I'm Thomas Cott.

I oversaw brand management, creative direction, audience development, multi-channel marketing campaigns, ticket sales to Ailey’s self-produced seasons as well as extensive U.S. and international tours by both the main Ailey company and Ailey II, and marketing of The Ailey School and Ailey Arts In Education programs.

I spearheaded several multi-year, cross-organizational projects, including Ailey’s “Leading For The Future" initiative, which developed ways to use technology more effectively to engage with patrons, and its "Building Audiences for Sustainability” initiative, which identified ideas to attract millennial audiences.

In 2013, I added the development and production of creative content to my work portfolio. Activities included: "Ailey All Access" online programming, Ailey's first performance film, a documentary about the Company on tour in South Africa, a major relaunch of Ailey's website, and a popular series of dance videos watched by millions online.

At New York’s only nonprofit devoted exclusively to the development of new musicals, I revived a dormant works-in-progress series and made producing alliances with other theaters. I also contributed to MTW's marketing, fundraising, and education efforts, as well as the refurbishment of its public spaces. A dozen shows bloomed under my leadership, including five I commissioned. MTW shut down in 2004 due to insufficient funding, but 11 of the shows I developed were later presented at festivals and theaters across America.

Photo: David Hyde Pierce and Audra McDonald, who performed at MTW's 20th anniversary gala, "Bravo, Bernstein!", which I produced.

I helped establish this leading nonprofit theater and worked on dozens of shows in Broadway and off-Broadway venues over 18 seasons. As Director of Marketing, I established the department and oversaw a strategy which generated ticket revenue of over $300 million. A key triumph was LCT’s Membership, which enrolled 50,000 people and sustained 95% renewal, making it a model for other arts groups seeking a viable alternative to traditional subscription. Additionally, I worked on fundraising, long-range planning, capital improvements, and financial management.

As Director of Special Projects, I scouted plays and developed new musicals – including Jason Robert Brown's award-winning The Last Five Years. I produced many of LCT’s annual Galas, coordinated 14 cast recordings, and created a meet-the-artist series which I moderated.

I later returned as an independent producer. Projects include: a 2006 memorial tribute to playwright Wendy Wasserstein as well as LCT's 2007 gala (a one-night-only performance of her play The Sisters Rosensweig). In 2005, I produced commemorative items for LCT's 20th anniversary and designed the souvenir program for LCT's production of The Light in the Piazza.

As a side activity for almost two decades, I curated a free email digest of arts news and commentary called “You’ve Cott Mail”, for which I was named to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 editions of a peer-nominated list of “The 50 Most Powerful and Influential People in the Nonprofit Arts in the U.S.” In 2015, I was again included in this list – this time, in the inaugural class of an Arts Administrator Hall of Fame.

In 2016, I discontinued the email service to focus on other activities, but still maintain a Twitter account for YCM (follow @youvecottmail).