Hurricane Productions prides itself on developing and rewarding homegrown talent. And Nick Nittoli's recent promotion to Director of Operations is that narrative in action.

Nick officially started the full-time position role in May 2016.

But Nick's journey at Hurricane began over six years ago as a freelance photographer after he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

As he grew his photography portfolio, the company grew in step - seeing an increase in corporate and University events.

Nick sensed the shift. As a self-starter, he learned more about production. He taught himself how to shoot video. He operated photo booths. He enabled himself to fulfill as many needs as possible.

Nick developed into the ultimate utility team member.

"I invested in myself and that provided me with new opportunities within the company," Nittoli said. "If you would have told me on my first day that I'd be where I am now, I'd have thought you were crazy. The truth is, I couldn't be happier because I know the company is on the cusp of exploding into the next level and I'm just happy to be a part of that."

As Director of Ops, Nick oversees all of the company's events with a focus on staffing, equipment and internal technology.

"When you're growing a company, you have to grow your brain trust," said Hurricane's CEO Vincent Velasquez. "And there's no one that knows the event business, specifically our business, better than Nick."

Go further back than six years ago, Nick and Vincent played baseball together as classmates at St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel, NJ. Hurricane's co-founder/owner - Strato Doumanis - also graduated from SJV.

Nick is part of the company's recently developed 'front office,' which includes full-time positions held by Velasquez, Doumanis, and Administrative Assistant Chelsea Rutkowski.