Meet our New COO, Jonathan Cetnarski

By Great Performances

We’re delighted to welcome Jonathan Cetnarski as Great Performances’ new Chief Operating Officer. In this newly created role, Jonathan will focus on strategy, business transformation and efficiencies while working with Liz Neumark, Founder and CEO, and Dean Martinus, President.

Jonathan comes to Great Performances as a transformational executive with a long history of running successful, innovative and value-creating businesses, first in the corporate sector and most recently in the private sector. From his early roots in Human Resources departments for commercial banks and retail businesses, he grew to develop and lead successful teams, driving strategic growth. He spent 15 years at MasterCard Worldwide where he created and grew their data analytics business, years ahead of Big Data. He spent several years at Vodafone Global Enterprise, leading the integration of a managed services company into Vodafone and ultimately becoming Global Head of Business Operations for Vodafone Telecom Management Practice. In this role he was responsible for the customer journey, leveraging and growing the people, processes, and technology to support the mission.

Jonathan’s passion for transformation and change extend beyond his professional life to his personal life as well. Noticing that he was struggling with constant fatigue, discomfort and weight fluctuations, he set out on a path of personal transformation. He learned that what he ate, where it came from and how it was prepared made a huge impact on how he felt. Through this journey, he discovered Natural Gourmet Institute and was immediately drawn to the school’s values, history and desire to be the definitive educator of health-supportive cooking. With his renewed clarity, energy and vibrancy, he transformed Natural Gourmet Institute from New York City’s best-kept-secret to its newest iteration as the Natural Gourmet Center at the Institute for Culinary Education, where the program will be taught both in New York City and Los Angeles.

Joining Great Performances is a natural next step in Jonathan’s journey. “I am so impressed with Great Performances and the outstanding work that is being here. I’m thrilled to be part of a company that has a value system like GP and I really love the energy and enthusiasm of everyone who works here!”

We would love to get to know a little more about you!

I live in Brooklyn and my favorite meal is pasta with garlic, butter and Parmesan cheese. I am an avid cook and enjoy entertaining and sharing my creations. I have varied interests, but love to read, volunteer and travel. I am a bit of geek and a total Star Wars fan.

What are some of the things that you are looking forward to with GP this year?

Moving to the Bronx and finding new ways to improve and update our operational processes, people practices and technology!