SERGIO KLETNOY the man behindJoanna Coles
(
)
It’s been said that behind every man, there’s a great woman. But the reverse is also true — as these right-hand men to three of NYC’s biggest female power players can attest. Take a look:
SERGIO KLETNOY
Executive assistant to Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles
In “The Devil Wears Prada” — the film that inspired Sergio Kletnoy to join the world of glossies — magazines are seen as glamorous-yet-hectic ivory towers. And for Sergio Kletnoy, the executive assistant to Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles, the magazine has lived up to those frenzied expectations in many ways — but not when it comes to his boss.
“As long as your job is done and you know what you’re doing, the world is yours,” Kletnoy says. His responsibilities include grabbing coffee, picking up lunch and managing Coles’ schedule. He also pens a music column for Marie Claire. “If it doesn’t affect your everyday duties, run with it.”
Interestingly, Kletnoy never envisioned himself in magazines. Prior to working for Coles, Kletnoy, 35, spent nine years in the music business. But about 5 1/2 years ago, the job got to be too grueling for him, and he soon realized he wanted to work in magazines. “The second [Joanna and I] met, something connected the two of us,” recalls the Upper East Side resident. He became her assistant at Marie Claire and recently followed her to Cosmo when she took the reins there in September.
Kletnoy thrives on working as a team: “I’m involved in every single detail about the magazine,” he says. “I’m [Joanna’s] right hand, I’m her left hand and I will do anything to make her life easier . . . she can run the big picture and let me deal with everything else.”
*Advice: Never forget you’re an extension of your boss. “You’re there to help manage their time and run a company,” he says. “You need to be a step ahead of everyone.”
KEVIN SHARKEY
Senior vice president, executive editorial director and executive creative director, Martha Stewart
Sitting behind a silver desk, Kevin Sharkey pours honey into a cup of hot water to soothe his sore throat. The pristine white mug matches the stark white walls and floor-to-ceiling shelves, filled with a rainbow of books organized by color. But as soon as he starts talking about his boss and 18 years at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, his voice is back.
“I am totally in awe of the people I work with,” says Sharkey, 43. “I just love the subject matter.” The West Village resident worked his way up from the bottom of the company, starting out as a style assistant. “[It was] get on your work pants and get out your notepad and your glue gun,” Sharkey says. He spent his day packing and unpacking boxes, taking lunch orders and organizing props. “I realized that’s the way to come into this company,” he says. “For Martha those are the most important things . . . to this day I can tell you our FedEx number.”
Now Sharkey spends his 15-hour days filming videos, directing photo shoots and everything in between. Sharkey and Stewart speak at least 20 times a day: Stewart trusts Sharkey to be her eyes and ears. “I’m talking to her all day long, no matter where she is,” he says.
Trust and appreciation are the two words that sum up Sharkey’s bond with Stewart. “It’s the foundation for our entire relationship,” he says. “Eighteen years with someone — that’s almost half my life. . . she’s the first person I talk to every day and the last person I talk to every night.”
*Advice: Sharkey caught Stewart’s attention by taking advantage of every possible opportunity. He continued to tackle new projects and challenges to move up over the years. “I see opportunities all around me and I just don’t pass them up.”
URI MINKOFF
CEO and co-founder of Rebecca Minkoff
Growing up in San Diego, Calif., and later in Florida, there weren’t a lot of handouts in the Minkoff household. “The expectation to gain our own incomes as early as teenagers was instilled in us,” says Uri Minkoff, 37. “We were raised under an environment of, ‘We’re not providing for you, you need to figure out how to provide for yourself.’ ”
So when his younger sister, Rebecca, now 32, was struggling with her fashion company, the family knew exactly who to call. Together Uri and Rebecca launched Rebecca Minkoff in 2005; she took the design and p.r. reins, and Uri agreed to helm the business side, which included sales and marketing.
Now, the elder Minkoff’s days are filled with everything from trips to Asia and Europe to scout out retail locations and international partners to meeting with the sales team to brainstorming new social media plans. “I’m touching every facet of the business every day,” says the co-founder and CEO, who lives in Westchester.
He credits the company’s dramatic growth and success in a short time with the fact that he and his sister are very hands-on, always willing to collaborate. “We have complementary skill sets. Over time she’s developed a great business eye, and I’ve developed a great design eye,” he says. “We figured out how to challenge each other in our respective craft and how to understand each other’s craft better.”
Being siblings also pushed them to succeed together. “Knowing we’re such a close family we can’t ever get divorced,” he says. And being family also means there’s a strong foundation of trust. “If she says something to me I’m able to accept it at face value and vice versa,” he says. “That inspires a lot of confidence. We’re not competitive with each other — it’s really more of a cooperative. All those dynamics of sibling rivalry are gone and replaced with a much more positive structure.”
Minkoff hopes their story of sibling success will encourage others to follow suit. “[Being family] is a great foundation for a company,” he says. “So many businesses were born out of when the family was working for a common thing, and there’s sort of a charm to that.”
*Advice: Because they spend so much time with their extended family, the pair tries not to talk shop in front of them.