A veteran of SONY Pictures Entertainment and of Walt Disney Co.”™s East Coast publicity arm will head the state”™s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.
Empire State Development tapped Gigi Semone, a New York City resident and Colgate University alumna, for the job.
“Under Governor Cuomo”™s leadership, productions and post-productions are flocking to New York, creating new jobs and pumping billions into our economy,” said Kenneth Adams, ESD”™s president, CEO and commissioner. “I am pleased to welcome Gigi Semone to our team, and look forward to working with her as we continue to make the Empire State the place to be for the film and television industry.”
Westchester County hosts consistent shooting for 14 TV shows; 14 feature films also have shot in the county recently.
As executive director, Semone will be responsible for marketing the state as a location for film and television production and will also oversee new initiatives, especially upstate. Semone will report to Rhoda Glickman, senior vice president for arts, culture and film development.
The governor”™s office estimates 349 projects have filmed or applied to film since Jan. 1, 2011, which has resulted and will result in more than $5.5 billion in direct spending in New York state.
ESD is New York”™s chief economic development agency. The mission of ESD is “to promote a vigorous and growing economy by supporting private sector investment and job growth” through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of assistance.
