It is quite incredible, the way that James Colistro can conceive and implement expansive marketing initiatives and generate outstanding sales in arenas where the competition falters.
Born in Winnipeg, Jim’s post-secondary theatrical training began as a 16-year-old scholarship student at the National Academy of Ballet in New York. The National not only gave him training in classical dance, but in acting and music. He went on to join the New York City Ballet Repertory, and then to Joseph Papp’s Delacarte Theater. His experience led to roles in a number of Broadway/National Tour productions, and to a staff position at Charles Blake Enterprises as director and later producer.
After New York, Jim’s ongoing career took him to Rome, Amsterdam, and Berlin, where he was a staging director or choreographer in such notable theatres as Friedrichstadpalast, Comesh Opera, and Metropol Theatre. While in Europe, he joined the staff of Juliani-Briani as service producer, and began his first ventures into television.
Returning to Canada in 1969, Jim was publisher of ‘Stage Door’, Canada’s first weekly entertainment newspaper. The landmark publication had Canada wide distribution and offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
In 1971, he joined the faculty of the Theatre Department at Ryerson University in Toronto, and remained there for six years, before returning to New York. His contribution at Ryerson was substantial—and included the co-development of curriculum, with the opening of a new department for actors, dancers, and theatrical technicians.
In television, Jim has been directly involved in hundreds of programs and series as a producer, director or staging director. They included the PBS drama special Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been, starring Lisa Minnelli; Time/Warner’s MTV’s opening season studio year; Fox’s game-show series Family Double Dare; Nickelodeon’s Peabody Awarded television series Pinwheel; CBC’s Canadian Film Awards, the series Bandwagon, and It’s a Musical World; ETV’s Monkey Bars, and the long running Cucumber series; along with numerous theatrical stage productions and television commercials.
With a career that had the rounded depth of theatrical management, marketing, and exposure to the hospitality industry, Jim was sought in 1999 to return from New York to become Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel. With show-business flair, he conceived and implemented dozens of over-the-top marketing initiatives to generate outstanding sales for the growing Burrard Street property. As always, his work was fresh, vibrant and strong. His goal was always to provoke, stimulate and excite—and in the hotel business, it was a combination that worked well.
In 2006, Jim moved on to be part of Braidwood Hospitality Management, as VP of Marketing and Operations. At Braidwood with a proven ability for providing leadership to Independent/Franchised Hotel Properties and Hospitality Organizations, Jim works with client’s individual needs to achieve peak potential in management, sales, operations, and profitability. Each client has a diversified requirement due to overall property environment and structure.