The Last Word: Chad Hudson Plays a Leading Role in Special Events

In August, Warner Bros. celebrated the release of its movie “We’re the Millers” with 350 high-profile guests at New York’s swanky Bryant Park grill, including stars Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis and Emma Roberts. The lavish event was planned by a man who got his start as a cater waiter in Los Angeles.

“I learned about the catering side of things through that experience,” said Chad Hudson, founder, president and creative director of Chad Hudson Events. The well-rounded Hudson has a knack for turning every step of his career into a learning experience, which made the move to owning his own company five years ago a natural fit.

Hudson’s eagerness to learn started in college when he studied fine arts, architecture and fashion to “get an eye for design,” he says, while also planning events for his fraternity. After college, he wasn’t afraid to work freelance and consulting jobs to learn what he calls the “nuts and bolts” of the industry, such as lighting and production. He was eventually hired full-time at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., and worked his way up to event manager there. “I worked very closely with my boss on creating the look and feel of an event: location scouting, choosing vendors,” he explains. “Now owning my own business, that really helped me to understand how my clients think.”

Hudson oversees about 100 events per year--from charity dinners to film premieres--working with a 14-person team that is split between Los Angeles and New York. Hudson credits his small-but-determined team with being one of his best assets on the job. “They work tireless hours and have my same work ethic, which is to work until we make the impossible happen,” he says.

With the demands of his high-end events, which include the DIRECTV Super Bowl Tailgate, MLB All-Stars Gala, and “Twilight” premieres--that work ethic is absolutely necessary, especially as expectations rise but budgets stay stubbornly low. “It's our job to make our events look more expensive than they are,” Hudson says. “We have learned how to stretch a dollar and make sure the client feels they are getting their money’s worth.”

But Hudson will be the first to admit that working like a machine can also work against him at times. “I sometimes work so hard and get burned out, so I wish I could learn to have an off switch,” he jokes. When he gets some precious time off, “I love to travel and see new architecture, museums, etc.,” he says. “I'm very influenced by that.”

Working with seasoned franchises such “Twilight” is also an inspiring experience in itself, Hudson says. “I'm most proud of [those events] because we worked on all films in the series for five years, and it was amazing to watch it develop and grow every year,” he says. “The studio entrusted us with their biggest film every year and allowed us to really design and create amazing parties.” Hudson’s events have served as major marketing tools for the films' producers, using social media and direct interaction with fans to build worldwide buzz for the immensely popular films. Similar elements are now a large part of most of his work now. “Social media plays a huge role in the industry,” he says. “Almost all of our events have a major social media component.”

As the event industry continues to recover from the economic downturn, Hudson sees his own role in large-scale events getting bigger too. “When I first started, the corporate event had really dwindled down and had almost fizzled out from some industries,” he says. “Now I see it coming back, and every year seems to get busier. So that's good for all of the industry as a whole.”

Chad Hudson Events 9155 W. Sunset Blvd., First Floor, West Hollywood, CA 90069; 310/271-0059; www.chadhudsonevents.com

GETTING STARTED
“Take a job somewhere you're interested. Intern or whatever to learn all the aspects of the industry and find out which piece you're attracted to. Then follow that dream.”

THE BIG PICTURE
“I think I have a well-rounded grasp of an event from the view of the vendor and of the client. I also feel I have a good understanding of most aspects of the industry from staging, rentals, catering, lighting design, furniture, entertainment, etc. And I also have an amazing team who are super talented--and are even better than me in some fields.”

LEARNING EXPERIENCE
“My boss from Warner Bros., Courtney Saylor-Rogge, taught me to trust my gut. She gave me a lot of creative freedom and allowed me to manage our vendors and really try to bring out the best in them and their work. She also helped me to manage budgets when we were working on projects that were more than $1 million.”