Event Production: J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, Inc.

For the last 19 years, Ben Bourgeois, founder of J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, and his team have elevated the look of the ACE Awards into next-level glamour. I first met Bourgeois in 1997 while organizing a star-studded cocktail party and live TV broadcast from the Cannes Film Festival. Some time later, at the Fire & Ice Ball in LA, I found myself in his orbit again, mesmerized by his transformation of a Hollywood backlot into a glass-and-water oasis. In 2008, when we hired him and his team to produce the ACE Awards, I knew that his creativity and can-do approach to any request, no matter how big or small, was something we needed to tap into.

There is no doubt that the ACE Awards has become an unforgettable experience, both in sight and sound, and this year is no exception. Created to generate press and stimulate sales for our categories, the ACE Awards is our most elegant evening of the year, but also one of the most complex to produce.