PCE Account Executive Tomomi Nakamura on Working for PCE
Account Executive Tomomi Nakamura has worked in production sales for PCE for over three years, and has worked in events-related fields for even longer. We recently sat down with Tomomi to get her perspective on working for the company. We compiled the highlights of that conversation into this short video:
Our complete conversation with Tomomi went on for a bit longer, so we decided to share the full transcript (edited lightly for clarity). Enjoy!
PCE: What does your job at PCE entail?
Tomomi Nakamura: Basically, my job is to go out there, meet people, engage in relationships, and bring in production clients. And it's just so exciting because it's not just one thing or one type of event. We do all types of events, from university events to commencements to corporate events, galas, concerts, festivals... you name it.
Does any particular event stand out?
My most memorable event was back in 2019, right before the pandemic, we were able to help with the entire production for Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. It was this big celebrity basketball tournament hosted by Quavo, the rapper. So many celebrities came out: Snoop Dogg, Machine Gun Kelly, Diplo, Floyd Mayweather. We did all the production, from the game lighting, to the audio, to TV monitors everywhere for all the crowds to see everything, to the VIP room, special effects, rigging, and power.
At the end of the day, there were over 459 million impressions across social media. It was such a fulfilling event and everyone had a great time.
"One thing that I love, love about this production world is that I get to bring people together."
What are some of the things that you like about doing this kind of work?
I've always had a passion for live entertainment and events. I grew up as a dancer, so I've always been in that world with all the lights and audio and other support. One thing that I love, love about this production world is that I get to bring people together. That's the most exciting thing for me. I get to go to work every single day, not to sit in a cubicle and work my days away, but to create these experiences for people. That's one thing in common that we all have in this production world; we just want to bring people together and put on a badass show.
I love this whole event production world, but there's something specific about working at PCE that makes me feel like it's not just a job. I'm not just grinding every day. I love working at PCE because of the people that I work with. I don't feel like a number or someone that's replaceable. That's something that makes me feel so much joy coming to work every day.
Do you feel like you get a chance to be creative and contribute ideas here?
Absolutely. I come from a design background myself. That's another reason I love this entertainment world. When I engage with clients initially, I get to hear their initial idea, their vision. A lot of times people have a concept, but have no idea where to start. I get to really help clients merge the creative side and the technical side. We come together to realize a shared vision.
Have you gained any new skills or knowledge working at PCE?
Every day I'm learning something new. A big reason for that is that I have great support here at the company. Whenever I have a question, there's someone here who can answer it. There are so many people here with immense experience. I'm not the most technical person, but I have the right people next to me, so it doesn't matter. When I have questions, I can just pop in and ask, "what cables do I need for this job?" Everyone that works here has been a technician, has been a lighting designer, has been an audio engineer. I learn so much working with people like that.
"This is a job that helps me grow on a fundamental level, grow as a person."
Has this job led to any personal growth?
In my personal life, I have this tendency to not believe in myself. Here, I have a great manager who helps me to identify this tendency and attack it head on. That's why I feel this is not just a job to get by, this is a job that helps me grow on a fundamental level, grow as a person. I'm learning how to be someone that's courageous, someone who can go after what I need to get the job done.
Have you made any valuable connections working at PCE?
What's awesome is when you just click with your clients and it's not just a transactional thing. It's not like, "okay, here's a job we need to get done" and then we go our separate ways. Sometimes, I forge a genuine connection with a client. We find out we have so many things in common and we actually become friends. I've had clients in the past that I'm still friends with to this day. We're working together with a common goal: bringing people together and putting on something incredible.
