Spotlight Keith Arends
Spotlight
Keith Arends (IBDP Chair
Sponsorship Committee)
Interview by Kevin Zalewski
1. Welcome Keith, please tell us about yourself.
My name is Keith Arends – husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, business developer, and Co-Chair of Sponsorship Committee for IBDP, as well as a frequent attendee of AIMSE, EACCNY, VentureCrush, NYU, and CUNY business, cultural, and networking events.
2. Where do you work and what is your role? When/how did you get started there?
I work for Crain Communications – a privately held media company. I am a Business Development Executive for the Corporate Subscriptions team at the Pensions & Investments (P&I) brand, which provides timely and incisive coverage and analysis of news and events affecting the professional money management industry.
I joined in November 2023 after Crain’s HR found me on LinkedIn. I’ve been a business development rep for publishing and media businesses since 1992 where I started and truly found my career calling at DowJones/WSJ, then moved to Institutional Investor, Foreign Policy Magazine and now, here at Crain’s P&I.
3. List some factors that contribute to your success.
Determination, relentlessness, problem solving, curiosity, kindness, trusting and trust building, networking, mentorships and mentoring and acuity.
4. Give advice to those starting their careers in Business Development
Be fearless, jump in, start listening and doing and find mentors – learn from those who are doing it successfully!
5. What is your passion?
I have many passions (“I Contain Multitudes”, Dylan), the first is for life itself and simply living and doing my best to enjoy every day and make a positive impact on my family, friends and colleagues. My personal passions are straightforward – family, music, sports, pop-culture and the business of information. I am also passionate about the interests of others in general (big biography fan) but particularly, those in my network and industry and am quite active (and hopefully helpful) about helping them pursue their passions.
6. Please tell us about the range and type of projects you are involved in.
My work projects are all business development related – seeking out new clients who should be aware of P&I’s news and data as well as working to fulfill the needs of our existing clients and relaying their interests and needs back to product development.
My top projects outside of work:
1. IBDP to engage with sponsor entities who will benefit from IBDP member events.
2. Studying under Rabbi Sholom Schapiro at the Fifth Avenue Torah Center
3. Physical fitness and Peter Dillon’s time ????
4.Family projects:
a. assisting my eldest daughter in applying for college
b. carting my youngest around to all her after school activities including gymnastics, piano and singing, acting and cheerleading – though she is starting to engage the Manhattan streets, subways and buses independently, as the warmer weather approaches and the daylight hours increase.
c. Oh, and last but certainly not least – a happy wife is a happy life – the project of a lifetime!
7. Anything else you would like everyone to know about?
Sure, please feel free to contact me if you or your organization would be interested in sponsoring an BDPros event. It definitely offers excellent return on investment.