
 
"With Darren's latest film 'Black Swan,' receiving accolades and awards, I'm proud of him," says Rubinstein.  "And I'm reminded that sometimes, in order to achieve great success, one has to trust in the quality of the work and just take that leap into the unknown."
 
Just a few months ago, Rubinstein got a chance to demonstrate that fostering talent and encouraging development also meant rewarding hard work. "People understand when things aren't going well, and it's important that when things are going well that they're very much aware of that and rewarded for it," she says.  After a heartfelt speech delivered during the company holiday party, a large cart was rolled out, a curtain dropped and every employee got an iPad.  "She really wanted it to be a moment that they would never forget," says Bressan. "She wanted everyone to understand how much their work over the past year meant."
 
The iPad is emblematic of Rubinstein and her company: its cutting edge technology and an icon of design that's used to collaborate, create and inspire. As a gift, it is also an incredibly kind gesture.  "It pays to be nice," says Kaplan Thaler, "and Ethel personifies that philosophy.  The simple fact is that most workers leave their jobs not because of salary issues but, rather, because they feel their bosses treat them with disrespect and disregard.  Ethel understands that today's truly successful leaders must empower their employees to feel recognized and appreciated in order to reach their full potential."
 
That's why Rubinstein makes a point to attend TED, where she can meet people, discuss ideas, share experiences and communicate further, much like her involvement with professional development and philanthropic organizations and her day-to-day work at Stairway 9.  It all connects, says Rubinstein. "New ideas and new experiences benefit your company.  If an idea or experience helps you think about the world and the people in it in a new way it's going to benefit how you run your company."

Published 9 March, 2011