JTA to launch California-based subsidiary, JTA Pacific
JTA, the international relations and communications consultancy specialising in sport and the Olympic Movement, is set to launch JTA Pacific, a wholly-owned subsidiary in Los Angeles, California, as the company embarks on an international expansion drive following a period of sustained growth.
In the last three years, JTA has achieved a 120% increase in annual turnover to nearly $4 million, with a portfolio of clients from inside and outside the Olympic Movement, including Discovery Communications, Manchester United, Generations For Peace, the FIVB, FINA and the LA 2024 Candidature Committee.
From May 2016, JTA Pacific will be providing the same suite of world-class JTA services to new and existing clients in the North American market, as well as establishing a platform to access the Asia-Pacific market, where the next three Olympic and Paralympic Games after Rio 2016 will take place.
JTA Pacific joins UK-based JTA and the group’s specialist design and digital agency, JTA Design, under the JTA group umbrella. The first staff at the new California base will be Young-Sook Lee, who, as International Relations Director, will be focusing primarily on generating new business around the major events taking place in the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years, and Alex Corp, who moves from JTA, where he was Senior Consultant responsible for Strategic Planning, to take up the role of Managing Director.
Jon Tibbs, Chairman of JTA and President of JTA Pacific, said:
“JTA has exceeded its revenue targets and delivered record turnover in each of the last three years, so now is the right time to capitalise on that momentum. We have set up JTA Pacific with a view to establishing a sustainable, long-term presence in the market. There is a tangible need in the region for international relations and communications advice from consultants who live and breathe the Olympic Movement every day. JTA Pacific – backed up by the collective knowledge and resources of the JTA group – will look to address that need.”
Sevérine Hubert, Managing Director of JTA and Vice-President of JTA Pacific, said:
“JTA Pacific will enhance our service to our major client in California, the LA 2024 Candidature Committee, but we will also be pursuing a number of other exciting opportunities in the US market and beyond. In particular, JTA Pacific puts us in a better time zone for servicing client needs in Korea, China and Japan – hosts of the next three Olympic and Paralympic Games after Rio – and for generating new business in that Asia-Pacific region.”
Young-Sook Lee has previously served as the Executive Advisor to the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee and the Japan Olympic Committee, and to the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee and Korea Olympic Committee, in their successful bids for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Fluent in English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, Lee also supported New York’s bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the USA’s 2022 World Cup bid, and has provided international relations and protocol services to the US Soccer Federation. JTA Pacific’s International Relations Director said:
“I have been collaborating with JTA on outstanding projects since 2007, so I am very excited to be joining the team full time on its latest venture. JTA Pacific will take full advantage of the assets at the JTA group’s disposal: the experience, the connections, the reputation and the dedicated professionals. It is an exciting period for organisations in the Asia-Pacific region operating in the sports industry and the Olympic Movement, and we believe that JTA Pacific could not be arriving at a better time.”
Alex Corp, Managing Director of JTA Pacific, began his career with JTA in 2010. Over six years his role has evolved from content generation and speech writing to helping to steer every facet of JTA’s integrated, multi-platform client campaigns as the company’s Senior Consultant responsible for Strategic Planning. Corp was Highly Commended in the 2014 edition of the prestigious PR Week Awards Young Professional of the Year in the UK, and he has featured in the list of the top 29 young professionals in the UK PR industry. He said:
“This is a great opportunity for the JTA group to continue its upwards trajectory. The US sports industry is sophisticated and competitive, but JTA Pacific brings something different and compelling to the table. Our primary objective will be supporting the Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Above and beyond that, there is scope for us to add real value to this market.”