Leadership Team
We strive to open a window to the world often kept closed to the general public (sometimes behind one-way, bullet-proof glass). We are in an era filled with not-so-real reality shows and hyper-polished “true” stories. The industry is in need of raw, authentic content whose producers are concerned with maintaining its integrity, not compromising it.
Stories rooted in reality, when done right, can be far more riveting than any fiction or fantasy. These events have actually happened and continue to unfold today—behind our backs, over our heads and sometimes right under our noses. We live in extraordinary times and these stories are more relevant today than ever before.
Executive Leadership
Sandy Climan
Founder & CEO
Sanford R. (Sandy) Climan is Chief Executive Officer and founder of EMM. His experience in entertainment is vast, his credits inumerable and his network ever-growing. As his record suggests, Mr. Climan never ceases working, building and learning; it is through his drive that EMM finds itself positioned to curate exceptionally unique, authentic content. He is an investor, producer, and considered a media visionary.
Throughout his career, Mr. Climan has held senior management positions in the media and entertainment industry. Mr. Climan served as Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Worldwide Business Development of Universal Studios, where he oversaw corporate international strategy, strategic marketing, and five studio operating divisions.
Mr. Climan was part of the senior management team at Creative Artists Agency for 12 years, where he was the founding head of CAA’s corporate practice and a senior talent agent representing such stars as Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Danny DeVito and director Michael Mann, as well as many prominent film and television production companies.
Notable achievements include: Executive Producer of the first digital live-action 3D feature film, “U2 3D,” and Producer of “The Aviator,” directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, for which Mr. Climan was awarded a British Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Mr. Climan received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2018.
In addition, Mr. Climan has been an active investor in, and advisor to, venture capital firms and early-stage companies in media, technology, and healthcare.
Mr. Climan serves on several charitable boards, including The American Cinematheque, the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, and the UCLA Longevity Center of the Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior. From 2000- 2012, Mr. Climan served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mr. Climan serves as an advisor on entertainment and media to the World Economic Forum and its Annual Gathering in Davos, Switzerland, as a member of the Reuters Editorial Advisory Board, the philanthropic Advisory Board of Lifestyles Magazine, and the Advisory Committee of the Ellis Island Medals of Honor.
Mr. Climan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College.
Nelly Kim
SVP, Development & Production
Nelly Kim is Senior Vice President of Strategy & Development and is an expert at bridging the gap between the creative and business sides of a project. She has extensive experience in forging strategic partnerships, film-packaging and casting while also helping develop scripts and storylines in the commercial, film and television world. With her capacity to toggle between the many dimensions of production, Nelly deftly turns creative concepts into vivid realities. She brings more than fifteen years of business development, marketing, licensing, and entertainment industry experience to EMM. In her role as VP of Strategy and Business Development at EMM’s parent company, Entertainment Media Ventures, Nelly has built creative branding teams and provided strategic consulting services to companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to startups in media, technology, and healthcare. Prior to her time at EMM, she worked at top-ranked interactive advertising agencies, licensing firms and publications. She has also managed high-profile marketing initiatives for several global brands, facilitating partnerships with leading music, entertainment and sports figures, including Pitbull, Dwayne Johnson and Justin Verlander to name a few.
Consulting Producers
Meta Valentic
Growing up in Washington DC, Meta Valentic developed a love for politics and global affairs that still persists today—her insight into these topics is a driving force for EMM. With an expertise in budget development and scheduling, she is a crucial asset in taking EMM’s projects to the finish line. Meta began her career as the youngest member of the DGA Assistant Director Training Program. Her assistant director credits include Nixon, Castle, Lost, Bones and the Emmy and Golden Globe winning musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Meta recently executive produced The Donors, a female driven comedy web series for Kevin Hart’s LOL network and Lionsgate. She has produced numerous independent feature films, including the critically acclaimed Urbania, which played the Sundance and Toronto film festivals and was released by Lionsgate. Meta has been selected as a Fellow for both the Producers Guild and Sundance Film Festival. She is a screenplay judge and conference panelist at the annual Austin Film Festival. And she continues to be active in the Producers Guild of America’s Mentorship Committee and Women’s Impact Network..
Joe Climan
Joe Climan was born right into the heart of the entertainment business, building meaningful and strategic industry relationships from a young age. Joe’s depth of knowledge in film is extensive, yet refined. And his fascination with arcane content, particularly in espionage and action films, offers EMM’s projects an invaluable perspective and unique direction. Before taking on his role at EMM, Joe cut his teeth at Anonymous Content and then Paradigm Talent Agency, working alongside TV and film producers, agents and talent. He has been involved in the development of a number of independent productions, taking on roles spanning from executive producer, cinematographer to director. Joe attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and graduated with a degree in Critical Studies (now known as the Division of Cinema & Media Studies). It is there that he honed his instinctive eye for quality in all forms of multimedia.