Company newsletter feature on my work running nationwide Facilities.

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Rene Ledezma just spearheaded the L.A. team’s move – and it’s a story worthy of its
own reality series.
This is the story about the person who keeps the lights on.
As in, literally keeps the lights on.
This is a story about Rene Ledezma (Director, US Facilities). He oversees 10
eOne facilities in L.A., New York and Nashville, lining up everything from building
maintenance to office accounts. “If a bill doesn’t cross my desk, it doesn’t get paid,”
says Rene.
It’s a details-driven job that requires big-picture-thinking (like figuring out how to
consolidate vendor accounts across offices) and the ability to respond quickly to
daily emergencies (like fixing a plumbing issue that flooded the kitchen in another
office). Situations like that last one seem to pop up every day. “I always have 15
items on my To-Do List – and it feels like I get about two of them done most days!”
That To-Do List got a whole lot bigger recently, as Rene spearheaded the coming-
together of three offices in L.A. “We closed down three offices to consolidate into
one to create more symmetry for teams under the Film & TV division,” he says. Day
one in the spectacular new Santa Monica facility at 2700 Pennsylvania Avenue was
May 13.
How to move the world.

2. Rene and his team had to make sure everything was in place.
“We signed the lease for the facility in August 2018, then it was fast-tracking the
build out to be ready in time,” he says. The office is 40,000 square feet in a busy
entertainment area – HBO, Lionsgate, Starz, Amazon Studios and Hulu are just
down the street.
Like any large-scale project, this one wasn’t without its challenges.
“Construction is such a finicky thing – especially in older buildings,” says Rene. The
team had some bold plans for the warehouse-style space, including massive
skylights to let natural light pour in. “We built these office glass fronts to emulate
the look of the Toronto private office spaces, but added some separation by framing
them in a wood grid. Those were built by hand for all 72 office spaces.”
Then there were the specific regulations from the City of Santa Monica. “You have
to have showers in a building of that size. You need to have an indoor secure bike
room. There were lots of challenging things to navigate.”
Those challenges included the move itself. The goal was to have everything packed
by May 9, moved over the weekend, IT and furniture installed, and everybody back
at the new office on Monday morning.
Everything was going according to plan…until one more curve ball was thrown in
for good measure.
“Some pieces of furniture that were supposed to arrive didn’t show up,” recalls
Rene. “We had to pull a Hail Mary – get a furniture truck, go to a wholesale
liquidator, pick up furniture and install it.”
In the end, the mission was accomplished – thanks to a lot of hard work by Rene and
his team. “The move took us three full 18-hour days – I don’t think I’ve ever been so
tired in my life!” A move like this wouldn’t have been possible without the
dedication of many eOners, including the incredible LA IT team, Munir Amin
(Senior Analyst, Support Services, IT, Group) and Sam Dominguez (Support

3. Analyst, Support Services, IT, Group), with the help of Trevor Bially (Director,
Support Services, IT, Group) and Oliver Tutte (VP, Technology, IT, Group) who
flew in to help. Rene makes sure to mention the work of the Corporate
Communications team too, who ensured the LA team had swag and welcome
booklets for the desks drops, and the countless vendors, interns and additional
employee volunteers who all pitched in.
When the newly integrated film, TV and support teams moved in on day one, they
were greeted a fully functional network, a bustling office and, most importantly,
working coffee machines!
They also received an inspiring welcome note from Darren Throop (President
& CEO):
“Our new office provides a great opportunity for us to create our own story – to
collaborate, be curious and unlock the power and value of creativity across all areas
of the business. Whether it’s the common areas for spending time with colleagues,
taking a break in the Wellness Room or organizing a private screening in our theater
– the office is designed to create a sense of community as we build the leading
talent-driven entertainment company in the world.”
Meanwhile, Rene is onto the next thing on his never-ending To Do list.
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