Jeff Clanagan

"Much of the success of life depends upon keeping ones mind open to opportunity and seizing it when it comes." - Alice Foote MacDougall

Most successful entrepreneurs have had ample opportunity to display their leadership capabilities early on in their lives, and their youthful endeavors may have included a lemonade stand, selling magazines, navigating a newspaper route or washing cars.

Like his adolescent contemporaries, Jeff Clanagan, the visionary President of UrbanWorks, also demonstrated the business acumen required to create a thriving business, however Clanagan took it to another level. While still in high school, Jeff became a promoter of parties attended by his classmates and others in his San Jose environs. The first party he organized attracted so many participants that authorities were forced to close the streets. Eventually Jeff's success snowballed, and he soon began approaching local radio stations not only to solicit their sponsorship but also to negotiate contracts. This was done while preparing for his upcoming SAT's and sweating his geometry exams. "The problem was that I wasn't able to sign contracts because I was still underage. So, my father would have to come to the radio stations and he would sign the contracts on my behalf," Jeff reminisces with amusement.

Jeff was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He and his family relocated to San Jose, California after his father became a marketing executive for a Silicon Valley-based company. He credits both parents, especially his father, as being his most ardent supporters. "My father is one of my greatest role models. He provided me with the stability at home that enabled me to pursue my dreams, and he always supported my dreams" says Jeff, who at the age of 14 was a notable athlete in track and was named National Champion for his gravity-defying triple jump. "Sports have been the mental underpinning or theme that has driven me and motivated me to be independent. The sports arena nourished my entrepreneurial spirit" remarks Jeff. "And track is essentially a 'solitary' sport; it taught me the value of focus and discipline."

Upon graduation from high school, Jeff entered the University of Washington on a football scholarship, but his college career as on of the Washington Huskies' stellar running backs was cut short due to a knee injury. He completed college, earning his bachelors degree in Business Administration. In 1985 he set his sights on becoming a concert promoter. Long before hip hop's widespread appeal, Jeff was promoting concerts featuring such artists as Will Smith, MC Hammer, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige and

Ice Cube, in addition to such R&B luminaries as Patti LaBelle, The Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross and New Edition. His reputation as one of the nation's most respected concert promoters allowed him to secure corporate sponsorship from companies such as Citibank, Budweiser, Sprite/Coca-Cola and Snapple.

Later, Jeff entered a new arena and added theatrical production and promotion to his professional dossier with the stage plays "The Diary of Black Men" and "A Good Man is Hard to Find." He also promoted the successful "HBO Def Comedy Jam" tour which featured the comedians Bernie Mac, Martin Lawrence and Chris Tucker.

Jeff eventually moved into film and television production - first as the president of Master P's No Limit Films. Under his direction, No Limit Films generated over $40,000,000 in sales revenues. While at No Limit Films, Jeff spearheaded the production of "Foolish" starring comedian Eddie Griffin. The film, distributed by Artisan Entertainment, grossed $6,000,000 in box office revenues. He also produced "No Tomorrow" featuring Master P and Pam Grier, which later aired on USA Networks. His other No Limit credits include "Hot Boys" the first hip hop themed film to air on network television, starring rapper Snoop Dogg, and "Lockdown" which was released earlier this year by Columbia TriStar.

After ending his tenure at No Limit Films, Jeff became President of Mandalay Urban Entertainment, a division of Mandalay Sports Entertainment. At Mandalay, Jeff executive produced three television movies for BET's "Arabesque" series - "Fire and Ice," Commitments" and "One Special Moment." In 2002 "Fire and Ice" was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Best Dramatic Movie." He also produced "Civil Brand" for Lions Gate Entertainment, starring Mos Def, Da Brat, LisaRaye, N'Busche Wright and Clifton Powell. The film was named the winner of the Blockbuster "Audience Award" at the 2002 American Black Film Festival. "Having produced three movies for BET on very tight budgets and having them all come in under budget is something I'm enormously proud of", says Jeff. "All three films had strong production values and received the highest ratings of all the films in BET's Arabesque series, he adds.

In May 2001, Jeff was named President of UrbanWorks Entertainment. UrbanWorks, in partnership with Ventura Distribution, is the engine that has propelled the success of the immensely popular Time-Life video series "Def Comedy Jam". Since its release in 2001 the series has sold 3,000,000 units. In the short time since UrbanWorks inception, Jeff has established Urbanworks as the leading provider of Urban home entertainment. Urbanworks has strategic relationships with brands such as Nike, BET, AND1, FAT ALBERT/Bill Cosby, as well as the top urban talent in the entertainment and sports business.

"The goal of UrbanWorks" says Jeff, "is to produce and acquire content and niche product for the urban audience." He adds, "I want UrbanWorks to be an outlet for African-American producers for the distribution of their product. The company is geared to be a springboard from which urban filmmakers will launch into a broader mainstream market."