Meet J.J.

J.J. Colao knows the media from the inside out. As a young staff reporter at Forbes, he wrote more than 35 magazine stories, 200 web articles, four feature stories, and one cover story. He also conducted more than 40 video interviews with celebrities ranging from Sean “Diddy” Combs to AOL Founder Steve Case, managed 12-page editorial packages, and moderated on-stage panels in front of thousands. His cover story on Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel was named one of The 18 Greatest Forbes Stories Of The Decade.

Since founding Haymaker in 2014, he has led agency communications programs for Etsy, HubSpot, Grubhub, Angi, Zocdoc, and other leading technology companies. For his outstanding work in the PR industry, J.J. was named PR Star of 2019, PR Leader of the Year, and PR Professional of the Year by Bulldog Awards. He has been named as one of the “Top Public Relations Pros in the Tech Industry” by Insider and honored as the Industry Newcomer of the Year by Ragan & PR Daily’s ACE Awards.

J.J. also founded and runs the New York Media Meetup, a 2100-member group devoted to exploring issues concerning the craft and business of media.